FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, October 28, 1997

Peace Corps Receives $3 Million Grant from DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest to Support Fellows Program

Washington, D.C., October 28, 1997—Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan announced today that the DeWitt Wallace-Reader\'s Digest fund has granted $3.12 million to support the Peace Corps Fellows Program. The DeWitt Wallace-Reader\'s Digest grant will be used to continue and expand the work at 11 universities that currently are participating in the Peace Corps Fellows Program, which the Fund supports as part of its Pathways to Teaching Careers Initiative. The universities received a total of $2.21 million, and the Peace Corps received $901,747 to oversee the programs. The Peace Corps Fellows Program, which began in 1985, places returned Peace Corps volunteers in public schools that have formed partnerships with nearby universities. Along with their classroom duties, the Fellows complete coursework leading to a master\'s degree and full-time teaching certification. Grants from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader\'s Digest Fund underwrite a portion of the Fellow\'s tuition costs. In return, Fellows make a two-year commitment to work in under-served areas while studying at the university. "The Fellows Program is a direct way the citizens of the United States benefit from Peace Corps volunteers\' service," said Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan. "The grant from DeWitt Wallace-Reader\'s Digest Fund will enable returned Peace Corps volunteers to continue this essential work." The mission of the DeWitt Wallace-Reader\'s Digest Fund is to foster fundamental improvement in the quality of educational and career development opportunities for all school-age youth, and to increase access to these improved services for young people in low-income communities. Today, nearly 6,500 Peace Corps volunteers are serving in 87 countries, working to help fight hunger, bring clean water to communities, teach children, start new small businesses, and stop the spread of AIDS. Since 1961, more than 150,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps.
Here is a list of universities that received grants from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader\'s Digest Fund for continuation of the Peace Corps Fellows Program:
DePaul University $298,885
Florida International University $199,997
George Washington University $199,864
Northern Arizona University $199,635
San Francisco State University $199,883
Teachers College, Columbia University $308,200
Temple University $221,926
University of Michigan $40,000
University of New Mexico $194,184
University of Southern California $160,876
University of Texas at El Paso $197,836

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