University of Scranton Named to President’s Honor Roll for Service

Jun 8, 2015

University of Scranton students participate in its annual “Street Sweep.” The University of Scranton was among just 766 higher education institutions named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, recognized in the categories of economic opportunity, education and general service.

The University of Scranton was among just 766 higher education institutions in the nation named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The institutions were recognized for their achievements in four categories: general community service, interfaith community service, economic opportunity, or education. The University was named to the honor roll for three of the four categories: economic opportunity, education and general service.

The University was among only 82 universities in the nation recognized in the President’s Honor Roll for Economic Opportunity Community Service category. This category recognizes institutions with service programs that build economic independence, increase family stability and create more sustainable and resilient communities.

Examples of the University’s Economic Opportunity Community Service programs include the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program that offers assistance to low and middle income residents and the Excess Food For Others Recovery Team (EFFORT) program that delivers excess food from area restaurants and grocery stores to area food pantries and shelters, as well as multiple projects run by academic programs and departments at the University that provide pro-bono assistance to community non-profit organizations. During the 2013-2014 academic year, 75 students participated in projects that included Kania School’s Business Leadership Program students who assisted a non-profit organization that runs a greenhouse in the City of Scranton’s Nay Aug Park with a strategic plan, and students in market research classes that conducted surveys for the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority to help them better serve the public. The Communication Department also assisted non-profit clients through its advertising classes.

The University was among just 194 colleges in the country named to the President’s Honor Roll for the Education Community Service category. This category recognizes institutions that have made a commitment to improving educational outcomes for children and youth in pre-kindergarten through undergraduate education.

Examples of the University’s “Education Community Service” include the University of Success program, a multi-year, pre-college program for high school students designed to develop the skills needed to successfully gain entrance to college, and the Peace Makers program, an afterschool program for children aged 9 to 13 that explores the meaning, history and vision of peacemaking. University’s Play Facilitation for Children with Autism, which provides an opportunity for children with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum and multiple disabilities to come to the University to participate in play groups designed by graduate and undergraduate students, is another example of “Education Community Service.” The facilitated play program is a partnership between The Jefferson School – Lackawanna County Intermediate Unit, Saint Joseph’s Center at Trinity Child Care Center and The University of Scranton’s Occupational Therapy Department.

The University was also among the 663 institutions named to the President’s Honor Roll in the General Community Service category. The General Community Service category recognizes institutions that have made a commitment to improving the quality of life of off-campus community residents, particularly low-income individuals.

The University’s numerous examples of “General Community Service” includes its annual Street Sweep projects and the Edward R. Leahy Center Clinic for the Uninsured, which offers quality “non-emergency” health care at no cost to uninsured Lackawanna County residents. In 2013-2014 academic year, 138 students contributed 2,567 hours of service at the Leahy Clinic, which treated 1,638 patients.

The University's Center for Service and Social Justice coordinates student volunteer activity with over 120 Scranton non-profit agencies and runs 10-15 special programs annually. These include a freshman local service immersion week, two mentoring programs for at-risk youth, and various special community drives and events, such as the Christmas Community Breakfast, which served 690 guests in 2014, the largest since it began six years ago.

In the 2013-2014 academic year, a total of 2,853 University students participated in these and other community service programs, volunteering a total number of 175,000 hours. An estimated 1,500 University students contributed 20 hours or more of service during the 2013-2014 academic year.

The Corporation for National and Community Service oversees the honor roll in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education, Campus Compact, and the Interfaith Youth Core.

 

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