E&H Receives National Recognition for Community Service
College Named Finalist for President's Award
For the second consecutive year, Emory & Henry College has been recognized as a leader among institutions of higher education for their support of volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.
The Corporation for National and Community Service announced Thursday that Emory & Henry was named a finalist for the 2010 President’s Award, the highest federal recognition for commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Last year, Emory & Henry was one of six colleges or universities nationwide to win the award. It is one of only two institutions to be honored as either a finalist or a winner in two consecutive years since the award was begun in 2006.
E&H President Rosalind Reichard said the College’s ongoing national recognition for service reflects the institution’s historic commitment to serving people and communities in its region, a commitment that has strengthened over the years. “A commitment to this region and its people runs deep in our souls,” Reichard said. “You see it in communities from Fries to Meadowview and from Glade Spring to McDowell County in West Virginia.”
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the award, considered applications from 851 institutions. Of those, 641 were named to the annual President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Of that number, 114 received the recognition of Honor Roll with Distinction, 11 were identified as finalists, and six received the Presidential Award.
Other institutions honored this year include the following winners of the President’s Award: Augsburg College in Minnesota; California State University in Monterey Bay; Loyola University of Chicago; Rollins College in Florida; San Francisco State University, and St. Mary's University in Texas.
Institutions, in addition to Emory & Henry, that were named finalists include the following: California State University in Fresno; Jackson State University in Mississippi; Kalamazoo College in Michigan; Otterbein University in Ohio; Rhodes College in Tennessee; Saint Mary's College of California; the University of Nebraska at Omaha; the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, the University of Northern Iowa; and Willamette University in Oregon.
“Congratulations to Emory & Henry and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick A. Covington, chief executive officer of the CNCS. “We salute all the Honor Roll awardees for embracing their civic mission and providing opportunities for their students to tackle tough national challenges through service.”
Dr. Tal Stanley, the director of the Appalachian Center for Community Service at Emory & Henry, said that Emory & Henry focuses on service as an educational mission “because it helps to transform students in dramatic and positive ways and ultimately leads to the type of informed and active citizenry that strengthens our nation and our democracy.”
Stanley added: “In addition to the profound educational benefit that derives from Emory & Henry’s commitment to service, this award recognizes that this institution understands itself as a public citizen, as having a responsibility to serve the people and places of this region. Institutionally, Emory & Henry makes clear what it tries to convey to its students, that learning and service to a place and its people are both a way of life, involving particular choices of values and commitments.”
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a strong partner with the nation’s colleges and universities in supporting community service and service-learning. Last year, CNCS provided more than $215 million in support to institutions of higher education, including grants to operate service programs and the Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards for college tuition and student loan repayment. CNCS is a catalyst for service-learning programs nationwide that connect community service with academic curricula. Through these programs, in classes, and in extracurricular activities, college students serve their communities while strengthening their academic and civic skills.
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. For a full list of recipients and descriptions of their service, visit www.NationalService.gov/HonorRoll.
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Barack Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve.
