It has been announced that Southeastern Louisiana University was named to the 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

Sutheastern was recognized as a front-runner for its involvement in volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. This award has been handed out annually since 2006 by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which is a federal agency that includes more than five million Americans in service. The corporation includes 641 universities and colleges, Southeastern being one of them.

Recipients were chosen based on a handful of factors, such as the depth and originality of service projects, the prevalence of service-learning in the curriculum, the commitment to long-term partnerships in the community, and the measurable benefits provided to the community through service projects.

“Service is incorporated into the culture at Southeastern,” said Tena Golding, director of the Center for Faculty Excellence. “Our commitment to service is strong − not only for our students, but for faculty and staff as well. In addition to providing leadership for the various service activities by students in more than 120 Greek and other student organizations, faculty and staff are often directly involved in the actual service.”

Greek organizations alone raised $34,239 to be donated to non-profit organizations and performed 10,465 hours of service in the 2009-10 academic year. In addition, the campus offered 51 service-learning activities through school courses, which led to more than 1,200 students volunteering over 16,000 hours of service. These service-learning courses allow students to take lessons learned in the classroom and apply them to real-life circumstances in the community.

Golding said that in Southeastern’s application for the honor roll, it was documented that more than 3,280 students provided about 110,330 hours of service hours. These activities were valued at more than $2.3 million. The application depicted multiple service projects provided by Southeastern, including Project Lion Pride, the After School Achievement Program, and Drive Safer, Text Later. The United Way of the Greater New Orleans Area recognized Southeastern faculty and staff as having among the largest number of employee donors.

“We are extremely proud of this national honor,” said President John L. Crain. “The concept of service to others has long been a core value at the university. Whether it is tutoring at-risk children, providing healthcare services to citizens following Hurricane Katrina or rebuilding our damaged marshlands, Southeastern enthusiastically embraces the philosophy of giving back to our communities. It’s a value we try to instill in all our students and student organizations.”