The University of Georgia has a new partner in education. The
Peace Corps and UGA
signed an agreement Aug. 25 to link graduate study with Peace
Corps service. The Master’s
International Program will be conducted through the College of
Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.

Only four other universities offer this opportunity in
agriculture. It allows master’s
degree students to earn three to 12 academic credits for their
Peace Corps service.

The new program already has its first student. Leslie Marbury
of Leesburg, Ga., a
master’s candidate in agricultural economics, will spend two
years in Ghana. She will work
with a UGA research project studying hunger. Marbury has
completed her first year of
graduate course work.

“Many countries have the resources for satisfying hunger
but for the distraction
of the leadership of these countries,” said Charles Baguet
III, Peace Corps director.
“They don’t see the resources. Peace Corps volunteers get to
situations like this and
see what’s out there. They could be naive enough and courageous
enough to make it better.

“This institution (UGA) is founded to educate,”
Baquet said. “The Peace
Corps is continuing education. We feel confident receiving your
graduates and giving them
back to you as professionals.”

Karen Holbrook, UGA Provost, agreed. “This is an
important partnership between the
University of Georgia and the Peace Corps,” she said.
“This is how we prepare
students for the future. We provide them with sound academic
building materials and
develop citizen scholars.”

For more
information on the Master’s
International Program in
Agriculture, call the UGA Office of International
Agriculture at (706) 542-7803.