text: Every year, the ModernThink national business consulting firm conducts anonymous surveys of faculty, staff and administrators at colleges and universities throughout the U.S. to find out which ones deserve to be designated "Great Colleges to Work For."
  For 2020, Angelo State University is one of 79 institutions of higher education to earn that designation, and also ranked highly enough to be one of 42 institutions named to the 2020 Honor Roll.
  This marks the sixth straight year ASU has earned the distinctions.
  The institutions on this year's list were also recognized in a special edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, the major national news source for college and university faculty and administrators.
  ASU President Ronnie Hawkins Jr. said, "This year in particular, we all got to see how exceptional our faculty and staff are, as they went above and beyond to continue to serve our students in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. From shifting to online classes in just two weeks to installing all the safety equipment and protocols so we could return to campus this fall, their efforts were absolutely fantastic. That our employees remain dedicated to our students and also truly enjoy working at ASU is a prime example of why we call ourselves the Ram Family."
  The "Great Colleges to Work For" designation is based on surveys conducted earlier this year of more than 50,000 employees at colleges and universities nationally. ASU was one of seven Texas four-year institutions to earn the designation, one of only two Texas state-supported universities to be honored, and the only Texas state-supported university to make the Honor Roll. ASU was previously identified as one of the nation's "Great Colleges to Work For" in 2009, 2013 and 2015-19.
  The ModernThink survey evaluates employee satisfaction in 12 categories in four general areas: leadership, the workplace, careers and compensation. Its two-part assessment process includes an institutional audit of demographics and workplace policies, as well as the survey of faculty, staff and administrators, with employee feedback being the primary factor. ASU was recognized in 11 of the 12 categories, which led to inclusion on the Honor Roll.
  ASU Human Resources Director Kurtis Neal said
  the broader national exposure for ASU that comes with the recognition will enhance the university's ability to recruit high-quality faculty, staff and administrators. ASU currently has 977 employees, including 415 faculty and 562 staff.
  The entire 2020 list of "Great Colleges to Work For" is available online at https://greatcollegesprogram.com/list/colleges/.