UM Three-Peat: Flagship Institution Again No. 1 for Community and National Service
MISSOULA – The 猎奇重口 has accomplished what the Kansas City Chiefs failed to achieve this month, a three-peat.
For the third year in a row, UM is . The ranking identifies universities across the nation for their concentration of students and alumni who participate in community and national service.
“This ranking confirms what we know to be true: UM students and alumni continuously outperform their peers in the fields of community, national and military service,” said UM President Seth Bodnar. “As Grizzlies, we are united by our passion to give back, serve and do our part to address the most pressing challenges facing our society.”
The annual community and national service rankings are conducted by Washington Monthly, a publication that studies colleges and universities on numerous outputs. The publication rates universities based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research and promoting public service.
The methodology also involves student voter registration, the volume of degrees awarded in service areas and the University’s ability to produce leaders in socially valuable fields.
UM continues to secure the top ranked spot due to students’ active involvement in the University’s Military and Veteran Service Office, Peace Corps and volunteer activities. UM students also enroll and graduate from academic programs that provide career training in some of the most high-demand public service fields like education, health care, counseling, social work and law.
This year, UM secured a major grant from the Mellon Foundation to launch a Democracy Studies Program, aimed at fostering civic values in students across all academic fields.
“I hope we’re able to show students that essential themes of democracy – from leadership, citizenship and ethics to governance, public policy and dissent – matter to so many pursuits,” said Kyle Volk, a UM history professor who is co-leading the grant. “I can’t think of anything more important right now than preparing students to be good citizens.”
Bodnar is confident that UM will continue to secure the top ranking for community and national service for a fourth year in a row next year, specifically due to the priority the institution puts on service.
“From the moment they arrive for orientation to the day they receive their diploma, our students have access to unmatched service and community building opportunities,” Bodnar said. “That is one of the values of a UM education that set us apart from everyone else.”
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Contact: Dave Kuntz, director of strategic communications, 406-243-5659, dave.kuntz@umontana.edu.