(Posted April 2, 2012)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College has been named to the 2012 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 reflecting the values of exemplary community service that achieves meaningful outcomes in the community."

The award was presented at the American Council on Education Conference in Los Angeles, Calif. in March 2012.

"Students often come to Juniata with several years of participating in service projects and they understandably want to continue those traditions here on our campus," says Thomas R. Kepple, president of Juniata. "I am pleased Juniata students find many different ways to interact with our community."

Overall, the Corporation honored five schools with Presidential Awards. In addition, 110 were named as Honor Roll With Distinction members and 513 schools as Honor Roll members. In total, more than 600 schools were recognized.

A total of 642 institutions applied for the 2010 Honor Roll. Juniata College offers a full range of service learning opportunities, including such courses as Storytelling, 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.

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. 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.