Delta State University 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.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual honor roll award, recognized more 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 the skills gained in their classrooms.
“Congratulations to Delta State and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service.”
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.
“When pulling together the data for the award application, I was impressed with the amount of service-learning and community service that is infused in both our academic programs and student life activities,” stated Robin Boyles, Director of Institutional Grants. “From our College of Business students providing company analysis and advertising and marketing plans, to our Department of Social Work students serving in nursing homes, daycares and other agencies across the Delta; our Community Development program assessing community food systems and local farmers market activities, to the over 25,000 documented community service hours performed by fraternities, sororities and other student life groups, Delta State demonstrates its commitment to addressing community needs.”
Delta State’s Service Learning Committee defined service learning as, “community service with classroom instruction, focusing on critical, reflective thinking and civic responsibility to engage students.” Service learning programs involve students in activities that address local and/or global needs while developing their academic skills and commitment to their community. Through Delta State’s Delta Center for Culture and Learning, students engage in service activities for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Alternative Spring Break, 9/11 Week of Service, and the Mound Bayou Literacy Festival. In addition, through its Center for Community and Economic Development, Delta State University provides community service through its AmeriCorps programs.
College students made a significant contribution to the volunteer sector; in 2009, 3.16 million students 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.
The Corporation for National and Community Service 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. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.
