Boiling Springs, N.C.- For over a century, Gardner-Webb has worked to set a positive example for students, faculty, staff and community by serving God and mankind. It is then fitting that GWU has the motto - “Pro Deo et Humanitate” - “For God and Humanity.” It is the commitment to that foundation that has landed Gardner-Webb on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the second consecutive year.
The Honor Roll, launched in 2006, recognizes colleges and universities nationwide that support innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs. The Honor Roll's Presidential Award, given each year to only a handful of institutions, is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. Gardner-Webb was one of only 635 universities and colleges nation-wide that were named to the Presidential Honor Roll
The Honor Roll candidates were chosen on several deciding factors including: scope of innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers service-learning courses.
“In this time of economic distress, we need volunteers more than ever. College students represent an enormous pool of idealism and energy to help tackle some of our toughest challenges,” said Stephen Goldsmith, vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the Honor Roll. “We salute Gardner-Webb University for making community service a campus priority, and thank the millions of college students who are helping to renew America through service to others.”
Professor Susan Manahan, Gardner-Webb’s coordinator of Service-Learning, witnessed first hand the labor and dedication of the University’s students. “We had many students who lived the Gardner-Webb motto Pro Deo et Humanitate, for God and Humanity in the past year. Over 1,300 students participated in over 20,000 hours of various service related activities including mission trips, working with habitat for humanity and volunteering in the community.”
The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, sponsored by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, the USA Freedom Crops, and the U.S. Departments of Education, Housing, and Urban Development.
Gardner-Webb Provost and Senior Vice President, Ben Leslie is pleased to see students get this kind of recognition. “We are delighted to be honored in this way for the second year in a row. Service-learning and community engagement go to the very heart of who we are here at Gardner-Webb University. More and more Americans seem to be coming to the conclusion that as important as a college education is, education alone is not enough. At Gardner-Webb we are really interested in an education that makes a difference. It's gratifying to see an outside, national agency affirm and endorse this part of our character.”
For a full list of if institutions recognized visit www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.
Located in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb University is the home to approximately 4000 students from 39 states and 21 foreign countries. Gardner-Webb University seeks a higher ground in higher education- one that embraces faith and intellectual freedom, balances conviction with compassion, and inspires in students a love of learning, service and leadership.