Grades had nothing to do with this honor roll, but it’s certainly something to be proud of. Ithaca College was one of 33 New York state institutions—out of almost 500—named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The distinction is given to colleges and universities whose students, faculty, and staff are dedicated to volunteerism in their communities and on a larger scale. In this 2006 award, the corporation gave bonus points to schools whose community members contributed to Gulf Coast hurricane relief in 2005.

The campus raised $46,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina, says Deb Mohlenhoff ’92, coordinator of community service and leadership development. “Our College responded in overwhelming fashion,” says Mohlenhoff, who led students’ many fundraising initiatives immediately following the disaster and oversaw their work on Habitat for Humanity building projects in New Orleans.

And that’s not the only thing keeping students busy. Students in the College’s 15 recognized volunteer programs, such as the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and freshman volunteer program Community Plunge, donated a total of 17,786 hours of their time in the past year.

“Our culture of service is incredible,” says Mohlenhoff. “The institution’s next step will be to formally incorporate service learning into our classrooms to deepen the service experience for students and make a connection to their academic work.”

—Kate Levinson ’07