The University of Idaho and Washington State University were recognized by President Barack Obama and named by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
CNCS, along with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council of Education, manages the Honor Roll. Honorees are chosen based on details of the service projects, how much service-learning is academically based, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and the results of the community service.
The CNCS Honor Roll was established in 2006, to recognize schools that exhibit model community service and impact their communities.
UI and WSU have been recognized previously by CNCS Honor Roll for their community service.
Bruce Mann, Coordinator for ASUI Volunteerism and Social Action, said the application was a co-effort by ASUI and the Center for Service Learning. UI was not only inducted into the Honor Roll for the sixth time but also into the top 20 percent, he said. Western Washington University in Bellingham, was the only other Pacific Northwest school inducted into the top 20 percent. Lewis-Clark State College was the only other Idaho school to make the Honor Roll.
The application assesses the whole picture, inside and outside the classroom, Mann said. It highlights special events that the university puts on such as SYNC, where new students participate in community service in the Moscow area, as well as Vandal Community Tables, which provides nutritious meals to those in need.
“The award recognizes the university’s commitment to engaged scholarship that provides transformational learning opportunities for students. This is significant national recognition for the good work the University of Idaho does every day locally, nationally and globally,” said Adrian Wurr, assistant director of UI’s Service Learning Center.
The application for WSU was submitted by the Center for Civic Engagement, which looks at all different types of civic engagement.
Erin Mcllraith, marketing and communications coordinator for WSU, said CCE talks about different issues in the media. She also said CCE holds reflection sessions, giving people who volunteered in certain areas a chance to talk about what they did for their community. CCE celebrates awareness weeks like hunger and homeless week, which informs the community about the homeless. CCE encourages students to be involved in their community, Mcllraith said.
Service projects are offered every day. An undergraduate project leader in the office is assigned to the day service projects. CCE then takes the volunteers to places such as humane societies, senior care facilities, after-school programs, and outdoor sites to help out, Mcllraith said.
Mann said the best thing about being on the Honor Roll is the feeling of being recognized, especially in the top 20 percent.
“It really means a lot to all the people that participate in community service, in and out of the classroom,” he said. “This recognition is not the reason we engage in community service, but it is a nice pat on the back for everyone who is working to benefit the community.”
Darryl Freeman, the graduate assistant community partners coordinator of WSU, said he can speak on behalf of all the student volunteers when he says being recognized by the president validates all the time and effort they put into community service.
Emily Aizawa can be reached at [email protected].