February 18, 2009

Doing Right by Doing Good

Tufts is named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

Tufts University’s commitment to active citizenship was recognized recently when it was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction by the Corporation for National & Community Service, a federal agency.

Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a college or university can achieve for its commitment to service and civic engagement. Honorees for the award are chosen based on the scope and innovation of their service projects, the percentage of students participating in service activities, the incentives for service and the extent to which the institution offers academic service learning courses.

Tufts was selected because of efforts such as the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service Scholars Program, in which students develop skills to become active leaders in community work; the Leonard Carmichael Society, which pairs student volunteers and coordinators with programs serving at-risk children and youth; and Jumpstart, which is part of a national program that matches students with low-income preschool children to help them build literacy, language and social skills.

“Tufts has made civic engagement a defining commitment,” says Rob Hollister, dean of Tisch College. “Civic engagement elevates the quality of teaching and learning. We also produce graduates with both hands-on competence in their fields and a personal commitment to being agents of social change.”

Tufts was one of four Massachusetts institutions named to the Honor Roll with Distinction. Overall, the corporation honored six schools with Presidential Awards and named 83 as Honor Roll with Distinction members and 546 schools as Honor Roll members.

The Corporation for National & Community service fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. It 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.

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