University of Dubuque Receives President's Honor Roll Award for Service
May 28, 2008 | University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
The Corporation for National and Community Service has named the University of Dubuque to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth.
"Service to the community is an integral part of the University of Dubuque's Mission," said Paula Carlson, director of the Wendt Center for Character Education. "It is a distinct honor for the University's students, faculty, and staff to be recognized with this presidential award."
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 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.
The Service-Learning programs at the University of Dubuque are designed to provide students opportunities to use the skills they learn in the classroom to meet real needs in the community. The University's Service-Learning projects begin for first-year students each August with a workday at the Mines of Spain, a local nature preserve. As part of their sophomore seminar, students research and assist a local community service agency. Throughout their years at UD, students participate in service projects they plan in the Residence Life program, as Wendt Character Scholars, in the Athletic program, with their fraternities or sororities, in campus ministry, and across the curriculum.
"College students are tackling the toughest problems in America, demonstrating their compassion, commitment, and creativity by serving as mentors, tutors, health workers, and engineers," said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "They represent a renewed spirit of civic engagement fostered by outstanding leadership on caring campuses."
The Honor Roll is jointly sponsored by the Corporation, 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.
In congratulating the winners, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said, "Americans rely on our higher education system to prepare students for citizenship and the workforce. We look to institutions like these to provide leadership in partnering with local schools to shape the civic, democratic and economic future of our country."
"There is no question that the universities and colleges who have made an effort to participate and win the Honor Roll award are themselves being rewarded," said American Council on Education President David Ward. "Earning this distinction is not easy. But now each of these schools will be able to wear this award like a badge of honor."
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 tohttp://www.nationalservice.gov/.
