The Corporation for National and Community Service has honored Tusculum College with a place on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to America’s communities.
“We are pleased to have been recognized for the efforts our staff, faculty and students put into the Civic Arts and community service projects here at Tusculum College,” said Tusculum College President Nancy B. Moody.
Joyce Doughty, director for the Center for Civic Advancement at the College, added that service projects and service learning experiences are part of the core of Tusculum College’s mission that includes the Civic Arts and service to others as part of its overall mission.
Launched 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 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.
Poverty, homelessness and hunger were among many of the issues addressed by the most recent group of students participating in service projects in the East Tennessee region, according to Doughty. Students have worked with the Appalachia Service Project, George Clem Multicultural Association, Greeneville-Greene County Community Ministries, Greene County Habitat for Humanity, the Manna House (a transitional shelter for the homeless), the Melting Pot soup kitchen and the Mission Soup Kitchen at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church.
In addition, numerous projects have been completed by staff, faculty and other volunteer groups associated with Tusculum College.
“Congratulations to the awardees and students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, the Corporation’s CEO.
“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 is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the 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.
College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector; in 2009, 3.16 million students performed more than 300 million hours of service. Each year, the Corporation invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its programs; the education awards that AmeriCorps members receive at the conclusion of their term of service to pay for college; and through support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.
This is the fourth time Tusculum College has been named to the Honor Roll.
The Learn and Serve America program, in particular, is a catalyst for service-learning programs nationwide that connect community service with academic curriculum. Through these programs, in class and in extracurricular activities, college students serve others in their communities while strengthening their academic and civic skills. In addition, service-learning fosters partnerships between colleges and their communities that improve communities and helps meet immediate community needs.
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.
For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.