Archive - 2016

The Peace Corps at 55 As we celebrate at the NPCA Conference this September, the 55th anniversary of an  agency that appears to be ‘disappearing’ from the view of most Americans, if not Congress and the White House, we might ask why? How often do we hear, “Is there still a Peace Corps?” from the men and women on the street. It seems that for the public the Peace Corps failed away with the “Kennedy Generation.”   But what brought about the Peace Corps in the first place? I thought I might try and chart the impulses that brought about its creation. These ‘impulses’ we might say are close to being lost in the fog of history. There were, however, several generally accepted desires that coalesced in the last days of the Fifties, framed by a number of people in speeches and in prose, and with the election of John F. . . .

Dick Joyce (Philippines 1962-64) sent me a “heads up” on what RPCVs in his group are doing.  this political season. Dick writes: “At least three of the former Peace Corps Volunteers in our group are running for office in the coming election.  Paul Clements (The Gambia, 85-87; clements@wmich.edu), who has hosted our group and spoken to us about his Peace Corps experiences is running for U.S. Congress (the 6th district, which includes most of our members).  Pat Crowley (Western Samoa, 76-79;pat@pat-crowley.com), one of our most active members, is running for reelection as Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioner. And Mike Quinn (Nicaragua, 75-77; mikedquinn@sbcglobal.net), who has hosted our group at the Shamrock Montessori School, is running to represent District 10 (i.e. much of Portage) on the Kalamazoo County Commission.  I’m sure they would all appreciate our support.”  

One of the features of the Washington, D.C. Peace Corps House will be a Peace Corps Café. The idea behind the Peace Corps Café, independent but related to Peace Corps House, comes from the Press Café in Batumi, Georgia, that far corner of eastern Europe. Happily; it was the project of Craig Schwinck. Craig served in the coastal city of Batumi. Here is what Craig had to say about his Peace Corps assignment in Batumi, Georgia: “My assignment was to establish a place where the free press in Georgia was able to come, discuss, debate, develop and learn from each other. We who started the café had a goal to create a safe haven for that expression. It became a place not only for the press, but for everyone in the state of Adjara to share diverse ideas, experiences and good food. Would it work in Washington? “I believe so. . . .

Purpose If realized, Peace Corps House will be a settlement house, also known as a community or neighborhood center. Thus, the aim of Peace Corps House is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life for residents of a Washington neighborhood where, as the District of Columbia’s Comprehensive Plan states, “poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, crime and other social issues must be addressed because for revitalization to truly succeed, all residents must be given opportunities to advance.” Peace Corps House could help. In this spirit, the aim of Peace Corps House is to bring about a new kind of community life. Because it is in the community or neighborhood that people seek and fight for solutions to their concrete, daily, local and immediate problems. And so Peace Corps House will provide essential social services with related assistance and space to individuals and groups in efforts to solve community problems or . . .

Gearan Announces Conclusion of Presidency Mark D. Gearan, the longest serving president in the history of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, has announced to the Board of Trustees that he will conclude his duties as president at the end of the 2016-17 academic year. At the time of his appointment in 1999, Gearan was one of the youngest college presidents in the nation and a ‘non-traditional’ choice given his background as Director of the Peace Corps and White House senior staff member. When he concludes his presidency in 2017, he will have served for 18 years, leading the Colleges through a period of unprecedented growth. Under Gearan’s leadership, Hobart and William Smith have expanded its academic reach and advanced its reputation as a prominent liberal arts institution. By strengthening the Colleges’ financial resources and increasing its fundraising range, Hobart and William Smith have transformed the physical campus, adding and expanding . . .

  For 20 years, Joe Lurie was executive director of International House at UC Berkeley, a cultural center for the campus and residence for over 1,500 U.S. and international students and scholars annually from over 80 countries. In honor of his service, the International House Board of Directors and UC Berkeley alumni established The Joe Lurie Returned Peace Corps Gateway Fellowship, an endowed doctoral fellowship. Each year one RPCV is awarded full UC Berkeley tuition, fees and a stipend to complete the first year of doctoral studies. With full room and board at International House, awardees continue their cross-cultural experiences while sharing Peace Corps discoveries with American and international residents. In July 2015, Lurie’s book, Perception and Deception: A Mind-Opening Journey Across Cultures  was published. Like the RPCV Fellowship, it was largely inspired by his years in the Peace Corps. In the book, he describes cultural misunderstanding in the Peace Corps and at International . . .

  Finally. Just finished assembling the definitive (as far as we know) list of books by RPCVs about the Peace Corps experience. CLICK “Books” at the top right of any page, then CLICK “Peace Corps Experience Books.”