UT Again Named to President’s Honor Roll for Community Service

For the fifth year in a row The University of Tampa has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for distinguished community service. The award recognizes UT as a leader among institutions of higher education for its support of volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement, and highlights its work engaging students, faculty and staff in meaningful service that achieves measurable results in the community.

UT, through the PEACE (People Exploring Active Community Experiences) Volunteer Center, actively recruits students, staff and faculty to participate in co-curricular service-learning projects, such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters mentoring, the annual Into the Streets Orientation Service Project, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and alternative break programs. More than 2,800 students, faculty and staff participated in these community outreach programs during the 2010-2011 year.

UT is among 642 institutions of higher education that were recognized as honor roll members by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).

In its application, UT focused on the development of the Service-Learning Committee, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, two alternative spring break trips (environmental conservation at Zion National Park, and the migrant worker population in Apopka, FL) and a curricular service-learning project at Glazer Children’s Museum.

Megan Frisque, UT’s director of community engagement, said she was pleased that UT received the designation for the fifth year.

“The honor roll designation conveys UT’s commitment to service-learning and community service.” Frisque said.

Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. Annual 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.

CNCS 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. For a full list of recipients and descriptions of their service, visit www.NationalService.gov/HonorRoll. For more information about the community service efforts at UT, see www.ut.edu/peace.