Date: Feb 09, 2009

Hofstra University Named to Presidential Honor Roll for Community Service

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY - The Corporation for National and Community Service honored Hofstra University today with a place on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to America’s communities.  

“At Hofstra we pride ourselves on our community service iniatives,” said Vice President of Student Affairs Sandra Johnson. “Community service has always been a priority at Hofstra and with the start of our spring semester students have the opportunity to choose from a wide array of volunteer possibilities including our Alternative Spring Break program and Hofstra Service Week in March.”

For this year’s Alternative Spring Break, Hofstra students will travel to New Orleans to install energy efficient light-bulbs, restore a home, visit local schools and serve in a local soup kitchen. During Hofstra Service Week students volunteer in Hempstead and other local communities. Students not only participate in the programs but also do what they can to sponsor a volunteer initiative.  Student programs have also included the California Fire Relief Program that collected donations throughout the campus for the Fire Relief Program, and an Inter-University Food Drive to benefit the Interfaith Nutrition Network.

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.

As an institution, Hofstra University acts as a responsible member of the regional, national and global communities to which it belongs. The University’s mission statement speaks directly to the role we play within these communities: Through academic, operational and community-based initiatives, Hofstra makes a difference at the local, national and international levels. Our academic centers, institutes, and programs focus research attention on issues that affect the broader community and provide a forum for the community to address those issues. Operational initiatives, such as our sustainable ecological practices, ensure that we remain good stewards of our environment. And through a broad array of community service and other programs designed to benefit the community we reach out to those beyond the boundaries of our campus.

“In this time of economic distress, we need volunteers more than ever. College students represent anenormous pool of idealism and energy to help tackle some of our toughest challenges,” said Stephen Goldsmith, vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the Honor Roll. “We salute Hofstra University for making community service a campus priority, and thank the millions of college students who are helping to renew America through service to others.”

The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation, 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. 

“I offer heartfelt congratulations to those institutions named to the 2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. College and university students across the country are making a difference in the lives of others every day – as are the institutions that encourage their students to serve others,” said American Council on Education President Molly Corbett Broad.

Recent studies have underlined the importance of service-learning and volunteering to college students. In 2006, 2.8 million college students gave more than 297 million hours of volunteer service, according to the Corporation’s Volunteering in America 2007 study. Expanding campus incentives for service is part of a larger initiative to spur higher levels of volunteering by America’s college students. The Corporation is working with a coalition of federal agencies, higher education and student associations, and nonprofit organizations to achieve this goal.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations. For more information, go to www.nationalservice.gov.

For more information on the Presidential Honor Roll please visit www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll .For more information on Hofsta's student community service programs please visit http://www.hofstra.edu/StudentAffairs/StudentActivities/Service/index.html

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from more than 145 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services;  and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.