Corporation for National and Community Service

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Gonzaga University Named to Presidential Honor Roll for Community Service

February 2009

Spokane, Wash. - The Corporation for National and Community Service honored Gonzaga University with a place on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to America's communities.

Sue Weitz, vice president of Student Life at Gonzaga, said she was "very pleased" with the distinction for community service.

"This recognition casts a light on the commitment and dedication that so many of our students practice on a daily basis. As a Jesuit institution, it's not just about service, it's about a faith that does justice brought to life through the actions of our students, faculty and staff," Weitz said. "We are honored that Gonzaga has been chosen as an example of harnessing the enormous potential that exists in all communities. I commend the Center for Community Action and Service Learning for the hard work and foresight in creating so many opportunities for our students to become part of the larger community."

Started in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on factors including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of students' participation in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

Gonzaga's Center for Community Action and Service-Learning (CCASL) has, for more than a decade, worked to engage students, staff and faculty in service to the Spokane community. Through its thriving academic service-learning program, various community-based service projects and outreach programs, and partnerships with nonprofit agencies throughout Spokane, CCASL provides the Gonzaga community with opportunities to live out the University's mission. In the last year alone, CCASL's academic and co-curricular service-learning programs assisted 3,000 students in completing more than 116,000 hours of service.

"In this time of economic distress, we need volunteers more than ever. College students represent an enormous pool of idealism and energy to help tackle some of our toughest challenges," said Stephen Goldsmith, vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the Honor Roll. "We salute Gonzaga University for making community service a campus priority, and thank the millions of college students who are helping to renew America through service to others."

Overall, the Corporation honored six schools with Presidential Awards. In addition, 83 were named as Honor Roll with Distinction members and 546 schools as Honor Roll members. In total, 635 schools were recognized. A full list is available at www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.

The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is presented during the annual conference of the American Council on Education.

"I offer heartfelt congratulations to those institutions named to the 2008 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. College and university students across the country are making a difference in the lives of others every day - as are the institutions that encourage their students to serve others," said American Council on Education President Molly Corbett Broad.

Recent studies underscore the importance of service-learning and volunteering to college students. 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. Expanding campus incentives for service is part of a larger initiative to spur higher levels of volunteering by America's college students. The Corporation is working with a coalition of federal agencies, higher education and student associations, and nonprofit organizations to achieve this goal.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations. For more information, go to www.nationalservice.gov.

The other schools in the region that received the honor are as follows: Cascadia Community College; Clark College; Heritage University; Seattle University; Tacoma Community College; University of Idaho; Walla Walla Community College; Washington State University; and Whitworth University.