Old Dominion University was named this week to the 2014 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The award marks the third consecutive time the University has been honored for its commitment to community engagement; however, this year the award was issued in the "With Distinction" category.

The honor roll "With Distinction" is given to applicants that "display strong levels of institutional commitment, provide a compelling case for partnerships that produce measurable impact in the community, and have a federal work-study community service percentage of 15 percent or above," according to a program description on the Corporation for National and Community Service's website.

The award was announced Tuesday, Sept. 23, during the Fourth Annual President's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge Gathering, at the George Washington University, in Washington D.C.

The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll "highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community challenges and as a result, more students are likely to pursue a lifelong path of civic engagement that achieves meaningful and measurable outcomes in the communities they serve," a Corporation for National & Community Service statement said.

Programs highlighted in ODU's 2014 honor roll application included:

• Nursing and Physical Therapy Study Abroad Service Experience: Nursing and physical therapy students from the College of Health Sciences participated in a multidisciplinary, international outreach spring break trip after a semester-long planning project. Coordinated in collaboration with Physicians for Peace, this project bridged local clinical work with a study abroad service trip to teach Resource Mothers, also known as Madres Tutelares, perinatal health education in the Dominican Republic.
• Little Feet Meet: Approximately 300 children from 12 Norfolk public elementary schools took part in this year's event, which is designed for children with multiple disabilities, including autism, Down syndrome and Asperger's syndrome. The students can take part in a total of 15 events. ODU football players volunteer as "buddies" and escort the children to the different activity stations.
• Paris/Auschwitz Interfaith Study Abroad and Reflection: "Paris/Auschwitz", a course that explores the history of French Jewry and the plight of Jews in France during the Holocaust, is inclusive of a spring break trip to France and Poland to further study the Holocaust and service through interfaith reflection. This year's journey took the students to deportation sites, memorials, museums, and synagogues in Paris and then to Krakow, Poland where they explored pre-war Jewry followed by trips to Auschwitz/Birkenau and Plaszow Concentration/Extermination Camps.
• Darden Dean's Cup: Student organizations throughout the Darden College of Education took part in a service project which challenged them to collect school supplies for Caribbean schools on the islands of St. Kitts, Dominica, Nevis and Anguilla. The project was inspired by the efforts of one of the college's alumni, Brenda Scanelli, a 1976 master's graduate of the Pk3 early childhood program, and her husband, John. For a number of years, the Norfolk couple has been aiding Caribbean schools, securing everything from books to desks, and even helping renovate buildings.
• ODU Basketball Education Day: The ODU women's basketball team and athletic department hosted its third annual Education Day in partnership with the Norfolk Public Schools. This year's contest was held as the Lady Monarchs hosted University of Massachusetts - Lowell. Each year the event has grown in support, from 1,900 students in 2011, to 3,100 in 2012, and over 6,000 this past year, which helped set a women's basketball game attendance record with over 8,000 fans in attendance. Thirty two of Norfolk's 34 elementary schools participated.

For more information about the President's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge and the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, visit the U.S. Department of Education's Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships website.