When Freeman Hrabowski learned Aug. 19 that U.S. News & World Report magazine had ranked the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as the nation's top "up-and-coming" university, the school's president was "just bursting" to tell as many people as possible, he said.

Luckily, his annual "State of the University" address to the university's faculty and donors was already planned for the next afternoon.

"It's a great day," he said with a beaming smile at the start of his address on campus.

Not only had the university garnered the top "up-and-coming" spot, Hrabowski told the audience, but it also tied Stanford University at No. 4 in the magazine's "best undergraduate teaching" category, falling just below Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth.

The crowd erupted into applause.

Jim Milani, director of administrative affairs for the university's college of engineering and information technology, started a cheer: "We're No. 1. We're No. 1."

Hrabowski let go his easy laugh, and university officials throughout the room smiled broadly.

As Hrabowski said in an interview, the rankings are a major achievement that puts UMBC -- located between Catonsville and Arbutus -- on the national stage.

"It's an honor, because it says to those of us in Maryland that people around the country are looking at the university and our innovative approach to educating students, working with the community and becoming a model for higher education in this country," Hrabowski said.

The recognition also shines a light on the local area, Hrabowski said.

"It makes the Catonsville-Arbutus community very attractive to people looking at college for their children and to people who are thinking about coming back to college," he said.

"It will also say to potential employers, 'Here's a great place to locate my business.'"

Members of the audience and others said the recognition is well deserved.

Milani, who enrolled at the university as a freshman in 1969 and started his 37-year career there shortly after graduating, said the university has "always been on the verge of getting better and better."

He has felt the same sense of potential at the university, which was founded in 1963, in every position he's held since, from academic adviser to director of resident life to his current job, he said.

Diane Lee, the university's vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, said she has been telling people that UMBC is "definitely on the move" for years.

"While we do acknowledge (University of Maryland in College Park) as the flagship, we are the rocket ship," she said.

Katie Dix, a rising senior at the university and vice president of the student events board, said the faculty's devotion to undergraduate students is what made her "fall in love with UMBC," and the "up-and-coming" nod sets the perfect tone moving forward.

"People say a university's first 50 years are its pioneer years," she said. "If these are our pioneer years, then watch out for the next 100."

Gabe Rettaliata, a 2009 graduate and rising graduate student who served as the student government association's immediate past president, said the school's teachers deserve the recognition because they "like what they teach, and they really want to connect with the students."

Hannah Cheng, a rising senior, said the "up-and-coming" ranking is "freaking awesome, especially if it helps get me a job."

According to U.S. News & World Report's Web site, the "up-and-coming" ranking was based on a survey of academics from around the country who nominated schools "making improvements in academics, faculty, students, campus life, diversity, and facilities."

While UMBC finished No. 5 on the list last year, gaining the top spot is "extraordinarily encouraging" because it gives the school a new sense of distinction, Hrabowski said.

"People tend to have images of institutions, and those images don't change. Universities that are hundreds of years old are recognized for prestige," he said.

"But this says to people, 'Look at this young university and how much it has achieved.'"

Hrabowski also said it is "especially gratifying" to see the university's faculty -- which includes winners of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Fulbright scholarships, a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator position and a MacArthur Foundation grant -- acknowledged for their work with undergraduates.

"When you have those types of (award-winning faculty) names associated with the university, people know you're talking about first rate research," Hrabowski said. "You couple that with a commitment to working with students, and you have a winning combination."

Hrabowski deserves much credit for the school's success as well, people at the gathering said.

Milani said UMBC has always been "the best kept secret of Maryland institutions," but Hrabowski has led the way in "letting the world know about UMBC."

Lee said Hrabowski "set a tone of excellence, accessibility (and) accountability" when he started at the university in 1992 that has remained a driving force there.

During Hrabowski's speech Thursday, he noted the state's strapped fiscal situation in passing and pointed to the rankings as an indication that when state officials "give us the resources we need, we can do great things."

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