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Published on 08/30/99

UGA Ag College Partners with Peace Corps

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Photo: Janet Rodekohr

Peace Corps Director Charles Baquet III

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.

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Photo: Janet Rodekohr

Leslie Marbury, firstÿ Master's International student at UGA

"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.