University of Vermont

The University of Vermont is one of the nation's best colleges at fostering social responsibility and public service, according to The Princeton Review and Campus Compact, which joined forces to create a list of institutions featured in The Princeton Review’s forthcoming book, Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement.

Chosen from 900 institutions, UVM's profile includes academic and co-curricular programs that provide support and opportunities for community involvement for students, faculty, and staff through the Office of Community-University Partnerships and Service-Learning (CUPS); community service programs through Student Life (including Volunteers in Action); and service-related programs in the Career Services Office. Available in bookstores on June 21, 2005, the book has two-page profiles on each college and advice for applicants.

Students at UVM engage in service efforts ranging from HIV/AIDS education and advocacy to Habitat for Humanity to children's environmental education through the 17 student-led programs in Volunteers in Action (VIA). They also participate in service-learning internships and explore the non-profit career field through career services programs. Additionally, more than 2500 students have been members of the more than 150 service-learning courses that have been taught over the past 5 years, including community projects ranging from environmental interpretation and sustainable economic practices to adaptive physical activities and education programs for immigrant communities.

The 81 schools chosen for Colleges with a Conscience represent a diverse range of institutions by geographic region, campus size, setting, and include both private and public schools. UVM is joined on the list by Stanford, Harvard, Georgetown, Northwestern, and Middlebury.

The Vermont chapter of Campus Compact, a national coalition of more than 950 colleges and university presidents committed to supporting the public purposes of higher education, held its annual gala celebrating service, service-learning and civic engagement across the state on April 5 at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier. Gov. Jim Douglas and former Gov. Madeleine Kunin attended. At the gala, Thomas Hudspeth, professor of environmental studies, was presented with an excellence in teaching award, and the UVM-based Vermont Food, Farms, and Schools Service-learning Project was one of three recipients for a campus-community partnership award.

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For more campus news, happenings and notables, visit the View, the University of Vermont's online newsweekly.