SU named to 2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction

Jemeli Tanui
(315) 443-5172

For the third consecutive year, Syracuse University has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll and is one of only nine institutions in New York state to receive the award with distinction.

The honor roll, launched in 2006, recognizes colleges and universities nationwide that support innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs. SU has received this recognition every year since the program’s inception.

“Our persistent prominence on the President’s Honor Roll speaks volumes about the character of Syracuse University,” says Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. “It reflects deep and broad engagement by our students with the challenges facing communities locally and globally, as well as the extent to which our alumni carry a commitment with them after graduation to make a difference in the world.”

“We are extremely proud of our students and our community partners,” says Pamela Kirwin Heinz, director of SU’s Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public & Community Service. “It’s truly a reciprocal relationship: Our community partners help us round out what our students are learning by sharing their wisdom and experience, while at the same time our students help by bringing their skills-particularly in regard to technology-to our community nonprofits.”

During the program’s first year, SU was named to the honor roll with distinction in two categories: general community service and a special category for Hurricane Relief Service.

For the 2007 awards, SU was one of the top three national winners to receive the honor roll’s highest recognition, the President’s Award for Service to Youth From Disadvantaged Communities.

The latest award is for service with distinction performed in 2008 for a variety of service projects in conjunction with the University’s Scholarship in Action vision.

“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 Nicola Goren, acting CEO of the Corp. for National and Community Service, which oversees the honor roll. “We salute these universities for making community service a campus priority and thank the millions of college students who are helping to renew America through service to others.”

“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,” says Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education.

In total, 635 institutions were honored for service in 2008, with six given the Honor Roll’s Presidential Award. For a complete list of colleges and universities named to the third annual honor roll, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.

The honor roll is a program of the Corp. for National and Community Service and is sponsored by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation and the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.

The Corp. for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the corporation engages four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.