Southern Arkansas University has been named to the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction. The national Honor Roll is 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 admitted colleges and universities for their impact on issues from literacy and neighborhood revitalization to supporting at-risk youth. In 2011, 513 total schools were named to the Honor Roll. SAU was among only 110 universities to receive the special recognition of “Honor Roll with Distinction.”
The elite recognition was due to the tremendous effort put forth by SAU students, faculty and staff in 2011 to total 253,052 service hours – an increased total of more than 3,000 service hours committed to the region and local community last year.
SAU is once again the only public university in Arkansas to earn recognition on the Honor Roll and one of the few recognized with distinction. Two private institutions in the state were listed among the 513: Ecclesia College in Springdale and Harding University.
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.
“I am extremely proud of our students for this outstanding accomplishment. To be the only institution in Arkansas to be designated on the 2012 Honor Roll with Distinction confirms how special our students are and how committed they are to community service activities,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Donna Allen.
SAU students, faculty and staff engaged in innovative projects to meet needs and contribute service hours to numerous projects and service organizations.
To list a few of the projects, in 2011, the SAU community:
• Raised $32,000 and faculty, staff and students additionally contributed hundreds of service hours to completely renovate the library for the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Little Rock.
• Organizations in the College of Business conducted their annual diaper drive collecting more than 42,000 diapers and continually maintain a food pantry on campus.
• The Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences works all year to contribute time and food items to the food pantry operated by Asbury Methodist Church.
• The Residence Hall Association, for the 10th year in a row, provided a warm Thanksgiving meal to the underprivileged within their community.
• The campus community came together again to make the holiday season special for hundreds of families in the annual Angel Tree project.
• Individual sororities and fraternities on campus adopt causes each year. The different organizations rallied their troops and contributed thousands of volunteer hours responding to the needs of charitable organizations in the region such as Relay for Life, Compassion’s Foundation, Columbia County Animal Protection Society, beautification and clean-up projects, Special Olympics and local playground building, etc.
“Through service, these institutions are creating the next generation of leaders by challenging students to tackle tough issues and create positive impacts in the community,” said Robert Velasco, Acting CEO of CNCS.
“We applaud the Honor Roll schools, their faculty, staff and students for their commitment to make service a priority in and out of the classroom. Together, service and learning increase civic engagement while fostering social innovation among students, empowering them to solve challenges within their communities.”
CNCS oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.
