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For the fifth consecutive year, Niagara University has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service to the community. The honor roll, established in 2006 by the Corporation for National and Community Service, is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.
In addition, Niagara is one of only three institutions of higher learning in New York state -with New York University and Syracuse University - to have received the "Honor Roll With Distinction" designation four times since its inception.
"Niagara University has achieved an excellent record of community engagement, which this distinguished form of annual recognition certainly affirms," said the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., president of Niagara University. "As an institution, we remain committed to carrying on the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul, who taught us to serve those most in need, which we strive to do daily - both on campus and especially within our local community."
Through Learn & Serve Niagara, one of Niagara University's core programs, students contribute more than 50,000 hours of service annually as tutors in local school districts and as interns and volunteers in more than 40 social service agencies and organizations in Western New York and Southern Ontario. The university also operates ReNU Niagara, a community outreach partnership center that coordinates programs in Niagara Falls. Niagara's four colleges also administer centers that provide research, training and professional and educational services for business and industry, school districts and families.
In addition, a recent survey of Niagara faculty and staff found that university employees are engaged in volunteer activities at more than 300 non-profit organizations throughout the region and more than 25 percent of NU instructors are conducting community-based research.
"As members of the Class of 2011 cross the stage to pick up their diplomas, more and more will be going into the world with a commitment to public service and the knowledge that they can make a difference in their communities and their own lives through service to others, thanks to the leadership of these institutions," said Patrick A. Corvington, CEO of CNCS. "Congratulations to these schools and their students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities. We salute all the honor roll awardees for embracing their civic mission and providing opportunities for their students to tackle tough national challenges through service."
The Corporation for National and Community Service oversees the honor roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees are 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.
A total of 641 colleges and universities made the 2010 President's Honor Roll. Since its founding, the honor roll has helped to increase the public's awareness of the contributions that colleges and their students make to local communities and the nation as a whole.
To view the full 2010 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, visit www.NationalService.gov/HonorRoll.
For more information on Niagara University's commitment to community service, visitwww.niagara.edu/serving-the-community.