W&M named to president's service honor roll with distinction
For the second consecutive year, the College of William and Mary has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction.
Administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education, the honor roll recognizes colleges and universities for their commitment to service-learning, volunteering and civic engagement.
According to a May 12 press release, 851 institutions applied to be included on the honor roll; 641 colleges and universities were accepted. Only 114 of those colleges and universities received the honor of being included with distinction. William & Mary was the only public college in Virginia to be included in the category.
“The honor roll assesses the scope and innovation of service projects,” said Drew Stelljes, director of community engagement in the Office of Community Engagement and Scholarship at William & Mary. “To be counted among the select few that received the designation ‘with distinction’ is evidence of our long-term and deep commitment to working alongside communities near and far.”
Institutions included on the honor roll are selected based on numerous factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation, and the number of academic service-learning courses offered.
Stelljes said that the College’s application for the honor roll this year highlighted “community and curricular engagement across the university.”
“Across every school within William & Mary, students and faculty are engaging long-term with communities,” he said. “Our application highlighted the work of the Law School’s Veterans Benefits Clinic, the School of Education’s New Horizons Family Counseling Center, service-learning classes and OCES activity among others.”
The inclusion on the honor roll is the latest in a growing list of accolades for William & Mary’s commitment to service. The College was recently included on Break Away’s top ten lists of schools with the most alternative break trips, schools with the most participants and schools with the highest percentage of participants. In September 2010, the College was included on Newsweek and Kaplan’s ranking of “Most Service-Minded Schools,” coming in at number nine. Additionally, in August 2010, William & Mary was ranked at number one for service among national universities by Washington Monthly.
