Fresno State was honored with the Presidential Award for General Community Service at the American Council on Education’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., Monday, Feb. 2.

The Corporation for National and Community Services granted the award to only three schools, as part of the third annual President̢۪s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

President John. D Welty, Chris Fiorentino, director of the Jan and Bud Richter Center, and student Celeste Pilegard will travel to Washington to receive the award on Monday, Feb. 9, according to Firoentino in an interview with The Collegian today.

“The Presidential Award is a very special recognition of the outstanding commitment the university and our community partners have made to service,â€Â said President Welty in a press release. “It has long been our goal to be one of the leading engaged institutions in the nation, where our teaching, research and service is aligned with the needs of the community. This honor demonstrates that Fresno State is an institution committed to our region.â€Â

The Honor Roll̢۪s Presidential Award is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

Fresno State̢۪s notable community service achievements involved 10,520 students, nearly half of those enrolled, during the 2008 Honor Roll period. These students provided in excess 667,000 hours of service during a one-year period. The type of service ranged from the Bulldog Pantry, an emergency food pantry organized and operated by Fresno State students, to an international service-learning project where students taught English to over 250 children in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

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