Minot State receives national community service award
Minot State University 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 volunteerism, service learning and civic engagement. MSU is the only university or college in North Dakota to earn this award in 2009.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, 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.
"We’re more than pleased to receive this Presidential Honor from the Corporation for National and Community Service," said David Fuller, president of Minot State University. "While we’ve felt for some time that we were reaching out to the community in many special ways, being on this Honor Roll validates those achievements and gives us incentive to continue to connect with groups in need as well as assist in solving society-based concerns and issues."
Some examples of Minot State volunteer, service-learning or civic-engagement projects that MSU is proud of include:
- The Adult Health Maintenance Clinic, a hands-on service-learning experience for students to assist senior citizens in Henry Towers with vital health concerns.
- Freezin’ for a Reason, the MSU Student Social Work Organization promoted awareness and raised donations to assist the homeless in the region.
- Champions of Character/Dream Catchers Day, an opportunity for youth with disabilities to participate in a baseball game, with MSU student-athletes as teammates.
"Congratulations to Minot State University and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities," said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face."
Universities on the Honor Roll 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.
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 the Corporation.
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.
03/05/10