Cal Poly Pomona has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fourth time in recognition of its community service and civic engagement efforts.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) made the announcement earlier this month at the American Council on Education's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

"This national recognition highlights the investment of our faculty, staff and students in the community and how service is at the forefront of who we are and what we do," says Christina Gonzalez-Salgado, Cal Poly Pomona's academic service-learning coordinator.

The honor roll was launched in 2006 to recognize colleges and universities that get students involved in civic engagement and solving community problems. CNCS manages the program in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the American Council on Education and Campus Compact.

"Communities are strengthened when we all come together, and we are encouraged that these institutions and their students have made service a priority," said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a statement. "Civic engagement should be a key component of every student's education experience. Through reaching out to meet the needs of their neighbors, these students are deepening their impact, strengthening our democracy and ultimately preparing themselves to be successful citizens."

Nearly 11,000 Cal Poly Pomona students participated in academic service-learning or other forms of community service in the 2011-12 school year, contributing 479,632 hours.
Service projects that Cal Poly Pomona was recognized for include:

• Robotics: Professor Mariappan Jawaharlal, other faculty and students mentored K-12 children and their teachers on robotics as a means to stimulate early interest in engineering and technology. The tutoring culminated in an annual robotics competition, which grew to 600 students last year.
• BioTrek: Cal Poly Pomona students helped educate nearly 1,700 K-12 children on threats to plant and animal species and the need for biological sustainability.
• Physical Education: Students from the kinesiology and health promotion department provided adapted physical education for children from the Ontario-Montclair School District who have mild to severe disabilities.

(Photo: a 2012 robotics competition at Cal Poly Pomona was a service project aimed at stimulating early interest in engineering and technology among K-12 students.)