Willamette University is ranked No. 9 in the nation among small schools on the Peace Corps’ 2019 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list.
Twelve Bearcats are currently volunteering around the world. More than 340 alumni have served in the Peace Corps since the agency’s founding in 1961. Willamette has ranked among the Peace Corps’ top small colleges 15 of the last 17 years.
While Willamette University produces Peace Corps Volunteers, Willamette MBA attracts them. Prior to business school, Jackson Boyd ’20 served as a Community Economic Development Advisor in the Dominican Republic. He worked with a small, cooperatively-owned marmalade producer, conducting organizational strengthening and worker training activities.
“I chose Willamette MBA because of its dual accreditation (AACSB International and NASPAA) and a concentration in the public and not-for-profit sector,” Boyd said. “During my time in the Peace Corps, I found community and economic development to be a very rewarding career path. I found that I’m most passionate about working with entrepreneurs as a means for community and economic development. I have taken this passion to my MBA career and have continued to explore the dynamic relationship between entrepreneurship and development.”
Willamette MBA believes Peace Corps Volunteers bring a unique perspective to the classroom and offers financial assistance to returned Peace Corps Volunteers through the Peace Corps Coverdell Fellowship.