Peace Corps ranks Rochester eighth

In its 36-year history, 285 Rochester alumni have joined the Peace Corps.

"You and the faculty at Rochester can take great pride in having instilled in your students a spirit of service and a sense of adventure," Peace Corps director Mark Gearan wrote in a letter to President Thomas Jackson.

The Peace Corps defines small colleges and universities as those with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates. Other institutions that have produced the most Peace Corps volunteers are the University of Chicago, Darthmouth College, Oberlin College, Tufts University, Carleton College, Saint Olaf College, Middlebury College, Massachusetts Institute of Tehcnology and Emory University.

More than 150,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps since its launch in 1961. Today, nearly 6,600 volunteers work with the corps in 87 countries.