Oakland, CA—February 14, 2008. Mills College has been awarded an honor from the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary public service to disadvantaged youth.

"This honor from the highest levels of government recognizes Mills College's leadership in helping to build a culture of service and civic engagement on campuses and in our nation," said Amy Cohen, director of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which launched the Community Service Honor Roll in 2006.

Awardees were selected for scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of student participation, and incentives for services.

"Mills students and staff have a long tradition of service in our community. We are proud of our extensive work," said Mills College President Janet L. Holmgren. "However, we had not inventoried our efforts before, so of course, we are thrilled to make the Honor Roll with Distinction on our first application."

Mills College received the Honor Roll with Distinction, one of 18 schools in California. Through service learning courses and volunteering, 533 Mills students logged almost 28,000 hours of community service last year.

Several Mills programs were highlighted for this honor:

• The Institute for Civic Leadership's two-semester service learning program for leadership development;
• The Community Teaching Project where graduate students in the English Department teach creative writing in local communities;
• Several Athletics Department's programs, including one that placed volunteer coaches, especially women and people of color, in urban afterschool sports programs; the renovation of three Oakland middle public schools by Mills student athletes; and the annual Swim-A-Mile fundraiser that raises money for local health and wellness programs;
• The Moms Mentoring Moms program that pairs teen mothers with previously teen mothers who reached success in higher education.

In congratulating Mills College and other collegiate awardees, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said, "Americans rely on our higher education system to prepare students for citizenship and the workforce. We look to institutions like Mills College to provide leadership in partnering with local schools to shape the civic, democratic, and economic future of our country."

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that oversees programs such as Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 900 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The college ranks as one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report and one of the Best 366 Colleges by the Princeton Review