For its eighth consecutive year, Syracuse University has been placed on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with a distinction in the General Community Service category.

The Honor Roll, established by the Corporation for National and Community Service, in partnership with the Department of Education and other community service organizations, recognizes colleges and universities “that support exemplary community service programs and raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships,” according to the CNCS website.

This is the highest level of federal recognition an institution of higher learning can receive for its work in the community.

“Service and higher education go hand in hand. Syracuse University is inspiring young leaders to roll up their sleeves and work alongside community members to solve problems,” said Samantha Jo Warfield, a spokeswoman for CNCS, in an email.

Warfield said that by recognizing leading institutions, CNCS is also highlighting the important role that higher education institutions play in helping the community.

SU was placed on this year’s Honor Roll in three of the four categories. In addition to General Community Service, the other categories are Economic Opportunity, which is for commitment to improving economic conditions in the community, and Education, which is for institutions that work in schools to promote literacy and other education issues, according to the Honor Roll’s factsheet.

SU’s wide range of service opportunities and commitment to working with the community have helped it garner these awards, said Pamela Heintz, associate vice president and director of the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public & Community Service.

“SU has a history of doing this kind of work,” Heintz said. “The administration and chancellor have always been committed to focusing on this as an important part of the institution.”

Syeisha Byrd, director of the Office of Engagement Programs in affiliation with Hendricks Chapel, said SU deserves these kinds of honors because of its ability to offer students engagement both locally and abroad.

“I’ve had students work with Kenyan refugees in our Young Scholars program who then went on to study abroad in Kenya because of their experiences with us,” Byrd said. “They came back with a holistic ideology and a greater understanding about the world.”

In regards to education-related service, Heintz mentioned Literacy Corps, the university’s literacy program that is run out of the Shaw Center, and various other tutoring initiatives run by campus organizations.

As for economic development, Heintz said that SU’s work on the Near Westside and work with the South Side Innovation Center has earned it a spot in the Economic Opportunity category.

Students are the driving force behind these programs and the awards they garner, Byrd said.

“Our students want to do great work,” Byrd said. “They come to me just because they want to give back, not for a class or credit.”

A large portion of the SU student body is actively involved in community service. About 11,000 students participated in service projects throughout the 2013–14 school year, with between 35,000 and 40,000 hours dedicated to Literacy Corps alone, Heintz said.

Both Heintz and Byrd said that they encourage students to get involved in service and become a part of SU’s community-oriented tradition of engagement.

“Our goal is to help students understand the place of community service within a democratic society,” Heintz said. “We want to move students from the idea of simply doing projects for the community to working in partnership with the community to solve social issues.”

Published on February 3, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Delaney: dovanwey@syr.edu