ALBANY, N.Y., November 3, 2006--State University of New York Chancellor John R. Ryan today commended 11 SUNY campuses for their inclusion in President George W. Bush's inaugural Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
The State University of New York Colleges at Buffalo, Cortland, Geneseo, Oneonta, Oswego; the Colleges of Technology at Canton and Delhi; the College of Environmental Science and Forestry; the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn; and the State University of New York at Binghamton and at Stony Brook were among approximately 400 institutions of higher education across the nation to make the list.
Binghamton University was recognized with distinction for general community service and Geneseo was recognized with distinction for hurricane relief service.
"Whether it is SUNY students traveling to Mississippi to put up dry walls and paint remodeled homes, or SUNY campuses and surrounding counties developing fund-raising partnerships with communities that were damaged by last year's hurricanes, efforts made by these eleven campuses and others in the country to lend a hand is highly commendable," said Ryan.
According to the Corporation for National and Community Service Web site, the honor roll responds to President Bush's call to service by building on and supporting the civic engagement mission of the nation's colleges and universities. Campuses were recognized for efforts that helped out communities damaged by Gulf and Atlantic hurricanes in 2005.
This new recognition program was designed to increase public awareness of the contributions that college students are making within their local communities and across the country through volunteer service. The Honor Roll's emphasis this year is on recognizing service activities performed in response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005. The program also identifies and promotes community service model programs and practices in higher education.
David Eisner, Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, said, "Institutions of higher education have a long tradition of service to their communities. When colleges organize effective community service programs, they do so not only to meet the needs of the communities that surround them, but to improve the academic and civic lives of their students, faculty, and staff."
For more information about the honor roll, please visit: http://www.learnandserve.org/about/programs/higher_ed_honorroll.asp
In October, the Corporation for National and Community Service also released the most comprehensive national report ever conducted on college student volunteering in the United States. The report, "College Students Helping America," concludes that college student volunteering increased by approximately 20 percent between 2002 and 2005.
"College Students Helping America" is based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report presents data on student volunteering and volunteers in an easily accessible format and includes a state-by-state ranking of college student volunteering.
The full report can be found at: http://www.learnandserve.org/about/programs/higher_ed_honorroll.asp
The Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, the USA Freedom Corps, and the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development.
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 424,000 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses.
