University of Dubuque Receives President's Honor Roll Award for Service
Apr 1, 2010 | University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
The University of Dubuque has been named to the 2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.
"I am so proud to see the University recognized with this honor for the third straight year," said Mark Smith, director of service and leadership. "Service to the community is an integral part of the University of Dubuque's Mission . The award recognizes the tremendous effort that our students, faculty, and staff have poured into serving the community through class projects, programs run by athletic teams, student organizations, and individual efforts."
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, chooses honorees for the award 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.
"Congratulations to the University of Dubuque and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities," said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "Our nation's students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service."
College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector; in 2009, 3.16 million students performed more than 300 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study released by the Corporation. Each year, the Corporation invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its programs; the education awards that AmeriCorps members receive at the conclusion of their term of service to pay for college; and through support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.
The Corporation oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve . For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.
