By Jim Shimabukuro
Editor

In the Times Higher Education (THE) global University Impact Rankings released today, U.S. colleges are woefully underrepresented in the top 25. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the top U.S. college in the rankings at 24th. The top five are from the Commonwealth realm: (1) University of Auckland, New Zealand, (2) McMaster University, Canada, (3) University of British Columbia, Canada, (3) University of Manchester, United Kingdom, (5) King’s College London, United Kingdom.

THE, which is headquartered in London, publishes “the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. [It] uses carefully calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons across three broad areas: research, outreach, and stewardship. This first edition includes more than 450 universities from 76 countries.”

Of the 17 SDGs, THE used 11 in its evaluation:

• Overall results: table, methodolgy
• SDG 3 – Good health and well-being: table, methodology
• SDG 4 – Quality education: table, methodology
• SDG 5 – Gender equality: table, methodology
• SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth: table, methodology
• SDG 9 – Industry, innovation, and infrastructure: table, methodology
• SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities: table, methodology
• SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities: table, methodology
• SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production: table, methodology
• SDG 13 – Climate action: table, methodology
• SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions: table, methodology
• SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals: table, methodology

Best U.S. colleges in the top 25:

• SDG 3 – Good health and well-being: 18 Emory University
• SDG 4 – Quality education: 21 University of Alaska Fairbanks
• SDG 5 – Gender equality: 16 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 19 Wayne State University, 20 Wheaton College (Massachusetts), 23 Texas State University
• SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth: 0
• SDG 9 – Industry, innovation, and infrastructure: 7 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 15 University of South Florida, 17 Emory University,
• SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities: 8 Stony Brook University, 23 University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities: 8 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 16 University of Texas at Arlington, 19 Arizona State University, 25 Ohio State University
• SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production: 19 Arizona State University
• SDG 13 – Climate action: 2 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3 University at Buffalo, 23 University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions: 0
• SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals: 0