Florida Tech Earns Community Service Distinction

Eighth Straight Year University Earns Distinction

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology has been named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the eighth consecutive year the university has received this national distinction.

Just 766 colleges and universities among the more than 4,500 degree-granting institutions in the U.S. were named to the honor roll, which recognizes those schools that support exemplary community service programs and raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships.

Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, the Community Service Honor Roll also highlights the role institutions of higher education play in solving community challenges.

The goal is to encourage more students to pursue a lifelong path of civic engagement that achieves meaningful and measurable outcomes in their communities, a facet of the university experience that Florida Tech President and CEO Anthony J. Catanese believes is essential for students’ success in the classroom and beyond.

“Getting an education is certainly about lectures and research and the traditional elements of learning,” he said. “But it is also about having meaningful experiences outside of the classroom, and the thousands of hours our students, faculty and staff dedicate to community improvement make all of us better, more compassionate people.”

From January through December 2013, Florida Tech student, staff and faculty volunteers donated more than 20,400 community and campus service hours. These volunteers assisted 141 local and national non-profit organizations and collected over $47,100 through service and fundraising.

Local organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, American Heart Association, Brevard Sharing Center and Second Harvest Food Bank benefited from the campus community’s donations of time and talent.

These efforts are part of a broader, national push as college students make a significant contribution to their communities through volunteering and service. According to the most recent Volunteering and Civic Life in America report, in 2012, 3.1 million college students dedicated more than 118 million hours of service across the country — a contribution valued at $2.5 billion.

“Service and higher education go hand in hand,” Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the program, said. “These schools are inspiring young leaders to roll up their sleeves and work alongside community members to solve problems. By recognizing the institutions who are leading the way to achieve meaningful, measurable results for the communities they serve, we also highlight the vital role all colleges and universities play in addressing community challenges and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement.”

Find more information on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by clicking here.

###