To the Editor:

Re: “University Takes 15th Place in Annual U.S. News Rankings,” News, Sept. 11

This article adds yet another inaccuracy to the snowballing misconceptions about Clemson University’s approach to the rankings. The myth tends to change slightly with each retelling, but I think this is the first time a news article has stated that “a spokesperson for Clemson University admitted that her school ‘games’ the rankings.”

I cannot let that go without comment. The Clemson employee whose comments touched off a flood of articles claiming that Clemson “manipulated data,” “spun the numbers” or “gamed the system” is not a university spokesperson. And it's worth noting that, in a letter published in The Chronicle of Higher Education on June 24, 2009, she said that her remarks were taken largely out of context and that she regretted certain word choices. Regarding the peer evaluation issue, the only one mentioned specifically in your reference to Clemson, our president acknowledged that he has ranked Clemson higher than other universities on this survey because he believes Clemson provides the best undergraduate education in America. Media coverage of this particular issue made it obvious that he is not the only university president who feels that way about his institution.

Cathy Sams,

Chief public affairs officer

and spokesperson at Clemson University