Peace Corps Week highlights University of Oregon's tradition of service

UO Peace Corps campus representative Brett Holt, above left, served as a volunteer in Armenia. Photo: Brett Holt

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EUGENE, Ore. -- (Feb. 25, 2008) -- It will be easy to learn more about the "Toughest Job You'll Ever Love" with upcoming events marking Peace Corps Week on the University of Oregon campus and in the community.

The UO ranks 11th among universities with 67 alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, according to Peace Corps rankings released earlier this year. Across the nation, Peace Corps Week, beginning Monday, Feb. 25, will feature events that call attention to the tradition of service established on March 1, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order establishing the corps as a new government agency. Since then, nearly 1,000 University of Oregon alumni have served as Peace Corps volunteers.

"That ranking reflects the international focus of the University of Oregon," said Brett Holt, the UO's Peace Corps campus representative. "That focus and the large presence of returned volunteers on campus and in the community explain why the UO is routinely among the top producers of volunteers."

Holt, who served in Armenia, will join other returned volunteers in several campus and community events to mark Peace Corps Week. On Tuesday, Feb. 26, there will be a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer panel discussion from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the EMU's Mills International Center. The discussion will feature volunteers who served in Guyana, Honduras, Niger, Uganda and Uzbekistan on a range of assignments. Click here for a complete list of events. For information about ongoing Peace Corps activities on campus, contact Holt at 346-6026, pcorps@uoregon.edu.

Currently more than 8,000 Peace Corps volunteers live and work in more than 74 countries around the world. Volunteers serve in a variety of fields, from education, health, HIV/AIDS education and awareness to information technology, business development, sanitation, the environment and agriculture. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Zack Barnett, UO Office of Public and Media Relations, 541-346-3145, zbarnett@uoregon.edu


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