Campus News
Westminster College has been named to the annual President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the second year in a row.
Westminster was one of only eight Missouri college and universities to receive the honor.
Launched in 2006, the President’s Honor Roll recognizes institutions of higher education that support innovative, effective and exemplary community service programs. Honorees are selected on a series of factors, including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers service learning courses.
Westminster is known for its commitment to community service and leadership training. This past academic year campus officials set a college goal of achieving 10,000 hours of community service. This goal was surpassed by over a 1,000 community service hours.
“College students are tackling the toughest problems in America, demonstrating their compassion, commitment and creativity in serving as mentors, tutors, health workers and even engineers,” says Liz Seale, Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service which prepares the Honor Roll though its Learn and Service America Program.
The Honor Roll is jointly sponsored through the Corporation and the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps, Campus Compact and the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
In 2006. 2.8 million college students gave more than 297 million hours of volunteer service, according to the Corporation’s Volunteering In America 2007 study.
The Learn and Service America program is a catalyst for service learning programs nationwide that connect community service with academic curriculum. Through these programs, in class and in extracurricular activities, college students serve others in their communities while strengthening their academic and civic skills. In addition, service learning fosters partnerships between colleges and their communities that strengthen communities and meet immediate community needs.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year the Corporation engages four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs.