In recognition of the university community’s exemplary service efforts, Temple has been named for the first time to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

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 are chosen based on a series of selection factors, including 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.

The honor acknowledges Temple’s outstanding service to the local and regional communities. The university provides a broad range of community programs, including hiring and housing initiatives, educational support, health services, arts and cultural activities and volunteer efforts. In addition, Temple faculty work directly with members of the community to research and develop solutions for issues of regional significance. Studies of literacy, obesity and minority healthcare and research supporting the chemical, pharmaceutical, and hospitality industries have had immediate impact and longstanding effect.

Temple volunteers provide more than 35,000 hours of service annually in Philadelphia and beyond. A 2008 survey of Temple’s community service activities identified more than 325 community service programs universitywide, and an additional 450 individuals reporting personal service activities in the community. These figures are expected to increase as greater numbers within the Temple community begin to annually report service they are already providing.

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is developed in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. It is presented during the annual conference of the American Council on Education. In total, 635 schools were recognized with either Presidential Awards, Honor Roll with Distinction or Honor Roll members. A full list is available at www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.

National studies have underlined the importance of service-learning and volunteering to college students. In 2006, 2.8 million college students gave more than 297 million hours of volunteer service, according to the Corporation’s Volunteering in America 2007 study. Expanding campus incentives for service is part of a larger initiative to spur higher levels of volunteering by America’s college students.


The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that 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.