Kellogg Community College is the only community college and one of just 16 colleges and universities in the state to be listed on the 2015 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition an institution can receive for its commitment to community, service learning and civic engagement.
Nationwide, 690 schools were named to the list, which is administered by the federal Corporation for National & Community Service to recognize “institutions of higher education that support exemplary community service programs and raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships,” according to the CNCS.
This is the third consecutive year KCC has earned the Honor Roll designation, and the College is one of less than three dozen community colleges nationwide to make the list this year.
Kate DeGraaf, service-learning manager at KCC, said the work that led to the honor would not be possible without the College’s students and the support of KCC’s Service-Learning Advisory Board, staff, faculty, administration and community partners which together have created “a culture of service that is embedded throughout the entire college.”
Below are just a few examples of the College’s community impact:
- A community garden and greenhouse at KCC was established, producing more than 700 pounds of food donated to local community organizations
- Students and faculty wrote grants for funds totaling more than $10,000 that went to local organizations
- More than 500 K-12 students were able to have weekly one-on-one time with KCC students through local community programs like Reading Buddies and New Level Sports’ afterschool programs
- Students have created and implemented fundraising projects that have raised more than $15,000 for local organizations
- Five community organizations were able to fill jobs after students completed their service-learning projects
- More than 40,000 hours of service were provided to Calhoun, Barry and Branch counties
“The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognition confirms KCC’s strong commitment to producing service-minded graduates who are aware of their communities’ needs as well as how to meet them,” DeGraaf said. “The honor highlights not only all the work we have been able to do through service-learning but our commitment to service all across the College and in the communities we serve.”
KCC hosts several service-learning, civic engagement and awareness events each year, including three Bruins Give Back volunteer events at locations around Battle Creek and one Volunteer and Civic Engagement Fair held on campus each semester. Since 2012, a service-learning endorsement requiring at least 15 hours of dedicated service learning experience became a requirement for every KCC graduate pursuing a degree outside of the applied sciences.
“KCC is committed to community service and will continue to promote and support activities that encourage our students to participate in and engage with their communities,” DeGraaf said.
The CNCS has administered the Honor Roll designation since 2006 and manages the program in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with the American Council on Education, Campus Compact and the Interfaith Youth Core.
For more information about community service or service-learning efforts at KCC, visit
www.kellogg.edu/service-learning or contact Service-Learning Manager Kate DeGraaf at 269-965-3931 ext. 2211 or at degraafk@kellogg.edu.
For more information about CNCS Honor Roll eligibility and to view the full list of
Honor Roll awardees, visit www.nationalservice.gov/special-initiatives/honor-roll.
For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at https://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.