BC Ranks High on President’s Education Honor Roll

Boston College was recently awarded a place on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive, for its commitment to volunteering, service learning, and civic engagement in 2009.

The honor roll, compiled by the Corporation for National and Community Service, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education, takes such factors as 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 into consideration when determining the honorees.
"Congratulations to Boston College and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities," said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "Our nation's students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service."

BC estimates that over 50 percent of the student body engages in some form of volunteering during the academic year, performing 440,000 total hours of service. Nationally in 2009, 3.16 million college students performed more than 300 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study release by the Corporation.
"It is something about the Jesuit and Catholic identity of the University that students move from their own concern into the lives of others in a role of service," said Daniel Ponsetto, director of volunteer and service learning at BC. "Furthermore, it is the attraction of pro-engagement and service-minded students to BC that creates BC's service culture of volunteering at institutions ranging from assisting children to hospice care. The recognition is well deserved for BC students. It represents their impressive talent and passion for service."

The diverse offering of volunteer programs at BC, including its Appalachia Volunteer Program, PULSE service-learning program, and Eagle Volunteer Corp, as well as the University's overall focus on service learning, contribute to a culture of volunteerism at BC, Ponsetto said.

"Boston College is very pleased to receive the honor because it reflects the great culture of volunteerism that exists at the University," said Kathleen Sullivan, media relations officer for the University. "It is nice to receive recognition for the actions of our students at the national level." 

Boston College was one of nearly 700 colleges and universities to be recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service in its 2009 Honor Roll.