SUNY Campuses Receive Presidential Recognition for Community Service

President Barack Obama Names 16 SUNY Campuses to Honor Roll

Albany – Sixteen SUNY colleges and universities were named by President Barack Obama to the 2012 Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, recognizing their commitment to bettering their communities through community service and service learning.

SUNY campuses to make this year’s honor roll were: University at Albany, Alfred State College, Binghamton University, Buffalo State College, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Delhi, SUNY ESF, Fashion Institute of Technology, Monroe Community College, SUNY Morrisville, SUNY Old Westbury, SUNY Oneonta, and Stony Brook University. In addition, three SUNY colleges – SUNY Cortland, SUNY Geneseo, and SUNY Oswego – were named to the Honor Roll with distinction.

“Each of SUNY’s 64 campuses is not only a top education provider but also a community partner that invest countless hours each year to helping others and bettering their communities locally, nationally, and even across globe,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “As a major component of our strategic plan, SUNY is deeply committed to creating vibrant communities across New York State. The generous efforts made on behalf of the 16 campuses recognized by President Obama truly embody The Power of SUNY.”

Increasing the number of campuses to make the President’s honor roll each year is a metric used by the SUNY Report Card to measure the system’s success toward enhancing vibrant communities across New York.

The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities. Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, the initiative celebrates the transformative power and volunteer spirit that exists within the higher education community.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which has administered the Honor Roll since 2006, admitted a total of 642 schools to colleges and universities for their impact on issues from literacy and neighborhood revitalization to supporting at-risk youth. Of that total, 513 were named to the Honor Roll, 110 received the recognition of Honor Roll with distinction, 14 were identified as finalists, and five received the Presidential Award. 

Campuses named to this year's Honor Roll reported that nearly one million of their students engaged in service learning and more than 1.6 million participated in other forms of community service, serving a total of more than 105 million hours.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 467,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with more than 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu 

###