ATLANTA -- Today Oglethorpe University was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for distinguished community service and for the extraordinary volunteer efforts by the school and its students to serve Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Oglethorpe and 28 other institutions of higher learning were selected for outstanding achievement in both community service and hurricane relief among the nearly 500 schools named to the President’s Honor Roll. Schools receiving distinguished service recognition provided exceptional community service over the past year, contributing their time, resources, energy, skills – and intellect – to serve America.

“Oglethorpe University has set a strong example for college-level civic engagement,” said Stephen Goldsmith, Chief Executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that works to foster a culture of volunteering and service in America. “Many people and communities have been improved because Oglethorpe and its students identified some of society’s most pressing needs and got involved.”

Oglethorpe’s commitment to service was strengthened last year through on and off campus relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina with Angel Flight of Georgia, an Alternative Spring Break trip to New Orleans to assist in the clean-up efforts and a partnership with Atlanta Public Schools for a day of service during President Lawrence M. Schall’s April inauguration. Oglethorpe started the 2006-07 school year with a service project at PATH Academy as part of freshmen orientation and participated in Hands On Atlanta Day earlier this month.

The award presentations come a day after the Corporation for National and Community Service released a comprehensive study showing college student civic engagement has risen significantly in recent years. The study showed that student volunteering increased approximately 20 percent from 2002 to 2005, and that 3.3 million college students serve their communities and nation. The study showed that college students between ages 16 to 24 are more likely to volunteer than cohorts in that age group who are not enrolled.

The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is co-sponsored by the Corporation, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The recognition is presented in cooperation with Campus Compact, a national coalition of nearly 1,000 college and university presidents, and supported by all the major national higher education associations.