Chancellor urges Congress to pass legislation to boost study abroad
KU jumps again in Peace Corps ratings
For the fourth consecutive year, KU saw an increase in its national ranking for Peace Corps volunteers.
KU improved one spot, from 18th to 17th, in the rankings that were announced recently. Currently, 49 KU alumni volunteer in the Peace Corps. KU jumped five spots in the rankings last year, moving from 23rd in 2005 to 18th in 2006.
In all, 840 KU alumni have served in the Peace Corps, ranking it 36th in total number of volunteers since the organization began.
Betty Baron, KU's Peace Corps coordinator and a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia from 1966 to 1968, was happy with KU's continued increase in the national rankings, which began in 2004.
"More important than rankings, for me, however, is simply finding good, qualified volunteers who will appreciate their chance to make a difference in the world and to serve their country by building friendships and trying to work toward world peace," said Baron, who is in her fourth year as coordinator at KU.
KU has seen significant growth in its Peace Corps program the past four years. KU had only 29 volunteers in 2002.
"I continue to be impressed by the many multitalented, service-oriented KU students who are willing to sacrifice creature comforts here while they go abroad to help with sustainable projects that will improve the lives of others who are less privileged than we are," said Baron.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison dropped from the top spot for the first time in 20 years in the large school category. The University of Washington now tops the list with 110 alumni currently serving.
Schools are ranked according to the size of the student body. Small schools are those with less than 5,000 undergraduates, medium-size schools are those with between 5,001 and 15,000 undergraduates and large schools are those with more than 15,000 undergraduates. The entire "Peace Corps Top Colleges 2007" is online.
— Brown bag meetings will be held from 12 to 1 p.m. on the last Wednesday of the month at the Centennial Room in the Kansas Union. Former Peace Corps volunteers will speak about their experiences in a series titled "Around the World with the Peace Corps."
KU ranks eighth in the nation among public research universities in the percentage of undergraduate students who study abroad. Just over a quarter of all KU students complete international study by the time they graduate.
The university, which received the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization in 2005, has established a five-year goal to increase the number of KU students studying abroad from 26.2 percent to 40 percent.
"Study abroad gives students a great understanding that will help them compete and lead in a global marketplace," said Hemenway. "KU has excellent programs on campus to prepare students for the international economic and political environment they will live in. Study abroad is a vital component that greatly enhances their education."
The new legislation, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007, would create a national fellowship program. It would be administered by an independent entity and provide key support for necessary modifications at institutions of higher education to allow all college students the opportunity to study abroad. Simon, the late senator from Illinois, was a strong proponent of international education.
The bill's objectives include ensuring that the demographics of the study-abroad participation will reflect the U.S. undergraduate population and that an increasing portion of study abroad students will go to currently nontraditional study abroad destinations.
KU's Office of Study Abroad offers 100 programs in more than 50 countries. In addition, undergraduates who gain international experiences on and off campus are recognized through Global Awareness Program certification on their transcripts.
In February, KU alumnus Larry Horner and his wife, Donna Manning Horner, of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, established a $500,000 endowed scholarship fund for KU study abroad participants.
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