Our Lady of the Lake College has been named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction. This is the seventh time that Our Lady of the Lake College has been named to the Honor Roll and the third time to be named to the Honor Roll “with Distinction.”
This designation is the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. This year 196 colleges and universities across the United States were recognized with the Honor Roll with Distinction for their strong institutional commitment to service.
Our Lady of the Lake College was the only Louisiana institution of higher education named to the Interfaith Community Service Category Honor Roll with Distinction of the 43 colleges and universities selected in that category for the 2014 application.
Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has administered the award since 2006. It chooses institutions for recognition based on their achievements in general community service or in one of two special focus areas which align with the President’s education and innovation priorities. Schools recognized with “Distinction" additionally share a key characteristic: that there is evidence that their service has made measurable improvement in the community.
“Our goals for our students reflect the mission of Our Lady of the Lake College. Their time with us provides them with an understanding of what it means to serve,” explains Tina S. Holland, Ph.D., Our Lady of the Lake College President. “Our holistic approach to learning fosters a sense of individual purpose as our students encounter increasingly complex moral and ethical questions. Whether called to work within the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System or well beyond the borders of Louisiana, our students will graduate with a firm foundation upon which to build successful, purposeful, and faith-filled lives.”
Our Lady of the Lake College has developed a national reputation for service in the community. In 2011 the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching named OLOL College to an elite list of institutions designated with the Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classification. This classification put OLOL College into a select group of 311 higher education institutions in the United States recognized for their student’s engaged service in the community through service-learning and civic engagement initiatives.
On a campus of approximately 1750 students, over 1400 Our Lady of the Lake College students participated in community service of some kind during the award’s timeframe, giving almost 47,000 total service hours to the community. According to DatabankUSA, the estimated dollar value of a volunteer hour for Louisiana is $18.71, which translates to over $879,000 worth of service offered through our community partners.
CNCS manages the program in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education and Campus Compact.
“Service and higher education go hand in hand,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “These schools are inspiring young leaders to roll up their sleeves and work alongside community members to solve problems. By recognizing the institutions who are leading the way to achieve meaningful, measurable results for the communities they serve, we also highlight the vital role all colleges and universities play in addressing community challenges and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement.”
The entire list of schools recognized by the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll can be accessed at http://nationalservice.gov/hon... .
Offering master’s, baccalaureate, and associate degrees, Our Lady of the Lake College is a four-year, independent institution, providing a strong foundation in the liberal arts and continuing its highly-regarded health sciences and nursing programs. Established in 1923 by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady (FMOL), the school that evolved into Our Lady of the Lake College holds to a Franciscan tradition of service, offer a healing and spiritual presence for the community and especially those most in need.
For additional information, please call Elaine Crowe, Communications Coordinator, at 225-768-1700.
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