Courtesy photo.
CAMARILLO — For the sixth year in a row, CSU Channel Islands (CI) has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll —and for the first time, CI was recognized “with distinction.”
Being named to the Honor Roll is the highest federal honor universities can receive in recognition for their community service, civic engagement and service-learning (learning while serving others).
To be named “with distinction” means CI was exceptional in their commitment to community service, made effective use of federal funding, and demonstrated that the campus projects had a measurable impact on the surrounding region.
“To have CI named with distinction is a great honor and reflective of the campus-wide priority to service,” said Center for Community Engagement Managing Director Pilar Pacheco. “But most importantly it honors the work of our faculty and students and the strong commitment and connection we have to our community.”
The campus volunteer and service learning projects that helped earn the designation involved higher education outreach, environmentalism, health, and fighting homelessness.
The University Culture Outreach Initiative, for example, involved CI students visiting area high schools to serve as mentors and extol the benefits of a college degree. The project was in response to statistics showing that, although Ventura County had the highest percentage of community college students in California, the transfer rate to any four-year institution was very low among traditionally underserved students.
Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM) Chair Sean Anderson, Ph.D. oversaw a service learning group who documented and interpreted the impact of the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill.
“ESRM has found service learning a powerful model – whether we are monitoring beaches in Hawaii, restoring wetlands in Louisiana, exploring drivers of ciguatera poisoning in the Cook Islands, quantifying microplastic pollution across the globe, or measuring the abundance of saltwater crocodiles in ecotourism areas in Costa Rica,” Anderson said. “When students do applied, community-based research and service learning, their grades improve, their engagement skyrockets, and their understanding of the subject deepens tremendously.”
Additionally, Nursing and Communication students teamed up to organize a pop-up “Street Store” in Oxnard. There, guests could “shop” through racks and tables full of donated clothing with dignity and choice, something rarely afforded to those living in poverty or homeless.
Overall, more than half of the CI student body served 218,852 hours in 2014/15, the span of time considered for this award. The hours counted included internships, student teaching, clinical nursing, and volunteering from student clubs and organizations.
That’s an economic benefit of more than $6 million to the community.
“To be nationally recognized for our community service is one of the most meaningful honors the University can receive,” said President Erika D. Beck. “Community service is at the core of who we are as a campus. I am so proud of the students, faculty and staff who gave of themselves to benefit Ventura County.”
Overall, 14 CSU campuses were named to the President’s Honor Roll with CI and three other CSUs singled out for the “with distinction” category.
“CSU campus community engagement programs have played a critical role in helping the university prepare students to be successful, informed, active and committed leaders,” said Judy Botelho, CSU’s director of the Center for Community Engagement. “We are honored to continue to be recognized by the Honor Roll for our commitment to service-learning, engaged scholarship and civic engagement.”
About California State University Channel Islands: CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more about CI by visiting CI’s Social Media.