It may not conform to the stereotype of graduate school, but for growing numbers of 91探花students, getting their master鈥檚 degree involves a two-year stint overseas in the Peace Corps.
Peace Corps Deputy Director Josephine 鈥淛ody鈥� Olsen will help inaugurate the latest two such 91探花programs at campus events on Monday, March 1, the 44th anniversary of the Peace Corps鈥� founding.
Starting next fall, students in both the 91探花College of Forest Resources and the School of Public Health and Community Medicine can earn a Peace Corps Master鈥檚 International Degree. They will head to developing nations to delve into forestry and natural resource management, or health initiatives such as HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.
The Evans School of Public Affairs began to offer the Peace Corps option two years ago, and is about to welcome back its first Peace Corps Master鈥檚 International Program student, Robin Rask, from Grenada. The Evans degree specializes in leadership of non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, that do humanitarian and development work.
鈥淭he Peace Corps model has proven to be an effective way for students to acquire real-world skills and experiences while completing a professional graduate degree,鈥� said Evans School Dean Sandra Archibald. 鈥淭his is what graduate education should be all about.鈥�
The Evans School will host Monday鈥檚 two public events with Olsen. At 4:30 p.m., she will speak at the Forum on the third floor of Parrington Hall about new directions for the corps, and will answer questions after her talk.
Then, at 5:30 p.m., Olsen will attend a reception for returned Peace Corps volunteers hosted by the Marc Lindenberg Center for Humanitarian Action, International Development and Global Citizenship
Among those to be honored will be Forest Resources Associate Professor Ivan Eastin, who served in the Peace Corps in Liberia in the mid-1980s. He also is acting director of the Center for International Trade of Forest Products (CINTRAFOR).
鈥淚van has guest-lectured to and mentored our PCMI students, and then devoted a ton of energy to launching a PCMI program in his own unit,鈥� said Elaine Chang, the Lindenberg Center鈥檚 acting director.
Eastin said eight to 10 forest-resources students will eventually pursue the Peace Corps degree each year, going abroad to establish nurseries, teach on environmental topics and create 鈥渇uel lots鈥� 鈥� small plots that grow wood for fuel as an alternative to logging native forests.
Since 1961, nearly 2,300 91探花graduates have served in the Peace Corps, including more than 90 currently.