The Peace Corps, the government agency powered by volunteers to spread peace by working in developing countries, gets most of its volunteers from the University of Wisconsin. UW produced 142 alumni volunteers last year, more than 30 volunteers more than the next-top-producing school.

UW has produced more volunteers for Peace Corps than any other school in the nation for 10-straight years and 2,601 volunteers over the history of the program starting in 1961. UW trails only the University of California-Berkeley in the total number of alumni volunteers with 3,173. Public-affairs representative in the Minneapolis regional office Gary Lore said this could be attributed to the University of California?s volunteers coming from only one school instead of from their respective schools within the University of California system. Barring that, Lore said, UW could more alumni entering the Peace Corps than any other school or university.

Lisa Wandke, a campus recruiter for the Peace Corps, said it might be due to UW?s history of producing public servants.

?Madison is a real service school, anyway,? Wandke said.

?It?s inculcated in the culture of the University of Wisconsin,? Lore agreed, saying the ?Wisconsin idea? permeates many ways of life at UW. Lore added that UW is equipped to create many volunteers by having a strong presence on campus, through local media and also by having a recruiter located on campus. Lore also made note of returning volunteers on campus and attention from UW officials.

?There is a tremendous amount of support from faculty, staff and administration,? Lore said. ?Many return volunteers are on the faculty … they are sprinkled all over the university.?

Another trend pointed out by the Peace Corps is the increase in volunteers last year among all universities, averaging 15 percent more volunteers per campus.

Though no one may answer for sure, Wandke suggested it could be because of the sluggish economy and job market America has faced in recent years. Students are ?covered? when they join the Peace Corps, by a living wage, dental and medical care and about $6,000 rewarded to them on return of their term. The economy is not everything, though, according to Wandke.

?Students want to get experience,? she said.

Wandke relayed her personal experience in Peace Corps, revealing many employers wanted two to three years of experience, and Wandke found the Peace Corps to be an interesting source for honing her skills. Wandke also said the chance to travel, speak another language and live with another family often attracts students, too.

Lore added that funding and attention by the Bush administration and Congress has greased the wheels for more volunteers and more opportunities for potential volunteers. Lore said even though Peace Corps looks for individuals with skills in technical fields like agronomy and computer networking, ?liberal arts graduates make the best volunteers.?

Lore also said multiple factors make UW the top drawer of Peace Corps volunteers, such as graduate-program affiliations and on-hand past volunteers. There is nothing specific he can find in UW students? commitment to helping other countries.

?If we knew for sure, we?d package it and ship it around the country,? he said.

Nine other Big Ten universities were in the top 25 of alumni volunteers for universities with more than 15,000 undergraduates.