Wright State recognized again by White House for commitment to community service

For the fifth year in a row, Wright State University has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the university’s support of volunteering, student community service, service learning and civic engagement in 2014.

Wright State is cited by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) for the university’s strong institutional commitment to service and campus-community partnerships that produce measurable results for the region.

“The Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities,” said Wright State President David R. Hopkins. “This award is a tribute to our faculty, students and staff across the campus.”

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.

“Preparing students to participate in our democracy and providing them with opportunities to take on local and global issues in their course work are as central to the mission of education as boosting college completion and closing the achievement gap,” said Eduardo Ochoa, U.S. Department of Education assistant secretary for postsecondary education. “The Honor Roll schools should be proud of their work to elevate the role of service-learning on their campuses.”

A total of 8,217 Wright State students were involved in community service and academic service-learning during the 2012–13 school year, resulting in 604,979 service hours.

“The problems and issues our communities face are our problems and issues,” said Marjorie McLellan, interim director of service-learning and civic engagement at Wright State. “As we demonstrated in our application, service-learning is a high impact learning practice that aligns well with learning outcomes across most disciplines. Some of the most exciting work in service-learning at Wright State University involves applied research or international education.”

Examples of student community service that helped earn the recognition include:

• Students from a variety of service-learning courses participated in Wright State’s Raider Academic Coaches program, providing thousands of hours of tutoring to children in Dayton Public Schools.

• Social work majors and other student volunteers work at Wright State’s Friendship Food Pantry providing emergency food and referral services to students in need, helping them to stay in school and meet their educational goals.

• The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Association (NLASA) supports the professional development of students in the NLASA certificate program.

• Wright STEPP enhances the development of at-risk youth in grades 7–10 underrepresented in the STEM disciplines to improve their preparation for post-secondary education.

• For 35 summers through Horizons in Medicine, Wright State’s Boonshoft School of Medicine has offered local high school students, primarily from disadvantaged/minority backgrounds, the chance to experience the science and delivery of health care that forms the foundation of a career in medicine.

Wright State’s community service is not limited to student activities. Staff members instituted the “We Serve U” program and have incorporated service projects into their staff development days.

The Corporation for National and Community Service oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.

Honorees are chosen based on a series of factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.