Penn State Schuylkill was named to the 2013 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, one of only 690 institutions of higher education to receive this honor This designation is the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
"Penn State Schuylkill has a long history of service-learning and believes strongly in preparing our graduates to be active leaders and participants in an ever changing world," said Dr. Kelly M. Austin, Chancellor of Penn State Schuylkill. "We are honored to receive this prestigious award - and owe much of it to the students themselves. They are the energy driving our commitment and they are the ones who make it all happen."
During the review period, Penn State Schuylkill students have cataloged three to four trail clean-ups on the Schuylkill River Trail, at the Landingville trail head. Students, faculty, and staff rake, cut back brush, and pick up litter along the trail. The clean-ups were so successful, and the students so energized about their efforts, that the campus adopted this part of the trail and maintain it regularly each and every year for the enjoyment of the community. Another activity that the campus students were heavily involved with was "THON", the largest student run philanthropy in the world. THON raises funds, through the Four Diamond Foundation, for children who are being treated for pediatric cancer at The Hershey Medical Center. During the review period, Penn State Schuylkill students raised over $30,000 for this most worthy endeavor.
"Congratulations to Penn State Schuylkill, its faculty, and students for its commitment to service, both in and out of the classroom," said Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS. "Through its work, institutions of higher education are helping improve their local communities and create a new generation of leaders by challenging students to go beyond the traditional college experience and solve local challenges."
Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, CNCS has administered the award since 2006 and manages the program in collaboration with the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education and Campus Compact.
More information about Penn State Schuylkill can be found at www.sl.psu.edu . More information on eligibility and the full list of Honor Roll awardees, can be found at www.nationalservice.gov
The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll honors the nation's leading higher education institutions and their students, faculty and staff for their commitment to bettering their communities through service. These are institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities.
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund and other programs, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve.
