Honors & Awards
Dominican has earned the 2008 Community Engagement Classification designation by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Dominican received the elective classification in both the areas of Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships. Dominican joins such institutions as Duke University, Georgetown University, Purdue University, Emory University and several California State Universities (including Fullerton, Long Beach, and San Bernardino) among the institutions honored with the classification. Acquiring this designation brings national recognition to our campus and highlights our commitment to community service and engagement.
Among the 217 institutions that began the application process, only 119 were successfully classified as engaged institutions. In order to be selected into any of the three categories, institutions had to provide descriptions and examples of institutionalized practices of community engagement that showed alignment among their mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices.
This is the second major honor Dominican has received this year for our advancements in community service. In February, the Corporation for National and Community Service named Dominican to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth. We look forward to continuing to demonstrate our commitment to the Dominican values of community and service.
A Dominican task force compiled and submitted the successful application. The task force was led by Julia van der Ryn, director of Service Learning. Other members included Julia Arno, director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs; Thomas Burke, director of experiential learning in the Department of Adult and Extended Education; Jenny Li, director of Institutional Research; Martha Nelson, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences; Ruth Ramsey, chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy; Harlan Stelmach, chair of the Department of Humanities; and Sherry Volk, associate vice president of academic affairs.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
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Dominican University of California Receives
President’s Honor Roll Award for Service
School Honored for Distinguished Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service named Dominican University of CA to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll With Distinction for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth.
Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovativeness 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.
Dominican formally launched its service-learning program in 2004. Since then, more than 600 students have participated in courses with service-learning components. Supported, initially, in part by a grant from the Marin Community Foundation, service-learning is an educational approach that integrates meaningful community work with the academic curriculum. Students apply academic skills and critical thinking to address societal issues. Service-Learning courses are offered across the disciplines in English, Occupational Therapy, Philosophy, Women and Gender Studies, Religion, Social and Cultural Studies, and Nutrition. Dominican’s program works in partnership with some 30 community organizations and county agencies, including Canal Alliance, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, Marin AIDS Project, Homeward Bound, Marin County Youth Court, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the California Reentry Program at San Quentin, and the Marin Workforce Investment Board.
“College students like those at Dominican University of California are tackling the toughest problems in America, demonstrating their compassion, commitment, and creativity in by serving as mentors, tutors, health workers, and even engineers,” Eisner said. “They represent a renewed spirit of civic engagement fostered by outstanding leadership on caring campuses.”
The Honor Roll is jointly sponsored by the Corporation, through its Learn and Serve America program, and the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps, and the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
In congratulating the winners, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said, “Americans rely on our higher education system to prepare students for citizenship and the workforce. 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.”
Overall, the Community Service Honor Roll awarded six schools with Presidential Awards. In addition, four schools were recognized as Special Achievement Award winners, 127 as Honor Roll With Distinction members and 391 schools as Honor Roll members. In total, 528 schools were recognized. A full list is available at http://www.learnandserve.gov/about/programs/higher_ed_honorroll.asp.
“There is no question that the universities and colleges who have made an effort to participate and win the Honor Roll award are themselves being rewarded,” said American Council on Education President David Ward. “Earning this distinction is not easy. But now each of these schools will be able to wear this award like a badge of honor.”
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations. For more information, go to http://www.nationalservice.gov.
