Shenandoah University has been named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, which honors the nation’s leading higher education institutions and their students, faculty and staff for their commitment to bettering their communities through service.
This year, the university was honored in the Interfaith Community Service category. It is the first time this category has been part of the Honor Roll distinctions.
According to the Honor Roll’s fact sheet, Interfaith Community Service recognizes institutions that are addressing community issues (such as education or health) with a focus on interfaith cooperation. Effective interfaith programs facilitate positive meaningful relationships between people from different religious and non-religious backgrounds and increase appreciative knowledge of other traditions.
Launched in 2006, the Honor Roll annually highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community problems and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement by recognizing institutions that achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes in the communities they serve.
In addition to four Presidential Award winners, a total of 766 higher education institutions were named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has administered the award since 2006 in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education, Campus Compact, and the Interfaith Youth Core.
College students make a significant contribution to their communities through volunteering and service, according to the most recent “Volunteering and Civic Life in America” report. In 2012, 3.1 million college students dedicated more than 118 million hours of service across the country — a contribution valued at $2.5 billion. Learn more about the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll here.