Scranton Named to President’s Community Service Honor Roll

The University of Scranton was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2012. The national distinction recognizes universities “that achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes in the communities they serve” and for their role played in “solving community problems and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement,” as stated in the March 12 announcement of the institutions being recognized.

Just 513 colleges in the nation and 45 institutions from Pennsylvania were named to the 2012 President’s Community Service Honor Roll.

The University’s commitment to service is vividly expressed through the more than 3,000 students who volunteer a total of more than 170,000 hours each year. Through the University’s Community Outreach Office, students work with more than 120 Scranton-area social service agencies. Also, all student organizations are required to complete service projects. In addition, many students volunteer through service-learning requirements of their academic courses. For instance, all majors offered through the University’s Panuska College of Professional Studies require a minimum of 40 service hours for graduation.

Many of the University’s service outreach initiatives support social service agencies and city renewal activities, including efforts that address poverty and educational achievement. The University’s Leahy Clinic for the Uninsured increases access to quality healthcare in our region by providing services to patents who would otherwise be treated at a hospital emergency room or who would forgo medical attention completely. Students are actively engaged in the reinvigoration of the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity and organized E.F.F.O.R.T. (Excess Food For Others Recovery Team), an initiative in which students collect unused food items from local businesses and then delivery it to area food shelters. The University also offers the University of Success program, which provides free mentoring and tutoring in academics and social and cultural opportunities designed to motivate students to complete high school successfully and to enroll in post-secondary education.

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2012 was announced at the American Council on Education’s annual meeting on March 12.

The Corporation for National and Community Service oversees the honor roll in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.

The University of Scranton was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2012. Each year, approximately 3,030 University of Scranton students provide more than 170,000 hours of volunteer service through local, domestic and international service programs and service learning. Pictured are Scranton students preparing the more than 700 donated gifts through the University’s Christmas gift drive that were distributed by the Honesdale Head Start, United Neighborhood Centers, Friends of the Poor and area group foster homes.