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��Ӱֱ�� State has been named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, one of the highest honors a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. The distinction was announced March 4 at the American Council on Education’s 95th Annual Meeting Leading Change in Washington, DC.

“Congratulations to ��Ӱֱ�� State, its faculty and students, for its commitment to service, both in and out of the classroom,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service (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.”

The CNCS has administered the honor to exemplary colleges and universities since 2006 and manages the program in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education and Campus Compact. 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.

Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, 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.

“We believe in preparing our graduates to be active leaders and participants in an ever changing world,” said ��Ӱֱ�� State’s Jonathan Hilsher, director of civic engagement. “We’re honored to receive this prestigious award – and owe much of it to the students themselves. They’re the energy driving our commitment and they’re the ones who make it all happen.”

��Ӱֱ�� State’s commitment to civic engagement is deeply embedded in the college’s unique approach to education through project-based learning experiences. By coupling real-world learning situations with a focus on meaningful civic engagement opportunities, ��Ӱֱ�� State students are able to make significant contributions to communities around the world and are frequently among the first to lend their skills and knowledge to those in need, including communities devastated by Super Storm Sandy and Haitian communities recovering from the 2010 earthquake. Last year, more than 2,000 ��Ӱֱ�� State students contributed over 46,000 hours of service, civic leadership, and workforce-ready knowledge to communities in need.