Newman University is again being honored for its service to others by being named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2015. This marks the sixth time Newman has been included in the prestigious honor roll.
Newman was included on the past four lists, as well as in 2010 and 2008. Only one other school in Kansas has received this honor six times.
According to The Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS), which administers the program, “The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognizes institutions of higher education that support exemplary community service programs and raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships.” The CNCS has administered the award since 2006 in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education. the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the American Council on Education, Campus Compact, and the Interfaith Youth Core.
The collective number of service hours Newman students performed in 2015 was 260,410. This figure reflects the university’s commitment to service, which is one of the Newman four Core Values. Newman Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Rosemary Niedens said having students this heavily involved in giving back to the community is “so integrated into the students’ life that it will hopefully become a habit for the rest of their life.”
Considering that the average American works 2,080 hours a year, the Newman students’ 260,410 hours of service is equivalent to over 125 years. As a dollar value, this equates to around $4 million. Nationwide, 3.1 million college students complete approximately 118 million hours of service each year – a $2.5 billion value – as recorded by CNCS.
The honor roll is made up of four categories: general, interfaith, economic and education. The Newman University student body falls within the General Community Service category, which covers a wide variety of community service activities that Newman student clubs, organizations and individuals participate in. According to the President’s Honor Roll fact sheet, “The General Community Service category recognizes institutions that have made a commitment to improving the quality of life of off-campus community residents, particularly low-income individuals,” and includes students who are “engaged in service that addresses education, health, economic opportunity, the environment, disaster preparedness or other human needs including support for veterans and military families.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following corrections:
Correction: Oct. 18, 2016
Previous versions of this story included inaccurate or incomplete information.
