Rutgers University, Newark, Receives National Recognition for Community Service

Rutgers University in Newark has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. On campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using the skills gained in their classrooms. Business students served as consultants to budget-strapped nonprofits and businesses, law students volunteered at legal clinics, and dozens of others organized anti-hunger campaigns.

“Congratulations to Rutgers-Newark and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, chief executive officer of CNCS. “Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service.”

The honor roll includes six colleges and universities that are recognized as Presidential Awardees, with an additional 115 named to the Distinction List and 621 schools named as honor roll members. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including the 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. Click here for a full list of honor roll recipients.

“We are honored to be recognized among such notable institutions,” commented Steven J. Diner, chancellor of Rutgers University in Newark. “Our dedicated faculty, staff and students donate countless hours working with agencies and individuals, forming partnerships, engaging in research and instruction, and forging valuable relationships with community stakeholders of Newark and neighboring municipalities.”

Rutgers-Newark provides tens of thousands of hours of community service through its legal clinics, mentorship programs such as RU Ready for Work, and academic enrichment programs like Future Scholars. More details about Rutgers-Newark’s community engagement initiatives can be found here.  

College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector. In 2009, 3.16 million students performed more than 300 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study released by CNCS. Each year, CNCS invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its programs; education awards given to AmeriCorps members; and support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.

CNCS oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.

About the Corporation for National and Community Service

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

Media Contact: Helen Paxton
973-353-5262
E-mail: paxton@andromeda.rutgers.edu