Indiana University East has been named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

This designation is the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. The Honor Roll list is available online.

IU East’s programs with the Boys and Girls Club of Wayne County, Girls Inc. of Wayne County, and Conversations with Seniors as part of the “One Book, Many Voices” project and in collaboration with the Area 9 Agency were recognized through the award. There were 775 IU East students who engaged in academic service-learning or community service programs in 2012.

Frances Yates, director of the IU East Campus Library, and faculty liaison to Indiana Campus Compact, said, “Service-learning is transformative for our students and has a positive impact in our community. There is a steady increase in student engagement across academic disciplines due to faculty and staff commitment to providing experiential learning.”

The Center for Service-Learning is housed in the Campus Library.

“I love having the opportunity to work with each child because you can tell they each love getting that extra help,” said Megan Olson, an Elementary Education major also minoring in Special Education. Olson, of Greenfield, Ind., volunteers as a Homework Hero at Northeastern Elementary School.

Kesla Klingler, of Hollansburg, Ohio, is a psychology major who plans to attend graduate school to become a counselor. Klingler said she is energized by the excitement for learning by the girls she works with at Girls’ Inc.

“Service learning has opened so many doors for me! Through service learning I am able to be impacted daily by young girls who ignite my passion to make a difference,” Klingler said.

Highlights of some of the community service partnerships IU East students are involved in:

Academic enrichment was provided at the Boys & Girls Club of Wayne County through homework help, tutoring, and literacy strategies that resulted in 60 percent of youth participants maintaining or increasing their reading level during the summer break.

The “Strong, Smart, and Bold ™” theme of Girls, Inc. of Wayne County was supported by after-school literacy activities created and facilitated by an IU East student leader to mentor girls ages 6-18. Sixty girls and their families were impacted by the knowledge gained through enriching out-of-school experiences.

Sixty students in First-Year Seminars and 10 faculty participated in a new “One Book, Many Voices” campus-community program. They visited Senior and Adult Day Care centers, listening to stories and developing interpersonal connections that will continue into other projects.

About the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll honors the nation’s leading higher education institutions and their students, faculty and staff for their commitment to bettering their communities through service. These are institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.