Whitman again named to national Community Service Honor Roll

Thanks in large part to efforts coordinated by Lina Menard, assistant director of the Student Engagement Center, for the fifth year Whitman has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

The Corporation for National and Community Service uses the honor roll to recognize colleges and universities “for exemplary, innovative, and effective community service programs. The Corporation oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including 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.”

According to its Web site, “The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, annually recognizes institutions of higher education for their commitment to and achievement in community service. The President’s Honor Roll increases the public’s awareness of the contributions that colleges and their students make to local communities and the nation as a whole. President Obama has pledged to make service a central cause of his administration and wishes to commemorate the significant role that higher institutions, their students, staff, and faculty play in helping to solve pressing social problems in the nation’s communities.”

“It is gratifying to receive this recognition, yet the true reward is how students’ community service efforts enhance their Whitman experience and benefit the community,” said Chuck Cleveland, dean of students.

“We could not be more proud of the level of involvement and participation shown by our students,” Cleveland added. “Some literally roll up their sleeves to help with a Habitat for Humanity project or clean out creek beds. Some combine their academic pursuits to take on such endeavors as developing a public health data base, and others volunteer in local schools. For some, it’s actually a life-changing experience. Through community service, students and the college as a whole are more connected to the Walla Walla community.”