Campus NewsWestminster Named to Presidential Honor Roll For Community ServiceTweetWestminster students performed more than 45,000 community service hours SALT LAKE CITY – As colleges across the country honor their graduates this commencement season, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) recently honored the nation's leading institutions of higher education for their support of volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. This year Westminster College was one of only three Utah institutions recognized on the Honor Roll with “Distinction.” The others were BYU and Utah Valley University. “We are excited to be named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth year, and the third year with distinction,” said Julie Tille, Westminster’s Center for Civic Engagement director. Throughout the 2009-10 academic year, Westminster students performed more than 45,000 hours of service to the community. From helping the homeless to teaching the elderly how to blog, the college’s service projects focused on a variety of social issues. Some of the projects students participated in include high school math camps for English as a Second Language students, taught by Westminster math students; weekly lessons to girls in the juvenile justice system, taught by Westminster psychology students; and the creation of an instruction book for elderly seniors to teach them how to use social media and email, to name a just few. All of the college’s clubs and organizations are required to complete at least one service project every year, and one whole day during First-Year Student Orientation is committed to community service. Additionally, hundreds of Westminster students provide service each semester. These activities are coordinated and supported by the college’s Center for Civic Engagement. “Westminster’s civic engagement efforts stretch from students first day on campus to well past graduation,” added Tille. “We introduce students to the full range of civic engagement opportunities and build on each other, helping students grow into lives fully committed to learning and to engage in the challenges of community life. Westminster is dedicated to the service and service-learning work this honor reflects. It is wonderful to share this honor with our community partners who serve as co-educators for this work.” A total of 851 institutions applied for the 2010 Honor Roll, and the CNCS honored a total of 641 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from literacy and neighborhood revitalization to supporting at-risk youth. The CNCS has administered the Honor Roll since 2006. For a full list of institutions honored in the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, visit http://www.learnandserve.gov/about/programs/higher_ed_honorroll.asp.
Media Contact: Krista DeAngelis, (801) 832-2682 |
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