The Peace Corps recently announced the University of Wisconsin produced the third highest number of alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers for the year among large universities, adding to a historically high number of volunteers since the government first launched the program more than 50 years ago.

UW had a total of 107 volunteers, just five below the top spot. UW also has produced more than 3,000 alumni who have served in the Peace Corps since John F. Kennedy created the agency in 1961, a statement from UW said. The only school to produce more is University of California-Berkeley, with 3,497 volunteers.

On campus, the Division of International Studies works with the Peace Corps. Division of International Studies Dean Gilles Bousquet said UW’s international programs tie in well with the Peace Corps’ mission.

“The strong interest in the Peace Corps on campus demonstrates that UW students have a strong commitment to public service and a passion for working to make our world a better place,” Bousquet said. “They represent the values at the core of the Wisconsin Idea.”

UW’s total 107 Peace Corps volunteers falls only five less than the University of Colorado-Boulder, which holds the top spot in the past year, and 16 above UW’s own number last year, the statement said.

This is the 12th year in a row UW has ranked highly on the Peace Corps’ Top Colleges and Universities list, including six years in the No. 1 spot. In the agency’s history, over 5,000 Wisconsin residents have volunteered, with 229 currently in field.
Christine Torres, a Peace Corps representative at the regional office in Chicago, said in an email to The Badger Herald that UW has historically had a good relationship with the Peace Corps and has the potential to get back to the No. 1 spot in 2013.

Torres said the relationship between the university and the Peace Corp is strong due to its long-term campus recruiting office, huge number of alum volunteers and faculty support throughout campus.

“The relationship between UW-Madison and Peace Corps is one of the strongest among all universities in the country,” Torres said. “Underlying it all is the university’s strong service, humanities and citizenship philosophy that has married … with the Peace Corps mission.”

Torres added nearly 40 percent of Peace Corps volunteers serve in Africa. She said UW’s top African Studies Program encourages a robust international and cultural studies program, matching the Peace Corps’ mission of global friendship and cooperation.

Bousquet said UW prepares students to go into the Peace Corps because of the emphasis on exposure and connection with the world at large in education. There is a strong international focus in many of UW’s academic programs, she said.

Bousquet added each year more than 2,000 students study abroad while 4,000 international students study at UW.

Current Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams, who received his MBA from UW, served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic in the late 1960s. Last March he marked the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps with a celebration hosted by UW’s African Studies program.

“Every day, volunteers make countless contributions to projects,” Williams said in a statement. “I would like to extend my gratitude to all colleges and universities for their continued support of the Peace Corps and public service.”