Denison University has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the federal program that provides recognition to colleges and universities for their 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. On campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using the skills gained in their classrooms.

“Congratulations go to Denison University and its students for their dedication to service and for a commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. College students have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service.”

“We are proud of all that our students accomplished last year,” said Laurel Kennedy, director of Denison’s John W. Alford Center for Service Learning. “Our college’s total service hours in 2008-2009 climbed as more and more students worked with local organizations and participated in community service events like Big Red’s Big Day. But what’s more gratifying to us is that the current year’s hours will be even higher, because so many groups across campus are expanding their volunteer efforts and because Denison’s course-related service learning is growing.”

Denison students are known for making significant contributions to the volunteer sector. In 2009, nearly 1,400 students performed more than 37,700 hours of community service and curricular service learning.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov