Centre News

Centre College has been named to the 2009 President's Higher
Education Community Service Honor Roll for its commitment to
volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

Centre College has been named to the 2009 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.

“Centre has a long and rich history of engaging in community service, both locally and across the nation,” says Patrick Noltemeyer, assistant dean of student life and director of community service and Bonner. “While undergraduates, our students learn the significance of the positive impact service has on themselves and the world around them, and these lessons help guide their behavior and decisions as graduates.”

He adds: “Being recognized by President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is further validation of and encouragement for this good work. Centre students are making a positive difference, one that is clear to others.”

According to recent surveys, between 75 and 80 percent of Centre students engage in community service activities consistently each semester. For a school as academically rigorous as Centre, this is an impressive number and indicative of the passion that Centre students have for making a positive difference.

“Centre’s holistic approach to education is what sets it apart from other institutions of higher education, and this approach makes it clear to students that giving back should be a priority,” Noltemeyer says. “By documenting their good works and sharing their stories with others, Centre students challenge others to do the same, and have the opportunity to be recognized with awards such as this.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. On campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using skills gained in their classrooms. Business students served as consultants to budget-strapped nonprofits and businesses, law students volunteered at legal clinics, and dozens of others organized anti-hunger campaigns.

The Honor Roll includes six colleges and universities that are recognized as Presidential Awardees, with an additional 115 named to the Distinction List and 621 schools named as Honor Roll members. 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. Click here for a full list of Honor Roll recipients.

College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector. In 2009, 3.16 million American students across the country performed more than 300 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study released by the Corporation. Each year, the Corporation invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its programs; the education awards that AmeriCorps members receive at the conclusion of their term of service to pay for college; and through support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.

The Corporation 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.