College Earns Presidential Honor Roll Recognition for Community Service

The Corporation for National and Community Service honored Westminster College with a place on the 2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for exemplary service efforts and service to America's communities.

Westminster has earned Honor Roll recognition every year since the program was launched in 2006.

"A central theme of our curriculum is to foster strong personal and social values as an important outcome for our future graduates," said Westminster President Dr. Richard H. Dorman. "Westminster College is proud to have been recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service a fourth time for its commitment to service-learning. It affirms that we are succeeding in this mission."

The Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including 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.

"The Drinko Center is overjoyed with the recognition that comes with the Presidential Honor Roll," said Jeffrey Ledebur, Americorps*VISTA with Westminster's Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. "To receive 'with distinction' further demonstrates the level of care and responsibility the campus has for its community. All the credit goes to Westminster's faculty, staff, and, most importantly, students who manage to find time between studies and campus activities to actively involve themselves in our surrounding communities. The Drinko Center is proud of this achievement and recognizes the Westminster community for their efforts to help and serve others."

Nearly 65% of Westminster students volunteered last year, over twice the national average (26.4% of the U.S. population) and more than 50% higher than the national average for college students (42.5%).

Westminster students logged over 26,000 hours of community service in 2009, with campus events like the recent poverty simulation showing a higher student turnout rate, according to Ledebur.

Assisting Ledebur in tracking volunteer hours was senior Christian education major Max Muska. Muska is a son of George and Linda Muska of New Brighton and a graduate of New Brighton Area High School.

A sampling of local organizations that benefit from Westminster student volunteers include: Lawrence County Community Action Partnership, Head Start, local school districts, Walker Neighborhood House, Adult Literacy Center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, City Rescue Mission, Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County, East Side Bread Basket Food Pantry, Special Olympics, Royal Family Kids Camp, Habitat for Humanity, Southwest Gardens, and the American Cancer Society.

"Congratulations to the awardees and students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities," said Patrick Corvington, the Corporation's CEO. "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."

The Corporation's Learn and Serve America program is a catalyst for service-learning programs nationwide that connect community service with academic curriculum. Through these programs, in class, and in extracurricular activities, college students serve others in their communities while strengthening their academic and service skills. In addition, service-learning fosters partnerships between colleges and their communities that improve communities and help meet immediate community needs.

The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is presented during the annual conference of the American Council on Education.

Visit www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll for more information about the Honor Roll.

Contact Ledebur at (724) 946-6194 (e-mail ledebujt@westminster.edu) or visit www.westminster.edu/drinko for additional information.