MAGNOLIA – Southern Arkansas University 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.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. SAU is the only public university in Arkansas to earn recognition on the 2009 Honor Roll. Four private institutions in the state were listed: Ecclesia College in Springdale, Harding University in Searcy, Lyon College in Batesville and Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.
“Congratulations to Southern Arkansas University 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.”
Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including the scope and innovation 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. SAU highlighted three service projects in its application for the 2009 Honor Roll award. Those projects included a trip by the SAU Residential College to San Antonio, Texas, to work in the San Antonio Food Bank; the “Little Muleriders” program in which SAU baseball players mentor local students age seven through 11 weekly; and the Angel Tree program sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta and Lamda Alpha Beta to meet the needs of local children and families at Christmas.
“I am so pleased with the work our students and organizations have completed in order to achieve this honor. It makes me really proud to be a part of an organization that is embracing community service in this manner,” said Dr. Donna Allen, vice president for student affairs at SAU. “Dana Scherm, the graduate assistant in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, was very instrumental in this project, and I want to extend my congratulations and appreciation to her for her hard work as well.”
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.
