For the fifth consecutive year, Walsh University has received national recognition as a leader among institutions of higher education for its support of volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Walsh was named to the 2015 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for engaging its students, faculty and staff in meaningful service that achieves measurable results in the community.
Service to others has been a part of the Walsh mission since the Brothers of Christian Instruction founded the University in 1960. Service permeates student life and institutional culture with 100 percent of the Walsh student body serving both locally and globally. Core values - excellence, integrity, service - drive the deeply rooted Walsh mission of "educating students to become leaders in service to others."
This recognition is due in large part to the University’s coordinated effort to provide various service opportunities for students. Walsh’s Office of Service Learning, Office of Global Learning and the Office of Student Outreach work collaboratively with other campus and community partners to create experiential learning opportunities that also help people in need. Service is a mandatory part of student organizations and athletics and service learning opportunities are available in all academic disciplines.
During the 2014-2015 academic year, students, faculty and staff completed over 48,000 hours of service for a variety of causes. This includes fall/spring break service trips, Harvest for Hunger, blood drives, Adopt-a-Family, Habitat for Humanity, mentoring programs, and nursing home outreach. Service learning courses included partnerships with organizations such as the Catholic Worker, House of Loreto, CHOICES Alternative School, Aultman Hospital, Stark Parks, Massillon Boys & Girls Club, and many more. In addition, Walsh has hosted several service-learning campus events such as the Martin Luther King Day of Service and the first Ohio Hunger Dialogue.
CNCS oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.