FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Eddie Francis

(504) 286-5343 or (504) 236-1009

efrancis@suno.edu

June 4, 2010

SUNO named to 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

NEW ORLEANS, LA. – Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.  The honor was bestowed upon the University by the Corporation for National and Community Service for service to the local communities.  SUNO received word of the honor on May 26, 2010.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice.  On campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using the skills gained in their classrooms. Business students served as consultants to budget-strapped nonprofits and businesses, law students volunteered at legal clinics, and dozens of others organized anti-hunger campaigns.

"Congratulations to Southern University at New Orleans and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face.  They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service.”

The Honor Roll includes six colleges and universities that are recognized as Presidential Awardees, with an additional 115 named to the Distinction List and 621 schools named as Honor Roll members. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including the scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service learning courses.

"SUNO is honored to have received this recognition.  Many of the academic programs that we offer reflect service to the larger community, and this honor encourages us to strive to serve even more.  We are extremely proud of our students, faculty and staff who participated in the process which yielded this great achievement,” said Dr. Victor Ukpolo, SUNO’s Chancellor.

College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector; in 2009, 3.16 million students performed more than 300 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study released by the Corporation.  Each year, the Corporation invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its programs; the education awards that AmeriCorps members receive at the conclusion of their term of service to pay for college; and through support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.

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