The 2013 Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

St. Mary's College of Maryland

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) recently announced the President's 2013 Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll—the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for commitment to community service. And many local colleges and universities were among the 690 recognized for their support of volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. 

“We congratulate the awardees and the students for their dedication to service,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS. “These institutions have inspired students and faculty alike to roll up their sleeves and work alongside members of the community to solve problems and improve their neighbors’ lives.”

On campuses across the country, millions of college students are engaged in innovative projects to meet local needs, often using the skills learned in classrooms.

Out of hundreds of institutions applying for Honor Roll status, only five schools were named Presidential Awardees—Georgia Perimeter College, Gettysburg College, the University of Connecticut, La Sierra University, and Nazareth College.  Fourteen additional colleges and universities were named “Honor Roll Finalists.”

Locally, Emory & Henry College, James Madison University, Towson University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Washington & Lee University were among a select group of institutions earning places on the Honor Roll with Distinction. 

And 28 additional area 4-year colleges were named to the general Honor Roll including American, Georgetown, George Washington, Frostburg, Goucher, Loyola, MICA, McDaniel College, Mount St.Mary’s University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, University of Maryland—College Park, UMBC, Bluefield, Bridgewater, the College of William & Mary, Hollins, Lynchburg, Mary Baldwin College, Marymount, Old Dominion University, Radford University, Randolph Macon College, Shenandoah University, the University of Mary Washington, Richmond, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, and Virginia Union University.

College students make significant contributions to the volunteer sector, and the availability of service learning opportunities is becoming increasingly important to high school students seeking civic engagement as part of their undergraduate experience. 

According the annual CNCS Volunteering in America report, 3.1 million college students dedicated more than 118 million hours of service to communities across the country—a contribution valued at $2.5 billion.  

CNCS oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees were chosen based on a number of factors including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, school commitment to campus-community partnerships, and measurable community outcomes.

For more information or to learn how colleges are integrating volunteerism and service learning into their educational programs, visit the CNCS website.