For the fourth consecutive year,Hamline University has been named to 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.

Hamline received this honor in recognition of students’ extraordinary volunteer efforts serving local communities and for the university’s dynamic programs that connect scholarship to service. 

“Being named once again to the Community Service Honor Roll is a wonderful testament to the continued dedication, compassion, and conviction of Hamline students and employees, said Dr. Linda Hanson, president of Hamline University. In these challenging economic times, volunteers are critical in keeping our communities strong and vibrant. I am so proud of our students, faculty, and staff for embracing the charge to keep leadership, scholarship, and service as top priorities in their lives.”

In all, 700 colleges and universities were named to the honor roll for responding to President Obama’s call to increase civic engagement and community service and for connecting scholarship to service. Schools receiving this honor provided exceptional community service over the past year, contributing their time, resources, energy, skills, and intellect to serve their communities.

In particular, Hamline was recognized for its comprehensive programs that connect scholarship to service learning, such as the MBA Field Study Project and the “Bringing It Home, the Central Corridor” course, a community-based learning initiative co-taught by Hamline faculty and community educators and jointly developed by the Social Justice Department, the School of Business, and the Environmental Studies Department.
     
One of Hamline’s key volunteerism programs is a partnership with the Hancock/Hamline University Collaborative Magnet School. This collaboration includes academic support, social mentoring, curriculum enrichment and one-to-one tutoring for both math and reading literacy that has resulted in significant achievement gains for the elementary school students. More than twenty percent of Hamline undergraduate students are involved in the collaboration during their time at Hamline. With the mantra, "College Begins in Kindergarten," this program helps elementary students to visualize themselves as future college students.

Hamline was also recognized for its Office of Service-Learning and Volunteerism and for the McVay Youth Partnership, a program in which Hamline students supervise and mentor middle school children in a safe, fun after-school environment.

The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is co-sponsored by the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The recognition is presented in cooperation with Campus Compact, a national coalition of nearly 1,000 college and university presidents.