A report in the March 5 edition of Black Issues in Higher Education ranks Wayne State ninth in the number of black tenured and tenure-track faculty at Carnegie Research I and II institutions.

The ranking is based on Fall 1995 figures showing WSU with 69 black tenured and tenure-track faculty, or 7 percent of the total number of tenured and tenure-track faculty.

Thomas Healey, director of strategic planning and analysis, pointed out that first-ranked Howard University is a historically black institution, making WSU's ranking all the more significant.

Additionally, Healey said that if Black Issues based its ranking on percentages rather than numbers, Wayne State's 7 percent would tie it with Temple University for the number one spot among the country's Carnegie Research I universities. He believes using the actual number rather than the percentage reflects more about an institution's size than about its affirmative action efforts.

"A lot of urban institutions also have a high level of commitment to affirmative action," Healey said. "In spite of that, we're tied for number one at what we do.

"I think that speaks well for us."