Newswise — Misericordia University has been named by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, recognizing the university as one of the nation's leading colleges and universities for commitment to bettering their communities through community service and service learning.
“We are proud to say that Misericordia has been named to the Honor Roll every year that we have applied for it,” said Linda Ross, director of the Office of Service-Learning. “Misericordia has a rich tradition of responding to community needs through academic based service-learning, extensive outreach service through Campus Ministry, and club activities that support community programs. By imbuing in each student a sense of service to others, Misericordia is helping students discover the opportunities they need to be successful in both their careers and lives.”
During the 2010-11 academic year, MU students provided 105,582 service hours to the community. Misericordia experienced a 17 percent increase over the previous fiscal year when 1,032 students engaged in academic service-learning courses. An additional 700 students — nearly double from the previous year — participated in voluntary community service. Of those who did service, 575 students were engaged in at least 20 hours of community service per semester.
The Community Service Honor Roll was launched in 2006. It is the highest federal recognition a college or university can achieve for its commitment to service learning and civic engagement. CNCS reports that in the 2010-11 academic year, more than 3.1 million college students dedicated more than 312 million hours of service to communities across the country — service valued at more than $6.6 billion.
“Through service, these institutions are creating the next generation of leaders by challenging students to tackle tough issues and create positive impacts in the community,” said Robert Velasco, acting CEO of CNCS. “We applaud the Honor Roll schools, their faculty and students for their commitment to make service a priority in and out of the classroom. Together, service and learning increase civic engagement while fostering social innovation among students, empowering them to solve challenges within their communities.”
Honorees were chosen based on a series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.
The Religious Sisters of Mercy founded Misericordia based on four tenets that outline its mission of mercy, service, justice and hospitality. Since then, the university community has advocated service and volunteerism among its students, faculty and staff.
Campus Ministry’s efforts to assist underserved children are among the Misericordia projects that inspired the CNCS award. Three separate programs — College Kids for Girls, College Kids for Boys and Girl Power — partner college student volunteers with low-income students for weekly sessions that include mentoring, physical activity and visits to campus for sporting events, meals in the cafeteria and swimming. The results include improved social skills, self-esteem and behavioral skills.
The second project involves more than 30 students majoring in physical therapy who provided therapy at a pro bono clinic on-campus, at personal residences, and at a local exercise class for senior residents. Supervised by four faculty members, the students offered treatments for a variety of health issues such as fractures, strokes, multiple sclerosis and Lyme disease. All of the patients received treatment until they were able to report a favorable outcome and an ability to do daily activities such as dressing, walking, reaching overhead, and exercising more easily.
A third project involved students in a summer nurse practitioner course who provided voluntary care to migrant workers employed in the region. Of the migrant workers served, 95 percent are foreign born and receive little or no health care. More than half are also illiterate or functionally illiterate. The students, with two faculty members, visited the migrant camp weekly and provided physical exams and health screenings, focusing on acute and chronic conditions and immunizations, for 25 men, women and children. When health conditions were deemed beyond the level of care for the student nurse practitioners, the patients were referred to collaborating physicians.
For more information about service or service learning at Misericordia University, please call Ross at (570) 674-6322 or e-mail her at [email protected]. Founded and Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County’s first four-year college and offers 37 programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full and part-time formats.
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