President Denise A. Battles and volunteer leadership staff were in Washington, D.C., last week and returned with an important honor: The college is again named in the President’s 2015 Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Geneseo has been named on it every year since its inception in 2006.
This year, Geneseo earned a place in all four categories — education, economic opportunity, interfaith community service, and general community service. Geneseo was named with “distinction” for general community service.
The award recognizes the centrality of community service to the mission and values of the college, said Tom Matthews, associate dean of leadership and service. More than 4,400 students participated in some type of service in 2014-2015, he said, ranging from local clean-ups and organizing blood drives to fundraising walks and volunteering in communities affected by hurricanes.
The Geneseo team was in D.C. for the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Challenge. President Battles gathered at the White House complex with other institution presidents, while Matthews and Sam Hebel (coordinator of student leadership, volunteerism and service) attended the conference with Mina Abdelnalik ’19 at Gallaudet University. The honor roll recognition was announced at the conference.
“Geneseo’s inclusion on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll represents an important national-level recognition of our strong commitment to community and civic engagement,” said Battles. “The college’s selection is a tangible indicator of our faculty and staff’s dedication to community partnerships and success in inspiring our students to be socially responsible citizens, a core element of Geneseo’s mission.”