The Peace Corps

Contrary to some myths, Peace Corps Washington was not a government version of “Mad Men.” writes Joanne Roll (Colombia 1963-65) yesterday in her blog item. Sorry Joanne. I have to disagree. The Peace Corps (like other government agencies at the time was made up of  “mad men”.) In the third year of the Peace Corps–1963–a booklet was published by the agency entitled “Who’s Who in the Peace Corps Washington.” Here is a photo in those early years of a Senior Staff Meeting with Shriver at the head of the table. A list of the top 40 employees were profiled in this booklet. Only three profiles were of women: Alice Gilbert (Director of the Division of United Nations and International Agency Programs); Ruth Olson (Special Assistant to the Chief of the Division of Volunteer Field Support); Dorothy Mead Jacobsen (Chief of the Division of Personnel). There was also a list of  . . .

     “A Towering Task” producter Alana de Joseph asked that question as we tried to decipher how many actual Volunteers were serving from Colorado when Peace Corps did its annual count September 2019. Was this the simplest of requests?  Not exactly.  Only the top 20 states with serving Volunteers were listed on the Peace Corps home page. And then, only certain of these states were awarded an actual number. Colorado was not among them. Instead, Colorado was listed as having 4.1 Volunteers for each 100,000 in population, prompting Alana’s question. (https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-2019-top-volunteer-producing-states/)   If I could have decoded that statistic, I would have majored in Physics and not Political Science. Using my Poli Sci degree, I realized we could just ask our Senator.  Within a day, Senator Gardner’s office reported Colorado had 192 serving Volunteers as of September 2019.  But all of this  reminded me of Peace Corps Worldwide’s publisher, Marian . . .

Peace Corps describes  efforts to make sure all serving Volunteers and Staff are safe as the Coronavirus Outbreak continues.  Here is the latest press release: “https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-monitoring-coronavirus-outbreak/ “WASHINGTON – Since the outbreak was first reported in early January, the Peace Corps has been closely monitoring the coronavirus with the State Department Bureaus of Medical Affairs and Diplomatic Security, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization, to safeguard volunteers and staff at Peace Corps posts around the world. Peace Corps medical officers are communicating with volunteers on how to mitigate the risks of exposure, and an interdisciplinary working group is working closely with overseas posts to track and analyze the impact on the agency and to ensure an effective and timely response. Each Peace Corps program has developed specific protocols for the coronavirus that have been included in their Emergency Action Plans. Volunteers are thoroughly trained in . . .

  Join author Charles B. Kastner to discuss the history of African-American runners through the lens of his new book, Race Across America. About this Event Join author Charles B. Kastner (Seychelles 1980-82) to discuss the history of African-American runners through the lens of Charles’ new book, Race Across America: Eddie Gardner and the Great Bunion Derbies. A book selling and signing will be held after the discussion. About Race Across America: Eddie Gardner and the Great Bunion Derbies Anyone who roots for the underdog — the guy trying to do something in spite of impossible odds — should read Race Across America. It shows that human limitations are there to be broken and speaks to the untapped potential for human achievement that rests within each of us. It also puts a spotlight on the heroism of one of Seattle’s greatest endurance athletes, Eddie “the Sheik” Gardner. In the late 1920s, Gardner competed in two . . .

    Queen of Hearts: The Story of Anna Sipl Meyers Edited by Leita Kaldi Davis (Senegal 1993–96), Anna Sipl Meyers (Author) Self-published July 2018 248 pages $20.00 (paperback) Reviewed by D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 1974-76 & Costa Rica 1976-77) • This is a life story worthy of a Horatio Alger novel, except that it is autobiographical rather than fiction, and the hero, Anna Sipl Meyers, continues her story after achieving her initial goal of owning a Las Vegas hotel and casino. In fact her ups and downs as a hotel and casino owner are among the most fascinating parts of her life story. The book is based on two years of interviews conducted by Claytee D. White, Director of the Oral History Research Center at UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas) Libraries. RPCV Leita Kaldi Davis organized the interviews and edited them into a book which is conversational, well organized, and . . .

  Mildred D. Taylor (Ethiopia 1965-67) was an early PCV to the town of Yirgalem in Southern Ethiopia. She was in the Fifth Group of Volunteers, having trained at Utah. As a former Volunteer she has had a remarkable career as a novelist, publishing nine novels, including the 1976 Roll of Thunder, Heart My Cry, published by Dial Press that won the 1977 Newberry Award. This new novel, published last month, is entitled All The Days Past, All The Days To Come is a sweeping saga of the Mississippi Logan family that comes to a compelling conclusion. It is the story of Cassie Logan who we first meet as a eight-year-old and she is a witness to the now-historic events of the century: the Great Migration north, relentless racism of postwar America, the rise of the Civil Rights Movements, and the often violent confrontations that brought about change. The book . . .

February 5, 2020 WASHINGTON – Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and related school closures and travel constraints, all Peace Corps China volunteers were safely evacuated out of the country, the Peace Corps announced today, February 5. The 139 volunteers will close their service. The evacuation of current volunteers follows a recent decision by the Peace Corps to graduate its China program. Since Peace Corps China began in 1993, approximately 1,300 volunteers have worked alongside educators at more than 140 Chinese colleges, universities and technical schools to strengthen English language learning. “My heart goes out to the extraordinary volunteers and staff who are participating in the Close of Service conference and preparing for the next steps in their lives,” said Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen. “I am proud of their hard work and strong commitment to this program, which brought our two countries closer together and gave Chinese students and . . .

