(Posted June 12, 2015)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College has been named to the 2014 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, which reflects all service done by colleges in the previous year, by the Corporation for National and Community Service.


��Juniata received the award in recognition for "exemplary community service programs (that) raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships" and "achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes."

"One of our goals is to encourage active citizenship after graduation; students learn how to build community partnerships by participating in service activities while they are at Juniata, and they will take that knowledge with them after they graduate."

Jessica Maxon, director of community service and service learning

"Juniata has been honored to receive this award for the last nine years. Our students perform meaningful service for over 100 partners locally and globally, an phenomenal number," says Jessica Maxon, director of community service and service learning. "One of our goals is to encourage active citizenship after graduation; students learn how to build community partnerships by participating in service activities while they are at Juniata, and they will take that knowledge with them after they graduate."

��Overall, the Corporation honored four schools with Presidential Awards. In addition, 120 were named as Honor Roll With Distinction members and more than 500 schools as Honor Roll members. In total, more than 600 schools were recognized.��


Juniata College offers a full range of service learning opportunities, including such courses as Urban Immersion, an alternate Spring Break trip and Social Science Research Methods.


Students also can work as part-time AmeriCorps volunteers or become Bonner Leaders. Bonner Leaders take on a service commitment to provide 900 hours of community service over a two-year period.

The college also hosts special events such as the Special Olympics, Make a Difference Day, an annual Youth Carnival and Relay for Life.â?¨


Established 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.According to Corporation for national and Community Service, about 3.1 million students are engaged in community service, providing about 118 million hours of service that represents roughly $2.5 billion in value for student community service.

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.��


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.��


Recent studies have underlined the importance of service learning and volunteering to college students. In 2010, 3.1 million college students gave more than 312 million hours of volunteer service. Expanding campus incentives for service is part of a larger initiative to spur higher levels of volunteering by America's college students.


��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.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.