This year, Syracuse University dropped in ranking on the Peace Corps Top Colleges list in producing volunteers for the agency. The university, which was ranked 11th in the nation last year, fell to 13th for 2012.

SU is ranked among medium-sized colleges and universities, which have between 5,000 and 15,000 undergraduate students. Thirty-four SU alumni entered the Peace Corps in 2011, according to the 2012 list, which was generated by the national office in Washington D.C.

Before the 2012 list, SU rose in rank each year since 2009. In 2011, SU claimed 11th place with 36 alumni volunteers entering in 2010.

Typical fluctuation is likely responsible for the change in rank, said Shari Quan, a regional recruiter for the Peace Corps in New York state. She said that increased selectivity in the program might have influenced the number.

‘It’s more competitive now than it was a year ago,’ Quan said, emphasizing applicants’ need for specific skill sets. ‘Don’t think that just because you’ve worked with Big Brothers and Big Sisters or Habitat for Humanity that you’re going to be a strong applicant.’

Additionally, the Peace Corps is increasingly shifting placements toward a focus on environment or agriculture, Quan said. She said while SU seniors may not have had time to develop these skill sets, sophomores or juniors should have sufficient time to prepare themselves and become attractive applicants.

‘I don’t think this will be an ongoing trend,’ she said of SU’s fall in rank.

Quan said high numbers of returning Peace Corps volunteers in graduate programs influenced SU’s consistent placement on the list of top colleges for alumni volunteers.

‘Having these students on campus fosters a conversation and contributes to the number of times that you hear about this opportunity,’ she said.

Peter Gerlach, a doctorate student in the Cultural Foundations of Education program at SU, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia from 2007 to 2009 and is one of those students.

As a teaching assistant and through his involvement at the Slutzker Center for International Services, Gerlach said he talks to undergraduate students about his experiences in the Peace Corps regularly.

His wife and fellow Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia, Cady Gerlach, a second-year student in the College of Law and student in the Master of Public Administration program, has sat on panels to answer undergraduates’ questions about the program.

Although SU does not have a campus recruiter for the Peace Corps like many larger colleges and universities, Cady Gerlach said there is still an interest at the university.

‘The type of student that would already come to SU might be the type to apply to Peace Corps,’ Cady Gerlach said, describing typical Peace Corps applicants as selfless, service-oriented, adventurous and resourceful.

She said: ‘You just have to plant a seed, and I think that having a conversation with a returning volunteer can really help that.’

nagorny@syr.edu 

Published on February 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm