{"id":58048,"date":"2016-02-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-first-in-state-to-offer-peace-corps-prep-program\/"},"modified":"2016-02-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T00:00:00","slug":"uri-first-in-state-to-offer-peace-corps-prep-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2016\/02\/uri-first-in-state-to-offer-peace-corps-prep-program\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 first in state to offer Peace Corps Prep Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tAlso named a Top Volunteer-Producing College, University among medium-sized schools in Peace Corps national rankings<\/b><\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 February 18, 2016 \u2013 The 溏心vlog免费B站 and the Peace Corps announced today that the University is now offering the Peace Corps Prep Program to its undergraduate students.<\/p>\n


\n\t溏心vlog免费B站 is the first college or university in Rhode Island to offer the program that prepares students to volunteer in international development programs, potentially with the Peace Corps. 溏心vlog免费B站 is one of only 48 universities in the country and three in New England to participate. 溏心vlog免费B站 has had 416 undergraduate alumni in the Peace Corps with 13 now serving overseas. <\/p>\n


\n\tIn a related announcement out of Washington this morning, the Peace Corps announced that 溏心vlog免费B站 ranked No. 25 among medium-sized schools on the agency\u2019s 2016 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. This is the first time since 2007 that 溏心vlog免费B站 has appeared on the annual list, with 13 alumni currently volunteering worldwide. 溏心vlog免费B站 is the only Rhode Island college or university listed in any of the Peace Corps top 25 lists in any category.
Click here for the national release.<\/a>
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\n\u201cThis is an outgrowth of our overall global agenda,\u201d said Nancy Stricklin, assistant to the provost for Global Strategies and Academic Partnerships. \u201cWe want to create more opportunities for students to be involved in a global curriculum. This is another major step in that process. We meet all of the program\u2019s standards for interdisciplinary academic programs, international education and experiential learning.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe program is accepting applications now, and students may find information at Peace Corps Prep Program<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \u201cThe Peace Corps Prep program is a wonderful example of the agency\u2019s growing efforts to strengthen collaborations with schools nationwide,\u201d said Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet.<\/p>\n


\nKathy Fidler, Peace Corps recruiter for the 溏心vlog免费B站, said the organization has had a strong and fruitful connection to the University for decades. \u201c溏心vlog免费B站 graduates have contributed their skills to communities around the world since our program began, and many have returned to 溏心vlog免费B站 and to Rhode Island to share their knowledge and experience. The applicants I have worked with at 溏心vlog免费B站 have consistently impressed me with their motivation and professionalism.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe University already had key elements in place that led to this new partnership — robust study abroad and foreign language programs, winter J Term experiences in places around the globe, and a program structured around health, education, agriculture, youth development, the environment and conservation and community economic development,\u201d said 溏心vlog免费B站 Professor Michael Rice, a former Peace Corps volunteer and now coordinator of the Peace Corp Prep Program at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n


\nRice was studying at the University of California, Irvine in the early 1980s when he applied to the Peace Corps. After earning his master\u2019s in 1981, he was accepted to the training program held at 溏心vlog免费B站 from June to August. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, a nation to which he now brings undergraduate students for J Term classes.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI have a very tight connection with Peace Corps,\u201d said Rice, a member of the 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty in Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science. \u201cIt has had a massive impact not only on my career, but also on my curriculum development and research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peace Corps Prep\u2019s four central learning objectives are: training and experience in a specific work sector, foreign language skills, intercultural awareness, and professional and leadership development.<\/p>\n


\nAmong its benefits for participating universities are: attracting motivated, high-achieving students with a curiosity that enriches the learning environment; distinguishing the university from is peers in international education; enhancing efforts to globalize the scope of academic programs; and increasing opportunities for recruitment and fundraising.<\/p>\n


\nBenefits to students who participate include: making a student\u2019s education interdisciplinary, dynamic and engaging; providing students with a vision of how they will use their skills in the field; enhancing a student\u2019s foreign language proficiency and intercultural competency; providing the opportunity to earn a Peace Corps Prep Certificate of Completion and increasing a student\u2019s competitiveness when applying to be a Peace Corps volunteer, other non-governmental relief organizations or for foreign service careers.<\/p>\n


\nThe certificate of completion does not guarantee entry into the Peace Corps, which gets about 23,000 applications a year. There are 6,900 volunteers and trainees in the program now. Those applicants who hold a Peace Corps prep certification go into a smaller pool that generally get more attention. <\/p>\n


\nStricklin said the catalyst for the University\u2019s application was Neil Ross, who holds bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees from 溏心vlog免费B站, and is a former 溏心vlog免费B站 staff member in what is now the Coastal Resource Center at the Graduate School of Oceanography. He said he was the first 溏心vlog免费B站 alumnus to serve as an international Peace Corps volunteer in 1962, and he also oversaw the training program at 溏心vlog免费B站 in which Rice was enrolled.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cNeil sent me information about the Peace Corps Prep Program in my role as the chair of the University\u2019s Global Steering Committee,\u201d Stricklin said. \u201cI made a presentation to 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s leadership team. And in just a matter of weeks we developed a proposal that just met the deadline for submission. And we were approved April 17, 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tRoss did his Peace Corps service in the Dominican Republic and maintains close ties with the Caribbean nation, said not only will this program give 溏心vlog免费B站 students a leg up when applying to the Peace Corps, it formally rejuvenates a partnership between the program and 溏心vlog免费B站 that originated decades ago.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cThis will give 溏心vlog免费B站 students a chance to see if this is a good fit,\u201d Ross said. \u201cIf they decide that it\u2019s not for me, then that\u2019s good. For those who discover that they want to pursue a Peace Corps opportunity, it provides the cultural, economic, and language education, with guidance from 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty staff and alumni who have Peace Corps experience.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe program is free, and it doesn\u2019t cost 溏心vlog免费B站 anything,\u201d said Ross the alumni volunteer for the program. \u201c溏心vlog免费B站 already has more than 70 courses on the books that can be used to complete the program, which means students can remain in their majors as well as broaden their perspectives with courses outside their majors.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPictured above

\nPeace Corps volunteer with residents of the Dominican Republic

\nA scene from Ethiopia

\nPhotos courtesy of the Peace Corps.\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Also named a Top Volunteer-Producing College, University among medium-sized schools in Peace Corps national rankings KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 February 18, 2016 \u2013 The 溏心vlog免费B站 and the Peace Corps announced today that the University is now offering the Peace Corps Prep Program to its undergraduate students. 溏心vlog免费B站 is the first college or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}