Federal Agency Names UA to President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. –The University of Alabama has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for helping the community through service and service-learning partnerships.

UA, named to the list for the fourth consecutive year by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Education, was one of 113 schools to receive the honor with distinction.

“UA students, faculty, and staff have a longstanding tradition of working side by side with community partners to meet  local needs, and it’s exciting to see that commitment formally recognized,” said Stephen Black, director of the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility.

From engineering students developing the next generation of prosthetic limbs and computer science students building websites for nonprofit organizations to business students helping Bangladeshi villagers become entrepreneurs and honors students preparing at-risk high schoolers to succeed in Advanced Placement courses, service-learning experiences move students beyond the classroom as they apply their knowledge to solving real-world problems.

“Congratulations to The University of Alabama, its faculty and students for its commitment to service, both in and out of the classroom,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the corporation. “Through its work, institutions of higher education are helping improve their local communities and create a new generation of leaders by challenging students to go beyond the traditional college experience and solve local challenges.”

In the 2011-2012 academic year, more than 26,000 UA students completed approximately 1,121,341 hours of community service with more than 183 community partners. An estimated 11,000 students participated in 105 service-learning courses led by faculty members from every college on campus.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which has administered the Honor Roll since 2006, listed a total of 690 schools to the Honor Roll for their impact on issues from literacy and neighborhood revitalization to supporting at-risk youth. The program is managed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education and Campus Compact.

For a full list of recipients and information on eligibility, go to www.NationalService.gov/.

More information about The University of Alabama’s community service efforts can be found at volunteer.ua.edu, and information on its service-learning efforts can be found at cesr.ua.edu..

Created in 2005, the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility established university-wide programming supporting the development of projects that nurture social responsibility and reflective, thoughtful citizenship. UA’s strong commitment to civic engagement and its history of community-university partnerships also serve as a foundation for the Center. The center’s staff members develop and assist faculty members in developing service-learning courses that engage community organizations in partnerships designed to both enhance academic goals and apply scholarly learning to salient community issues. The service experiences are integrated into the students’ academic curriculum, providing structured time for students to think, talk and write about what they did and observed. For more information, go to cesr.ua.edu.

The mission of the UA Community Service Center is to educate students for service advocacy and leadership, civic responsibility, and lifelong volunteerism by increasing awareness of community needs, resources, and opportunities for social problem solving. Visit volunteer.ua.edu to learn more.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs. It leads President Barack Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit nationalservice.gov.