[CSU Chancellor] – Sixteen California State University campuses including Cal State Northridge received top honors as part of the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for their exemplary commitment and meaningful partnerships with California’s communities.

“Preparing students to participate in our democracy and providing them with opportunities to take on local and global issues in their course work are as central to the mission of education as boosting college completion and closing the achievement gap,” said Eduardo Ochoa, the U.S. Department of Education’s assistant secretary for postsecondary education.

The CSU was the first higher education system in the country to establish a system office supporting service learning and community engagement. According to CSU Center for Community Engagement data, more than 67,000 students had the opportunity to participate in 2,739 service-learning courses during the 2010-11 academic year. If service learning, community service and civic engagement hours were totaled for the nearly half of CSU’s 427,000 students who provide some type of service, the total annual economic impact approaches $684 million.

The majority of CSU campuses have topped the list as Presidential Awardees, finalists and honor roll members annually since the Award’s inception in 2006. Of the 642 colleges and universities named to the Honor Roll, CSU Monterey Bay was recognized as a finalist in the General Community Service category which considers the scope and quality of an institution’s community service, service learning, and civic engagement programs.

Seven CSU campuses received the “Honor Roll with Distinction” designation: Dominguez Hills, Fresno, Fullerton, Northridge, Sacramento, San Francisco and Stanislaus. Eight CSU campuses were named “Honor Roll” members: Channel Islands, Chico, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Pomona, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo and San Marcos.

“The announcement earlier this week from the Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Education conveys the important role that community engagement programs play in educating a future workforce with the type of skills needed for a robust economy and society. Students involved in community engagement certainly provide valuable contributions to our local and global communities; however, these experiences also have a profound personal impact. Students learn the importance of compassion and collaboration while also developing critical skills in communication, teamwork, program management, conflict resolution and decision making,” said Judy Botelho, CSU director of the Center for Community Engagement.

About California State University

The California State University is the largest system of senior higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, approximately 427,000 students and 44,000 faculty and staff. The CSU awards about 99,000 degrees annually and since its creation in 1961 has conferred nearly 2.6 million. The CSU is renowned for the quality of its teaching and for the job-ready graduates it produces. The mission of the CSU is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever changing needs of the people of California. With its commitment to excellence, diversity and innovation, the CSU is the university system that is working for California.

About the Corporation for National and Community Service

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, the Social Innovation Fund and other programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. CNCS oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. For a full list of Honor Roll recipients and descriptions of their service, visit www.NationalService.gov/HonorRoll.