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.
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UPJ earns spot on community service honor roll
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State police investigating school bus crash
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Game officials: Bald eagle killed in Cambria County



