Auburn University
Established in 1856, Auburn University is a land-grant institution offering more than 150 majors, from engineering and business to veterinary medicine and agriculture science. It is home to 15 schools and colleges.
In addition, Auburn, in partnership with Alabama A&M University, manages the Alabama Cooperative Extension System — an outreach program dedicated to improving lives by providing practical, research-based instruction in areas such as agriculture, nutrition, food safety, quality of life, the environment and more.
This fall, Auburn’s student enrollment is 35,172, which includes an undergraduate class of 28,953, according to the university’s Office of Institutional Research.
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges edition for 2026 places Auburn University among the nation’s top 50 public institutions at No. 49 and No. 1 among universities in Alabama.
The university is No. 21 in undergraduate teaching programs and No. 25 in nursing, with a 100% first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN for nursing school graduates.
Auburn also ranked high for first-year experiences and student support; for programs in supply chain management and accounting, and for its College of Engineering.
This summer, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering broke ground on what will become the Auburn University Gulf Coast Engineering Research Station. Scientists will use the 21,000-square-foot research station in Orange Beach to study conservation, protect water quality and quantity, and discover ways to boost sustainability in coastal communities.
The first group of students to complete Auburn University’s AUTeach program graduated this spring. AUTeach is a program for students in the College of Sciences and Mathematics who want to enter the teaching profession.
The first cohort of students to complete the new online Master of Social Work program graduated this year as well. The part-time program benefits working adults desiring to complete social work courses.
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University, founded in 1881, is a private institution and the only HBCU in the United States designated as a National Historic Site.
The university is renowned for its cancer and agricultural research, its veterinary medicine program, its engineering programs and its National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care.
According to its website, the center is “the nation’s first bioethics center devoted to engaging the sciences, humanities, law and religious faiths in the exploration of the core moral issues, which underlie research and medical treatment of African Americans and other underserved people.”
Tuskegee University offers more than 60 degree programs, and its total undergraduate enrollment reached 2,659 in fall 2024.
In the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings for the Best Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tuskegee University ranks No. 4 in the nation behind Spelman College, Howard University and Morehouse College.
U.S. News & World Report also ranks Tuskegee No. 1 in social mobility among colleges in the South for enrolling and successfully graduating large numbers of disadvantaged students who go on to achieve economic mobility.
Tuskegee also is ranked No. 10 on U.S. News’ overall Best Regional Universities in the South list.
Tuskegee recently inaugurated its 10th president and CEO, Mark Brown, Ed.D. The former Air Force major general is the first alum to take the helm as president. His tenure began July1, 2024.
Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine recently broke ground on a new 57,000-square-foot small animal teaching hospital. The $18 million facility will come with operating rooms, intensive care units and imaging suites.
Tuskegee also broke ground recently on a $14 million Genomics Research Center. Researchers at the center will work to bring greater representation in research studies and clinical trials.
Tuskegee also has been named a Fulbright Historically Black College and University Institutional Leader for 2025. Fulbright issues this award annually to honor HBCUs credited with excellence in work with and support of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international academic exchange program.
Troy University
Troy University announced that its Phenix City campus would close on Dec. 31, 2025, after 50 years of service. The university attributed the decision to the increased demand for online instruction.
Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Located in Phenix City, the college was founded in 1973 as Chattahoochee Valley State Junior College. It is a public, two-year institution with an enrollment of approximately 2,337. Jacqueline Screws is the college’s president.
Chattahoochee Valley offers adult education, workforce development and online learning as well as a dual enrollment program for high school students.
In July, Chattahoochee Valley Community College held its first pinning ceremony for the graduates of its new nursing program, which the college developed in partnership with East Alabama Medical Center.
In late 2023, the college debuted a new Workforce Training Center.
Southern Union State Community College
Established in 1993, Southern Union State Community College came into existence when the Alabama Community College System board of trustees approved the merger of Southern Union State Junior College and Opelika State Technical College.
Today, Southern Union State Community College serves more than 5,000 students at its campuses in Randolph and Chambers counties and its Opelika campus in Lee County.
In September, the Opelika City Council approved a $3 million gift to Southern Union State Community College for capital improvements that will include new classroom buildings, a residence hall and refurbished science and technology labs.
This article appears in the December 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
