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Lamar University has been recognized on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The honor roll is a distinction awarded annually by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to recognize universities around the country that excel in and promote community service activities in their region.

It highlights the roles colleges play in solving community problems and encouraging students toward a path of civic engagement. Lamar was recognized with other schools around the nation such as Stanford, Dartmouth, Duke, and the University of California at Berkeley.

To be eligible for this honor, universities must show “institutional support of service,” which Lamar accomplished during the fall 2012 semester by establishing the Office of Civic Engagement.

The OCE is responsible for ensuring that students are provided with opportunities to participate in volunteer work around the community.

Scott Stevenson, associate director of the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities, and Tic Price, athletics coordinator, were essential in keeping Lamar University students and athletes working on projects such as Operation R.E.D., Santa Unlimited, the VITA program, and Cardinal’s Cards, where students write holiday cards to the children of St. Jude’s Hospital.

“This is a significant honor for the university,” said Dakota Doman, director of student activities and civic engagement.

The CNCS is a federal agency created in 1993 to support the American culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility by connecting all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and nation. The CNCS strives to better communities through three core programs, AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Social Innovation Fund, United We Serve.

With the efforts of more than four million people, it works to improve communities in six major areas including disaster relief, economic opportunity, education, environmental stewardship, healthy futures, and veterans and military families. CNCS builds character and creates career and educational opportunities through the volunteer experience.

To accomplish these goals, CNCS provides grants, training, and technical assistance to developing and expanding volunteer organizations. In addition, CNCS explores, develops, and models effective approaches for using volunteers, and conducts research that will enhance the effectiveness of national and community service programs.