Unity College Receives National Recognition for Community Service, Named to President’s Honor Roll

Unity, Maine – March 1, 2010 –  Unity College 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, 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 Unity College 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. 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.

     “Unity College is proud to be recognized for the environmental, problem-based, and other service work being carried out by our faculty and students on a consistent basis”, notes Jennifer Olin, Community-Based Learning Coordinator.  “Service learning and civic engagement are part of the culture at Unity, and prized for the  authenticity that such experiences contribute to students’  learning and development. “  

     Olin said that Unity College is fortunate to be able to work with a variety of non-profit, governmental and non-governmental organizations whose work is akin to /complementary to/in line with both the mission and vision of the College.  As such, students are challenged to work with pockets of the local and regional community to address a wide range of environmental and social needs.  Through research, programming, education, outreach, direct service and civic leadership, Unity students work with communities to better understand and address a multitude of issues, including, but not limited to climate change, food and energy security, youth aspiration building,  natural resource management and conservation, habitat protection and consumerism.   These experiences/academic partnerships in turn provide the foundation for pre-professional service and career development that so many Unity students seek.

     In 2009, Unity College students, faculty and staff provided 18,000 hours of academically-linked service to community (e.g. service learning) and 14,000 hours of service through extra and non-curricular activity.

     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. 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.

     The Corporation 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.

     The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more 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.

     Unity College is a small private college in rural Maine that provides dedicated, engaged students with a liberal arts education which emphasizes the environment and natural resources.  Unity College graduates are prepared to be environmental stewards, effective leaders, and responsible citizens through active learning experiences within a supportive community.