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Claremont, Calif. (March 13, 2013) — Pitzer College was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction by the Corporation for National and Community Service. This is the sixth time Pitzer has been recognized by the President’s honor roll and the first time it was designated with distinction. The awardees were announced at the American Council on Education’s 95th Annual Meeting Leading Change on March 4 in Washington, DC.
One hundred percent of Pitzer students engage in academic service learning or community service before graduation. On average, nearly 65 percent of the student body performs more than 45,000 hours of community service annually. Students work in programs that range from tutoring women in recovery and at-risk youths to writing grants for local Native American tribes and teaching day laborers English. The College also offers approximately 40 distinctive courses in service learning each year.
Tessa Hicks Peterson, assistant vice president of community engagement and assistant professor of urban studies, said Pitzer helps transform local communities through community-campus partnerships.
“We are honored to be recognized by President Obama and to be counted among this selective group of colleges,” said Peterson, who is also the director of Pitzer’s Community Engagement Center. “Pitzer has nearly 50 years of commitment to social responsibility and we are proud of the meaningful collaborative research and community engagement by our students, faculty and staff that embodies the College’s core values.”
The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll annually highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community problems and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement by recognizing institutions that achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes in the communities they serve.
