Notre Dame rises in Peace Corps ranking

Author: Michael O. Garvey

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The University of Notre Dame moved up four spots this year on the list of medium-sized schools (those with undergraduate enrollments between 5,000 and 15,000) producing Peace Corps volunteers.

With 23 alumni currently serving in the Peace Corps, Notre Dame is now ranked 17th on the list, up from 21st last year.This is the fifth year in a row that Notre Dame has been among the nations top 25.

Of Indiana universities, Notre Dame ranks third in the provision of Peace Corps volunteers, behind Indiana and Purdue Universities (both of which are in the large school category).

Notre Dame’s association with the Peace Corps goes back to the agencys founding in 1961, when the very first volunteers were trained on campus. Since then, 797 Notre Dame graduates have entered the Peace Corpsmore than from any other Catholic college or university.

The Peace Corps provides a unique opportunity for graduates to use their education and skills, and apply them in the real world,said Peace Corps director Ron Tschetter.I am proud that there are 1,192 institutions of higher learning currently represented by Peace Corps volunteers. These institutions can be proud of the contributions that their graduates are making in the lives of others around the globe.

At present, there are more than 8,000 Peace Corps volunteers serving in 74 countries.

The completePeace Corps Top Colleges 2007" list is available on the Peace Corps Web site at http://www.peacecorps.gov/news/resources/stats/pdf/schools2008.pdf .

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