Release date: Feb. 6, 2004
Contact: Deb Hammacher, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu

Emory Ranks High for Peace Corps Service

Emory University ranks 12th in the nation among mid-sized schools that produced the most Peace Corps volunteers in 2003 in the organization's annual listing of the top volunteer-producing schools. Emory, with 6,300 undergraduates, is smaller than all but one of the schools ranked in the Top 10 of the mid-sized category, and is about half the size of the top two universities in the category.

With 33 graduates currently serving in the field, Emory is ranked 37th nationally among colleges and universities of all sizes. For the purposes of fairly ranking the schools according to the size of the student body, small schools are those with less than 5,000 undergraduates, medium-size schools are those with 5,001 to 15,000 undergraduates, and large schools are those with more than 15,000 undergraduates.

"The important role that these alumni continue to play in promoting hope, opportunity and freedom cannot be underestimated," says Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. "We at the Peace Corps are please and excited that an increasing number of college alumni are not only considering Peace Corps, but are answering the call to service that is so necessary and imperative in our global community."

To date, Emory has had more than 350 graduates serve in the Peace Corps. The majority of volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps the past 43 years are college graduates. Currently, 83 percent of the volunteers have an undergraduate degree and 14 percent have graduate degrees or have studied at the graduate level.

This year's 7,533 volunteers and trainees--the highest level since 1974--are serving in 71 different countries. Since 1961, more than 170,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps, working in such diverse fields as education, health and HIV/AIDS awareness and education, information technology, business development, the environment and agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a two-year commitment.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, a comprehensive metropolitan health care system.

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