PEACE CORPS NEWS
VOL. 1 NO. 1
A Special College Supplement
WINTER, 1962
Peace Corps Plans to Double in ’63
PEACE CORPS TEACHER Kenneth Baer of Beverly Hills, Calif., instructs a class of Ghanaian students
in Accra. Baer received a Master's degree in American history from the University of California in
1961. He now teachers general arts subjects at the Ebeneezer Secondary School in Accra.
Tribal Dances, Chants
Spark Ghanaian Nights
(Editor’s note: Newell Flather of Lowell, Mass., is a Peace
Corps Volunteer teacher in Winneba, Ghana. The following
is from a letter he wrote.) Six months ago my future seemed
settled and secure. Fresh out of college I had been accepted by the
University of Virginia Law School, and except for a superficial
spring course, I hardly knew where Ghana was.
Colleges Give
Academic Credit
Ohio University will award
academic credit to Peace Corps
Volunteers, announced Dr. Rog¬
ers Finch, Chief of the Division
of University Relations for the
Peace Corps.
“This is an unprecedented
move which we expect will be
followed by other universities,”
Dr. Finch said. The program
applies specifically to a teaching
project in the West Cameroons,
sponsored by the Peace Corps
and administered by the Uni¬
versity of Ohio.
Currently, three types of ac¬
tivities for which academic credit
may be sought on an individual
basis by a Volunteer are:
1 ) The Peace Corps training
program for which full or partial
equivalency to regularly estab¬
lished academic courses may be
given by some institutions. Plans
are now underway at Columbia
Teachers College, the University
of Pittsburgh, Syracuse Univer¬
sity and New Paltz State Teach¬
ers College to give credit for the
training program.
2) Some colleges will give
course credit for the cultural,
job and language experience
gained abroad.
3) A third potential area of
academic credit exists in indi¬
vidual study, provided it does
not detract from the basic pur¬
poses for which the Volunteer is
serving overseas.
A late June telegram from
the Peace Corps, two months
training at Berkeley, two weeks
indoctrination at the University
of Ghana, Legon, and three and
one half months of residence in
Winneba have considerably al¬
tered this circumstance.
I find my school, my town,
and my job all very interest¬
ing. The school is deep-seated
and saturated with Ghanaian
revolutionary tradition. As His¬
tory Department Chairman, I
have been asked by the head¬
master to write a history of the
school, a fascinating undertak¬
ing with which I am currently
occupied.
Here a beautiful hospital func¬
tions side by side with active
fetish priests and powerful Afri¬
can Jaju. My house is within
hearing distance of the cere¬
monial grounds, and I can catch
( See ‘T ribal,’ page 4 )
Corps Allotted
$59 Million
Congress has voted a $59 mil¬
lion Peace Corps appropriation
for fiscal 1963. The appropria¬
tion, supported by both parties
in Congress, almost doubled last
year’s funds.
Sargent Shriver, director of
the Peace Corps, said the second
year goal was to increase the
number of Volunteers overseas
to 10,000.
Praise for the Peace Corps has
come from all sides of Congress
including some of the more con¬
servative members.
College Grads
Best Qualified
All college students are
urged to complete their de¬
gree requirements before
entering the Peace Corps.
Although a degree is not
a prerequisite for all proj¬
ects, the possession of a
degree is definitely consid¬
ered an asset by Peace
Corps officials.
Liaisons Serve
2,000 Campuses
More than 2,000 Peace Corps
liaison officers are assisting the
Peace Corps on as many cam¬
puses across the nation. Ap¬
pointed by the university presi¬
dent, these faculty or administra¬
tive officers are the direct link
between the Peace Corps and the
colleges.
Serving as advisors and pub¬
licists, the liaison is usually in
contact with Volunteer alumni
serving overseas. Interested stu¬
dents who do not know the
local liaison officer may find his
identity by calling the college
president’s office.
Student-faculty or all-student
Peace Corps committees have
been organized on many cam¬
puses to help the liaison officer.
The committees promote special
Peace Corp events, disseminate
information and support alumni
Volunteers in the field. Further
information about such support
work can be obtained by writing
Public Affairs, Peace Corps,
Washington 25, D. C.
Overseas, too, college profes¬
sors are making their contribu¬
tion. In addition to the teachers
serving with the 12 university-
administered projects, there are
( See ‘Liaisons,’ page 3 )
Mounting Requests Follow
Volunteer Achievements
Amid conflicting views of optimism and skepticism, the Peace
Corps launched a scant 18 months ago a new experiment in United
States aid to developing nations.
“A boondoggle,” some cried. “Overseas junkets for beatniks,”
said others.
“A noble undertaking,” countered the optimists.
While the debate continued, thousands of young Americans,
(and some not so young) quietly volunteered their services to
help people in need around the
world. Nearly 5,000 Volunteers
are already at work in more
Thailand Bout
Ends in Draw
For Volunteer
For the first time in known
history, an American fighter re¬
cently came out of the ring right
side up after a match with a
Thai. The American fighter was
Bob Pitts, a Peace Corps Volun¬
teer, from Redbank, N.J.
Pitts, who teaches physics at
Chulalongkorn University, did
not go into the ring unprepared.
He had been a boxer at Yale
University where he received his
B.A. degree. He had trained for
three weeks under a former Thai
champion, studying the vagaries
of Thai boxing which permits
kicking, kneeing, elbowing and
gouging.
The fans applauded gleefully
as Pitts performed the pre-bout
ritual of drawing symbols and
making incantations to down the
spirit of his opponent, Wooth
Barbos. Although the incanta¬
tions didn’t completely succeed
in downing Barbos’ spirit, they
at least subdued it. The match
was a draw.
Athletic training ranks high in
the needs of developing nations,
in part because it helps develop
health and physical fitness. But
even more important in the
minds of country leaders is the
feeling of national pride and
unity that comes from creditable
performance of their teams at
Olympic or regional games.
than 42 countries. By the begin¬
ning of the next school year,
9,000 Volunteers will be on the
job.
How are they doing? One
measure is the response of the
nations where they have gone.
Every country has asked for
double, triple or quadruple the
number of Volunteers already
at work.
Said Colombia’s President
Valencia in his inaugural ad¬
dress: “The mission which they
(the Volunteers) are furthering
is truly extraordinary and meri¬
torious, worthy of Colombia’s
gratitude. They make direct
contact with our most humble
people in our towns and vil¬
lages; they hear their complaints,
understand their anguish and
stimulate their hopes.
“There is no other action
more effective to the service of
continental integration than this
Peace Corps which allows a
young man from Chicago to
know the thoughts of a man
from Sabanalarga or Firavi-
toba.”
President Valencia has scored
part of the Peace Corps’ basic
objectives — human understand¬
ing. Congress defined for the
Peace Corps these primary aims:
1. To help developing nations
meet their needs for trained
manpower.
( See ‘Mounting,’ page 4 )
Nancy Tanner, 22, a Peace Corps Volunteer from Henderson, Ky.,
cavorts with some of her Chilean friends. She is teaching pre¬
school children in San Gregorio, a low-income housing develop¬
ment in Santiago. Miss Tanner attended Hollins College in Virginia.
