UA Makes the Grade, Named to National Honor Roll for Service

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, the highest federal recognition a university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

“The Presidential Honor Roll formally recognizes UA’s commitment to teaching students to recognize needs within their communities, inspiring students to speak up, and equipping students with the skills to effect change within their communities,” said Stephen Black, director of the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility.

The Honor Roll includes six colleges and universities that are recognized as Presidential Awardees, with an additional 115 named to the Distinction List and 621 schools named as Honor Roll members. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including the scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of students participating in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic, service-learning courses.

In the 2008-2009 academic year, approximately 17,270 UA students completed more than 685,800 hours of community service with more than 120 community partners.  Additionally, 120 UA faculty members offered service-learning courses and an estimated 8,030 students participated in those courses.

Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, congratulated the University and its students for dedication to service and commitment to improving the community. “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,” he said.

The CNCS is a federal agency that oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education. The CNCS engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs; for more information, go to www.nationalservice.gov.

For more information about the UA honor, contact the Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility at 205/348-6490, cesr@ua.edu, or the Community Service Center at 205/348-2865, volunteer@ua.edu.