Penn receives Presidential Award for General Community Service

In 2006, 2.8 million college students gave almost 300 million hours of volunteer service worth more than $5.6 billion.

Last week, Penn was among six colleges and universities nationwide to receive presidential recognition for its contributions.

The University was one of three recipients of the 2007 Presidential Award for General Community Service in the second annual President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, along with Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In particular, the award commended the University for such programs as the Netter Center for Community Partnerships' support for community schools, Penn in Botswana, the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project and Penn's Alternative Spring Breaks.

"We look to institutions like these to provide leadership in partnering with local schools to shape the civic, democratic and economic future of our country," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings at the conference.

The awards were announced at the annual conference of the American Council on Education in San Diego and were presented by the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency that supports various community service initiatives through programs like AmeriCorps.

On hand to accept the award on behalf of the University were Ira Harkavy, director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, David Grossman, director of Civic House, and College junior and Netter Center member Blanchard Diavua.

"There is engagement of students in all kinds of community service," said Harkavy. "The work is embedded across the University's history, is a significant component of graduate and undergraduate work and is deeply tied to teaching."

In total, 528 schools were recognized for community service in the 2006-2007 academic year. Selection is based on an application and takes into account the scope, innovation and effectiveness of service projects, the percentage of student participation and the availability of service-based courses, according to Siobhan Dugan, public affairs associate for the corporation.

Grossman attributed the award to the "breadth, depth and duration of community partnerships at Penn, and cited the Civic Center, the Netter Center and the Fox Leadership Program as easy ways for students to become involved.

"What the administration needs to do is encourage more service-oriented classes and start incorporating them into the general Penn curriculum," Diavua said. "That way, not only is Penn enriching the academic experience of students but is also helping them become more civic-minded."

She also encouraged students to "remain flexible" when fitting community service activities into their busy schedules so Penn can maintain its high standing of volunteer service among universities.

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