JOHNSTOWN — Pitt-Johnstown has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service learning and civic engagement.
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.
The corporation oversees the honor roll in collaboration with the federal Department of Education and Department of 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, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.
“This honor further validates our successful efforts at engaging and transforming our communities, educating the citizen servant-leaders of tomorrow and fulfilling our mission as a public-serving institution,” said Jem Spectar, university president.
“It is one more indicator that we are a leader at the forefront of baccalaureate colleges in preparing students for the real world. We are Mountain Cat Proud of our students’ deep commitment to citizenship and serving the needs of others.”
Pitt-Johnstown students performed 9,000 hours of community service last year, positively impacting the lives of more than 3,000 individuals.
The projects ranged from Habitat for Humanity “builds” in the southern United States to volunteering at local nonprofit agencies including the Salvation Army, Mom’s House, The Learning Lamp and the Cambria County Humane Society.
Students also conducted outreach to local hospitals and elementary schools and raised money for organizations including the Make-a-Wish Foundation, American Diabetes Association and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Local News
UPJ earns spot on community service honor roll
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Game officials: Bald eagle killed in Cambria County
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is trying to determine who fatally shot a bald eagle in western Pennsylvania earlier this month.
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Independents, minor-party members locked out of primary election
More than 1 million registered voters in Pennsylvania will be barred from casting a ballot today because the state only allows registered Democrats and Republicans to participate in the primary election.
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Permit path cleared: Construction soon on Rt. 219 project
The final permit is on the way for a Somerset-to-Meyersdale Route 219 improvement project to begin.
It’s a years-in-the-making step that will allow the estimated $300 million plan to be advertised for bids in the coming weeks – and if all goes well, move it to construction this fall, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster said Monday. -
Emergency response team hones skills at training camp
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But the skills SERT officers gain by participating in drills like those – leadership, teamwork, trust and creativity – can be invaluable when they are serving and protecting the community. -
Fun Day event to spotlight YMCA expansion
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Agency will provide produce vouchers to eligible seniors
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Poverty simulation slated for today
Annamarie Pihs experienced firsthand the kind of harsh economic times she will be helping educate Johnstown community leaders about during today’s Walk a Day in My Shoes: Understanding Poverty event at Greater Johnstown High School.
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In Brief | 27 students escape injury in bus crash
State police in Ebensburg are investigating a school bus crash that happened Monday on Route 36 in Clearfield Township.
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State police investigating school bus crash
State police in Ebensburg are investigating a school bus crash that happened Monday on Route 36 in Clearfield Township. The Cambria Heights school bus was carrying 27 students when the driver apparently blacked out and sheared off a pine tree between the Chest Spring and Patton areas, schools superintendent Michael Strasser said. None of the high school or elementary students was hurt, he said. The students were triaged at the scene and released to their parents, Strasser said.
The driver was taken to Altoona Regional Hospital, he said. -
Study: Hospitals’ finances are healthy
Hospitals across the region maintained financial health last year, a new state report shows.
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