CSB and SJU named to President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are receiving national recognition for their commitment to community service.

Both institutions were named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is recognizing more than 600 colleges and universities for exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.  

CSB received additional recognition by being named to the Honor Roll with Distinction.

Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of students participating in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

The Honor Roll with Distinction was given to applicants that display strong levels of institutional commitment, provide a compelling case for partnerships that produce a measurable impact in the community, and have a Federal Work-Study community service percentage of 15 percent or above.

During the 2009-10 academic year, 982 CSB students contributed an estimated 15,000 hours of service and 583 SJU students contributed an estimated 8,000 hours of service.

In their applications, CSB and SJU highlighted many of their service initiatives:

• CSB Jackson Fellows Program:  Each year, nine students are selected to join a cohort of Jackson Fellows and are given opportunities to serve through community engagement, collective learning, and leadership and professional development. Each fellow serves full-time at a community site for the summer and then continues community service throughout the school year. In 2009-10, nine CSB and SJU students completed more than 3,600 hours of service over the summer.
• Bonner Leaders: each year 10 first-year students are selected to participate in the four-year scholarship program and commit to an average of 8-10 hours of service each week, typically at an off-campus nonprofit agency.
• Alternative Break Experience, offered through CSB Campus Ministry, where dozens of students spend winter and spring break time on mission trips to national and international sites.
• CSB and SJU have up to 25 classes each semester that incorporate service learning requirements into their curriculums.
• VISTO (Volunteers in Service to Others) involves 300 students volunteering at 11 community program sites.
• More than one-third of CSB and SJU students are involved in campus clubs outside the realm of academic commitments. These clubs frequently provide service to various organizations throughout Central Minnesota.  

"Such high levels of engagement in service-learning are consistent with the Benedictine tradition of service at CSB/SJU," said Marah Jacobson-Schulte, service-learning coordinator. "Our students are truly making an impact in our community. CSB/SJU strives to provide students with different environments saturated with opportunities to gain higher levels of self-awareness and greater understanding of their impact on others. Our undergraduate learning goals stress the importance of developing leaders who respect and appreciate human differences, social responsibility and commitment to community. It is an honor to have our institutions recognized for their commitment and contributions to the common good."

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which has administered the Honor Roll since 2006, admitted a total of 641 colleges and universities, for their impact on issues from literacy and neighborhood revitalization to supporting at-risk youth. Of that total, 511 were named to the Honor Roll, 114 received the recognition of Honor Roll with Distinction, 11 were identified as finalists and six received the Presidential Award. The Corporation 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.

A total of 851 institutions applied for the 2010 Honor Roll, a 9 percent increase over last year. Eighteen Minnesota schools were on the list. Augsburg College was one of six institutions in the nation to receive the Presidential Award and Metro State University was the only other Minnesota school in addition to CSB named to the Honor Roll with Distinction.