Wesleyan Named to Presidential Honor Roll for Distinguished Community Service
Macon, GA – Wesleyan College has been named to the 2010 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. Wesleyan is one of 114 schools nationally, and one of only five in Georgia, to receive the Honor Roll with Distinction Award. 2010 marks Wesleyan’s third year on this prestigious Distinction Award list, an honor no other college or university in the state can claim.
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 600 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. The Honor Roll includes six colleges and universities that are recognized as Presidential Awardees, with an additional 114 named to the Distinction list. 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.
This year’s 2010 Honor Roll is the fifth annual list for the national community service recognition program. Other Georgia colleges who received the 2010 Honor Roll with Distinction Award include Columbus State University (Columbus), Emory University (Atlanta), Georgia College and State University (Milledgeville), and Georgia Perimeter College (Decatur). Wesleyan College also was named to the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 Honor Rolls.
“Congratulations to Wesleyan College and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, CEO 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.”
On campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using the skills gained in their classrooms. College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector; in 2010, 3.2 million students performed more than 307 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study released by the CNCS.
Wesleyan students are connected with the community through the Lane Center for Community Engagement and Service. Officially dedicated during 2006, the Lane Center initiates community leadership development and coordinates projects, such as the nationally recognized Aunt Maggie’s Kitchen Table program, Lane Center Tutors & Servant Leaders, and WOW! Days for Macon. Service learning is a cornerstone of Wesleyan’s curriculum and is integrated fully into the classroom experience. Although not a requirement, more than two-thirds of the students are actively engaged in community service activities.
The CNCS 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. The CNCS is a federal agency that engages more five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve.
May 2011
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