The
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the U.S. Department
of Education has honored the nation’s leading colleges and universities,
students, faculty members, and staff for their commitment to bettering their
communities through community service and service learning.
Southwestern
College was admitted to the President’s Higher Education Community Service
Honor Roll for its emphasis on service learning through its three service
learning organizations; Leadership Southwestern, discipleship, and Green Team
Southwestern.
“Through
service, these institutions are creating the next generation of leaders by
challenging students to tackle tough issues and create positive impacts in the
community,” said Robert Velasco, Acting CEO of CNCS. “We applaud the Honor Roll
schools, their faculty, and students for their commitment to make service a
priority in and out of the classroom. Together, service and learning increase
civic engagement while fostering social innovation among students, empowering
them to solve challenges within their communities.”
“Preparing
students to participate in our democracy and providing them with opportunities
to take on local and global issues in their course work are as central to the
mission of education as boosting college completion and closing the achievement
gap,” said Eduardo Ochoa, the U.S. Department of Education’s assistant
secretary for postsecondary education. “The Honor Roll schools should be
proud of their work to elevate the role of service-learning on their
campuses. Galvanizing their students to become involved in projects
that address pressing concerns and enrich their academic experience has a
lasting impact – both in the communities in which they work and on their own
sense of purpose as citizens of the world. I hope we’ll see more and more
colleges and universities following their lead.”
CNCS
oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education
and Housing and Urban Development, Campus
Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a
series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service
projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum,
the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and
measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.
Several Green Team students hosted a booth at this spring's Cowley County Health and Safety Fair on April 21. The purpose of the booth was to attempt to raise awareness of the City of Winfield's curbside recycling program. "As a small city, we are blessed to have curbside recycling and free composting facilities provided by the City of Winfield. Our hope is that more people will utilize these services and reduce the amount of waste entering our landfill," says Jason Speegle, Green Team Director.