For the second consecutive year, Pacific has earned a spot on the President’s community service honor roll.
Last fall, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement Stephanie Stokamer worked with staff members from all of Pacific’s departments. Stokamer collected the number of community service hours from each department and learned more about certain larger service projects on campus.
After compiling all of the community service hours and writing explanations about some of the larger projects during the 2010 and 2011 school years, Stokamer sent off the documentation to the Corporation for National and Community Services.
The CNCS decided that Pacific, along with 642 other national colleges and universities, reflected the values of exemplary community service and achieved meaningful outcomes for their communities.
This award honors contributions of the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Health Professions and the College of Optometry.
“Civic engagement is part of the ‘Pacific Way’ both in the culture we have on campus and in the academic learning opportunities we provide,” said Stokamer.
Colleges and departments on campus are not required to meet a certain number of community service hours a year. Yet, civic engagement is one of the core requirements to be completed by students in the College of Arts and Sciences and several other programs.
“It is a great honor for Pacific and all of our programs to be recognized at a national level,” said Stokamer. “The honor roll is not given to all schools that submit, so it’s an indication that our programs are robust and service is a significant component of the education we provide at Pacific.”
Students are encouraged to volunteer in the community either alone or with a club, residence hall, sports team or a group of friends. If students would like to get involved but are not sure how, they can stop by the Center for Civic Engagement in Scott Hall room 110 or visit the CCE Opportunity Blog at http://pacificucce.wordpress.com.
Civic Engagement by the numbers (2010-2011)
171,561: Number of hours of Pacific students contributed to the community
235: Number of undergraduates who took Civic Engagement courses
78: Number of organizations with whom Pacific has mutually beneficial partnerships for civic engagement activities
$202,480: Value of services provided at mobile wellness clinics in the College of Health Professions
64: Percent of students who participated in community service activities
50: Number of truckloads of usable household items, clothes, and food saved from the landfill and donated through the Give & Go program
654: Pounds of food donated to a local food box program through Give & Go
62: Number of courses that integrate community-based learning in graduate and undergraduate programs
15: Percent of Federal Work Study funding that went to Community Service Work Study
48: Number of faculty who teach community-based learning courses
20: Percent of students who committed more than 20 hours of service in one term
13: Number of vineyards and migrant camps visited for CHP mobile wellness clinics
281: Number of people screened at CHP mobile wellness clinics in vineyards and migrant camps
100: Percent of physician assistant students involved in service and civic engagement activities.
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