For Immediate Release
Contact:
Leslie Weddell
(719) 389-6038
Leslie.Weddell@ColoradoCollege.edu
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Feb. 2, 2011 – Colorado College jumped 13 places and now ranks ninth among small colleges and universities in the United States with alumni serving as Peace Corps volunteers.
The college has 20 alumni currently serving. Last year CC placed 22nd among small schools, with 14 alumni volunteers. Since the Peace Corps' inception in 1961, a total of 342 Colorado College alumni have joined its ranks, serving the 27-month commitment to service around the world.
“I am very proud of CC’s continued and growing contribution to the Peace Corps, particularly this year, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary,” said Colorado College President Richard F. Celeste. Celeste served as director of the U.S. Peace Corps from 1979 until 1981.
“CC students are very service oriented. Many of our students are eager to put their education to work in the developing world. They are interested in being engaged globally and making a real difference in the lives of others,” Celeste said. He regularly gets e-mails from Colorado College alumni serving in the Peace Corps, updating him on their projects and activities.
“Colorado College students have a tradition of strong participation in international service-oriented activities both during and after college,” said Geoff Falen, director of the college’s career services center. “We see this in the study abroad programs they select, the service opportunities they engage in, as well as with their post-graduation ambitions. The Peace Corps continues to be a highly sought-after “gap year experience” option among Colorado College graduates.”
The University of Mary Washington ranked first among small schools, with 32 alumni serving. St. Olaf College ranked second, with 24 alumni serving, and Lewis & Clark College, Gonzaga University and University of Portland each had 23 volunteers. In the category of large universities, with more than 15,000 undergraduates, the University of Colorado at Boulder ranked highest with 117 volunteers. The George Washington University finished first among medium schools with 72 volunteers currently serving in the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing schools annually according to the size of the student body. Small colleges are those with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates; medium-size schools are those with between 5,001 and 15,000 undergraduates; and large institutions are those with more than 15,000 undergraduates. The University of California-Berkeley maintains the No. 1 all-time rank, with a cumulative 3,457 total volunteer alumni since the Peace Corps was established.
About Colorado College
Colorado College is a nationally prominent, four-year liberal arts college that was founded in Colorado Springs in 1874. The college operates on the innovative Block Plan, in which its 2,025 undergraduate students study one course at a time in intensive 3½-week segments. The college also offers a master of arts in teaching degree. For more information, visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu <http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu>.