Radford University named to national community service honor roll
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) named Radford University to its President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the second consecutive year.
The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognizes institutions of higher education that support community service programs and exemplify effective practices in campus community partnerships.
"It is a pleasure to be recognized among such prestigious academic colleagues for connecting learning on campus with the communities of which we're a part," said Erin Webster-Garrett, director of RU's Scholar-Citizen Initiative. "RU students drive the campus' commitment to service, and we are proud to see them recognized in this way."
The campus' institutional culture of service has touched many lives. Through programs such as the Appalachian Arts and Studies in the Schools (AASIS), Mathematics in the Public Interest, Roots With Wings, America Reads and the Kid's Backpack Program, more than 300 students engaged in academic service learning activities and over 2,000 other RU students performed community service. On behalf of their community partners, these students invested nearly 20,000 hours.
Several programs with a positive impact on the community earned RU the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll designation. For example, 54 students worked after school with Beans and Rice, a local organization, to help 122 students from low and moderate-income families learn and appreciate mathematics in the Mathematics Education in the Public Interest program. Through the School of Teacher Education and Leadership, 200 preschool children, including 140 with the Head Start program, worked with RU students to develop early learning and social skills. AASIS helped 158 high school youth increase their knowledge, resources and confidence about pursuing higher education.
"Service is an engaging and transformative learning opportunity for students that solidifies meaningful connections between their personal, professional and civic lives," Webster-Garrett said. "It is a true hallmark of our community."
Webster-Garrett highlighted the second annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 19, 2015 as another example of the RU commitment to service. Central to the campus celebration of Dr. King's legacy and memory, the RU Day of Service engages the campus community as volunteers in a variety of efforts to help residents of the nearby communities. To pitch in, volunteers can complete a form online to be part of the good works.