Juniata Receives National Honor for Community Service
(Posted February 16, 2009)
HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College has been named to the 2008 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Juniata received the award in "recognition from the highest levels of federal government for your commitment to service and civic engagement on the Juniata campus." The award was presented at a Feb. 9 annual meeting of the American Council on Education.
"We are proud to see that Juniata's efforts at service learning and community involvement are being noticed and honored at a national level."
Thomas R. Kepple, president of Juniata
Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.
"We are proud to see that Juniata's efforts at service learning and community involvement are being noticed and honored at a national level," says Thomas R. Kepple, president of Juniata. "Juniata students have a century-long tradition of service and our commitment to that ideal remains strong."
"In this time of economic distress, we need volunteers more than ever. College students represent an enormous pool of idealism and energy to help tackle some of our toughest challenges," says Stephen Goldsmith, vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the Honor Roll. "We salute Juniata College for making community service a campus priority, and thank the millions of college students who are helping to renew America through service to others."
Overall, the Corporation honored six schools with Presidential Awards. In addition, 83 were named as Honor Roll With Distinction members and 546 schools as Honor Roll members. In total, 635 schools were recognized.
The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is presented during the annual conference of the American Council on Education.
"I offer heartfelt congratulations to those institutions named to the 2008 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. College and university students across the country are making a difference in the lives of others every day?" as are the institutions that encourage their students to serve others," said American Council on Education President Molly Corbett Broad.
Recent studies have underlined the importance of service-learning and volunteering to college students. In 2006, 2.8 million college students gave more than 297 million hours of volunteer service, according to the Corporation's Volunteering in America 2007 study. Expanding campus incentives for service is part of a larger initiative to spur higher levels of volunteering by America's college students.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations. For more information, go to www.nationalservice.gov
Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.