Indiana University East has been named to the 2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, its third straight year for the honor by The Corporation for National and Community Service for exemplary service efforts and service to communities.

The distinction is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including 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.

In 2004, IU East’s service-learning program established the Baxter Neighborhood Help Center as a cooperative project between IU East and the Richmond community. The center has been a successful learning tool and community outreach program for students.  A grant by Indiana Campus Compact awarded in January 2008 has allowed the program to flourish by establishing the campus office and expanding opportunities for programming to the community.

Ange Cooksey, senior lecturer in English, said achieving the honor roll is a distinction for the campus and students involved in service-learning.

“It is a wonderful honor for us,” Cooksey said. “It not only recognizes our work in class-based service-learning, but also our work in co-curricular service-learning as well.”

The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is presented during the annual conference of the American Council on Education.