Princeton Review salutes Dartmouth for commitment to service
Dartmouth is profiled in the new college guidebook Colleges with a Conscience, compiled by noted education services company The Princeton Review and Campus Compact, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement and service learning in higher education. More than 900 schools were reviewed for the book, which profiles 81 schools with the most exemplary public service programs, on campus and off.
The editors of Colleges with a Conscience invited organizations with expertise in campus community service to nominate institutions for the publication. The evaluation criteria included three major areas: admissions practices and the availability of scholarships for community service, students' social engagement, student activism, and support for service learning programs. The Princeton Review then collected extensive data about the schools' service programs and policies through surveys of their students, faculty and staff.
Dartmouth President James Wright said he is pleased with the College's inclusion in this publication. "Dartmouth has an important history of building volunteer and outreach programs that are engaging, meaningful and effective," said Wright. "The students involved in these programs truly exemplify how undergraduates can wed their academic work and community service in a way that enhances both. Volunteerism is a vital part of a Dartmouth education."
Colleges with a Conscience gives Dartmouth high marks for providing "a solid education in 'battling the complacency demons,' thanks to an impressive civic engagement program." Special note is made of the Tucker Foundation, the campus umbrella for community service that involves approximately 60 percent of the student body, the Rockefeller Center, which engages students in public policy debate and awareness and the Careers for the Common Good initiative, which supports students in the pursuit of values-driven career opportunities in the nonprofit, public and private sectors. Editors observed that through these organizations students have ample opportunity to receive funding and administrative support to pursue service projects worldwide.
Because of these opportunities, Colleges with a Conscience states that there is a pervasive culture of engagement within Dartmouth's student body. Students choose to take alternative spring breaks focusing on community service. Twenty-five to 30 undergraduates travel to almost as many different countries annually to study with international governments or humanitarian organizations. Funds are also available for students who wish to add service learning components to their classes.
"A college with a conscience," said Robert Franek, Princeton Review Vice President of Publishing, "has both an administration committed to social responsibility and a student body actively engaged in serving society. Education at these schools isn't only about private gain: it's about the public good."
By JOEL AALBERTS
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