San Francisco State's civic engagement and service learning programs are detailed in the newly released "Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools With Outstanding Community Involvement" (Random House/Princeton Review Books). Geared toward prospective students, the book is a guide to the nation's most socially responsible colleges.

"We pride ourselves on being a civically engaged University," said SFSU President Robert A. Corrigan. "Our faculty and student body are committed to making positive contributions to both our surrounding communities and those around the globe. Community service is the hallmark of an SFSU education and with this latest recognition, we hope to bring an increasing number of civic-minded students to our campus."

Selected by the Princeton Review and Campus Compact, a national organization committed to the civic purposes of higher education, the 81 colleges were judged on the following criteria: the college's admissions practices and scholarships, rewarding community service, support for service-learning programs, student activism and student voice in school governance and level of social engagement of its student body.

SFSU was singled out as having one of the largest community-service learning programs in the nation. During the 2003-04 school year, more than 7,000 SFSU students conducted volunteer work as part of their studies.

The book points out that SFSU is also unique in its public acknowledgement of service: Students earn an extra course unit when they enroll in community-service learning classes and their volunteer hours are listed on their official transcripts.

SFSU was included along with neighbors Stanford and UC Berkeley and all 81 schools were praised by Princeton Review Vice President of Publishing Robert Franek, as having "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 public good."

For more information about the book, visit the Random House Web site at www.randomhouse.com.

Contact:
Matt Itelson, (415) 338-1743, matti@sfsu.edu
Audrey Tang (415) 338-1665, audreyt@sfsu.edu