Duke nabs top service accolade

The University received Sunday the highest federal recognition a school can earn for commitment to service-learning and civic engagement.

Duke is one of three higher learning institutions that will be honored with the Presidential Award for Service to Youth from Disadvantaged Circumstances from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

"It's deeply gratifying that we have received national recognition for our contributions to youth development in Durham," Elaine Madison, director of the Community Service Center and senior adviser for DukeEngage, wrote in an e-mail. "I am convinced that we have been able to make this impact chiefly because of Duke's powerful ethic of service and active citizenship."

The criteria for selection included the scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of participation in student service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic courses for service-learning.

Madison added that the CSC's programs America Reads/America Counts and WRITE Now! have contributed to Duke's recognition.

The Office of Durham and Regional Affairs, which implements programming for Durham's at-risk pre-kindergarten through high school youth, also contributes to the University's commitment to service, according to a press release from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

In these programs, Duke students act as mentors and tutors for children and teenagers, and 80 percent of high school students who participate graduate and go on to post-secondary institutions, according to the release.

"[Duke's service ethic] is a unique and very tangible spark that lights up learning and working at Duke. It draws in so many students, faculty and staff, and it unites them, too, over countless volunteer, service learning and community revitalization efforts," Madison said.