Governor Jim Doyle and First Lady Jessica Doyle met with former and future Peace Corps volunteers in Agriculture Hall on Friday, March 3rd to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the program.

The state’s first couple, who served as volunteers in Tunisia from 1967 to 1969, were greeted by David Hogg, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, before exchanging stories about their experiences with many in the crowd.

The governor then proclaimed the week of February 27, 2006 as “Peace Corps Week” and March 1, 2006 as “Peace Corps Day.” He presented a ceremonial plaque to Greg Pepping, the campus Peace Corps representative whose office is housed within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences” international programs division.

President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 to promote understanding between Americans and citizens of other nations, and to help developing countries meet their own needs.

“[President Kennedy] not only told us to ”go engage in service,” but he gave us a way to do it, and we were thankful for the opportunity,” said Governor Doyle. He and the first lady served in Tunisia from 1967 to 1969 where they taught English in an oasis on the edge of the Saharan desert. “We went [to Tunisia] filled with Kennedy idealism.”

Other volunteers described their experiences in Mongolia, Tonga, Gambia, Uganda and Guatemala, often mentioning their service as a transforming experience in their lives.

For the past 20 years, the UW-Madison has produced more Peace Corps volunteers than any other university or college in the nation. Since the program’s inception, nearly 3,000 UW-Madison alumni have served. Last year alone, the university had 104 volunteers abroad.

The governor noted that since the late 1960s, the literacy rate in Tunisia has increased from less than 40% to around 95% today. “We feel some pride that we were one small part of what this country has done, that maybe we did make a little difference,” said Governor Doyle. “And the Peace Corps definitely made an incredible difference in our lives.”

In total, more than 180,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in over 130 different countries in the past 45 years.

According to Governor Doyle, “The Peace Corps goes beyond the rhetoric of service. It gives people a pathway to actually do [service].”