College named to President's Community Service honor role
(Williamsburg, Va.) – The College of William and Mary was recently named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth, according to a press release from the Corporation for National and Community Service.
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 are chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope
and innovativeness 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.
Amy Cohen, director of Learn and Serve America, presented the College
with a plaque signifying its place on the honor roll on March 10 during
a national forum on the importance of service learning.
The William and Mary community is heavily involved in civic engagement
both locally and around the world. According to a 2006 survey, students
at the College contribute more than 323,000 hours of service per year.
The College has partnerships with more than 90 local nonprofit
organizations and schools, and its Office of Student Volunteer Services
connects student volunteers with people, communities and organizations
in need. This year, students at the College will participate in seven
domestic service trips and 15 international trips. On these trips,
students will be doing everything from working on disaster relief in
New Orleans to conducting research and hosting medical clinics in the
Dominican Republic.
“At William and Mary, civic engagement is about crossing borders and
building bridges; about listening intently and learning much; about
asking questions and seeking solutions; about reaching out and in doing
so digging deep into community,” said Drew Stelljes, director of the
College’s Office of Student Volunteer Services.
“Faculty, staff, alumni and our one-of-a-kind students dedicate their
talents and time to our community. In doing so we engage in meaningful
discourse about community life, sustainability and policy,” he said.
“We listen first, learn a lot, and in time advocate on behalf of
others. I continue to be immensely proud of our efforts. This award is
a symbol of our accomplishment.”
William and Mary was one of 127 schools to be named to the Community
Service Honor Roll with Distinction. Nationwide, 528 schools were
recognized by the honor roll. Among those, six schools received
Presidential Awards and four schools were recognized as Special
Achievement Award winners.
“Earning this distinction is not easy,” said American Council on
Education President David Ward in the council’s release. “But now each
of these schools will be able to wear this award like a badge of honor.”
The Honor Roll is jointly sponsored by the Corporation for National and
Community Service, through its Learn and Serve America program, and the
Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, USA Freedom Corps, and the President’s Council on Service
and Civic Participation.
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 http://www.nationalservice.gov.
Media contact
Erin Zagursky
757.221.1020
