ASU ranks in Top 20 Schools for community service

Augusta State University has been cited as one of the best institutions in the country by a national publication examining the community service component of federal work-study programs.

The Washington Monthly, in an article about the failure of institutions to commit to community service through its work-study programs, ranks Augusta State 10th among the Top 20 Schools for Community Service in the country.

“The community service component is mandated in the work-study program,” explains ASU Financial Aid Director Kevin Wellwood. “At least 7 percent of the federal funds received by an institution for this program are supposed be allotted to community service jobs,” he says.

Augusta State committed 34.4 percent of its work-study funds to community service jobs. The settings vary from year to year, says Wellwood, but have included nonprofit, governmental, and public entities, such as Augusta Housing Authority Child Development, Augusta Task Force for the Homeless, Family Y, Goodwill Industries, Golden Harvest Food Bank, the Medical College of
Georgia, and others.

“This national ranking is recognition that Augusta State takes its commitment to the community and to student employment seriously,” Wellwood says. This was reiterated by ASU President William A. Bloodworth, Jr., “We are extremely proud of this recognition because a special feature of our mission is ‘enrichment of the community.’”

The article reported a list of the 20 Worst Schools as well as percentages expended by other institutions throughout the country. Percentages recorded for institutions within the University System of Georgia ranged from 5.7 percent to the 34.4 percent recorded for Augusta State. The January/February article, based on a study conducted by the Washington Monthly and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism of funds expended during 1999-2000, can be found online at http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0201.green.html