UA Gets High Marks — Listed on President’s Honor Roll for Distinguished Community Service

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama was named by the Corporation for National and Community Service to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth.

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.

“The President’s Honor Roll recognition calls attention to UA’s commitment to connecting the campus with communities across our state through diverse, morally responsible partnerships,” said Stephen Black, director of the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility. “It is my hope that here at UA we can continue to aspire to the highest levels of civic engagement through thoughtful, ethically driven academic pursuits and effective service to society at large.”

Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors. Such factors include the scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service and the extent in which the school offers academic service learning courses.

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, 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.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that 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, contact Stephen Black in CE&SR at 205/348-6496, stephen.black@ua.edu, or Valerie Phillips in the UA Community Service Center at 205/348-5722, vphillips@sa.ua.edu.