Washington, D.C., May 5, 1999—- Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan will address the graduating class of 1999 at the University of Maine at Fort Kent on Saturday, May 8.
In 1997, the Peace Corps released a listing of small colleges and universities whose alumni have served overseas since the agency was founded in 1961. With more than 200 alumni who joined the Peace Corps, the University of Maine-Fort Kent was ranked 21st in the nation.
"You and the faculty at Fort Kent can take great pride in having instilled in your students a spirit of service and a sense of adventure. By serving as Peace Corps volunteers, your alumni have made a difference in the lives of people overseas and here at home," Gearan wrote in a letter Fort Kent President Charles Lyons.
Currently, more than 60 Maine residents are serving as Peace Corps volunteers in one of 78 countries around the world. Since 1961, nearly 1,100 Maine residents have answered the call to service.