Harvard Solicits Nominations for Permanent Winthrop Deans Amid Student Calls to Keep Interim Leaders Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana announced the next stages of the search for new Winthrop House faculty deans in an email to Winthrop residents Tuesday. By Juliet E. Isselbacher and Declan J. Knieriem, Crimson Staff Writers Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana announced the next stages of the search for new Winthrop House faculty deans in an email to Winthrop residents Tuesday. In his email, Khurana said the College would soon begin accepting nominations for faculty dean candidates, a process he called a “critical first step.” Current interim faculty deans Mark D. Gearan ’78 and Mary Herlihy-Gearan have led the House since August, following the College’s decision to not renew former Winthrop faculty deans Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr. and Stephanie R. Robinson’s contract amid a controversy over Sullivan’s decision to represent Hollywood producer and accused sexual abuser Harvey Weinstein. Gearan and Herlihy-Gearan wrote in . . .

  Third Goal Efforts by RPCV Betty & Bill Graff (Ethiopia 1963-65) I am continually impressed by what former Volunteers have done in their host countries in the years since their tours. Former Volunteers have continued to work in-country, spending time and money over the years to help the schools and sites where they taught and lived, to build school and community libraries, to find scholarships for students, to improve the medical conditions in their villages. One example is Bill and Betty Graff who were in Ethiopia from 1963-65. Recently I heard from Bill about his and his wife’s history of helping their school and region of Ethiopia where  they lived as PCVs in their second year in-country. Bill wrote . . . When Betty and I arrived in the Wolaita Region of southern Ethiopia in 1964 it was a pre-wheel society of about a million people.  We opened the . . .

  Letter in the Wall Street Journal, January 30 —   In “The Peace Corps Cuts and Runs” (op-ed, Jan. 24), Michael Meyer claims that I, and my colleague Marco Rubio, “don’t understand [the Peace Corps’] mission” in Communist China. I can assure you this isn’t the case. I would argue it’s the defenders of the Peace Corps’ presence in Communist China who don’t understand and can’t explain its mission there. I’ve met with the Peace Corps director multiple times and asked her what the volunteers did in Communist China and why they were there. Her response? The Peace Corps has been in Communist China for the last 25 years because Communist China had asked for volunteers. She said volunteers did not teach American values or capitalism and did not coordinate their activities with the office of the U.S. Secretary of State. When I asked what the return on investment . . .

    FEB 22 12:00 PM Minnesota History Theatre St. Paul Saturday, February 22, 2020 12:00 PM 3:30 PM VIEW EVENT → 0 Likes Share FEB 27 4:00 PM American University Thursday, February 27, 2020 4:00 PM 7:00 PM VIEW EVENT → 0 Likes Share MAR 1 4:00 PM John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Sunday, March 1, 2020 4:00 PM 7:00 PM VIEW EVENT → 1 Likes Share MAR 3 6:30 PM University Of Wisconsin, Madison Tuesday, March 3, 2020 6:30 PM 9:00 PM VIEW EVENT → 0 Likes Share MAR 7 1:00 PM Corazon Cinema And Café St. Augustine Saturday, March 7, 2020 1:00 PM 4:00 PM VIEW EVENT → 0 Likes Share MAR 8 12:00 PM University Of North Florida Sunday, March 8, 2020 12:00 PM 3:00 PM VIEW EVENT → 0 Likes Share NOV 17 7:30 PM Reston Community Center In Reston, Virginia Tuesday, November 17, 2020 . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Steven Saum (Ukraine 1994-96) This year, two RPCV writers are nominated for the 2019 book awards. They are George Packer (Togo 1982-83) and Peter Heller (China 1996-98) Finalists for the 2019 NBCC Awards The board of the National Book Critics Circle announces the finalists for its 2019 awards in six categories: Autobiography, Biography, Criticism, Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry. The winners will be announced at a celebration on March 12 in New York. In addition, today the recipients of three annual honors, the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award and the John Leonard Award for First Book are announced — they can be found below the finalists. Autobiography Five Days Gone: The Mystery of My Mother’s Disappearance as a Child by Laura Cumming (Scribner) Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow (Little, Brown) . . .

What global issues do you care most about? Which do you think the Peace Corps community is in the best position to help address and affect real change? These are among the critical questions National Peace Corps Association is asking in a short survey. Your input will help us identify the global issues our community cares about most and the actions we might take together to address them.   Please take a few minutes to take the survey prior to January 31 and be eligible to win a free trip to Peace Corps Connect 2020 in Seattle.   Thank you, Glenn   Survey URL: http://highpoint.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4HhxY1D9SJ3tzb7   Glenn Blumhorst RPCV Guatemala (1988-91) President and CEO

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Arnold Zeitlin (Ghana 1961-63)     Wuhan, China — U.S.Consul General RPCV Jamie Fouss (Samoa) Jamie Fouss(Samoa 1981-83) arrived in Wuhan to serve as the Consul General in August 2017. His previous postings have been in Taipei, Beijing, Guangzhou, Dhaka, and Hyderabad. Prior to joining the Department of State, Jamie worked for five years at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC), preparing Southeast Asian refugees to resettle in the United States. He also worked with Peace Corps for several years as a country desk officer at Peace Corps headquarters and then associate director in Western Samoa—where he had served as a volunteer—and country director in the Marshall Islands. Jamie has also worked as a cross-cultural training curriculum developer with Berlitz Cross-Cultural and later with Training Management Corporation in Princeton, New Jersey. Jamie grew up in a military family and graduated from high school in . . .