El Salvador RPCV Schneider headlines Commencement at University of Rochester
Schneider headlines Commencement
Schneider
ark Schneider, director of the Peace Corps, will speak at the University's 150th Commencement on Sunday, May 14. He also will receive the inaugural George Eastman Medal, which will be awarded as part of the Sesquicentennial celebration. The medal recognizes individuals who, through their outstanding achievement and dedicated service, embody the high ideals for which the University stands. Founder of Eastman Kodak Co., George Eastman was the University's major donor and one of the nation's great benefactors to higher education.
Schneider, 58, who has an extensive background in public service, became the 15th Peace Corps director in December. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador from 1966 to 1968, and is the second returned Peace Corps volunteer to head the agency. Prior to this appointment he was the assistant administrator of the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Schneider served in that position for six years, directing U.S. foreign assistance programs in this hemisphere that support social and economic development, strengthen democratic institutions, and help protect the environment.
Before he began his work at USAID, Schneider served as chief of the Office of Analysis and Strategic Planning and as senior policy advisor to the director at the Pan American Health Organization. In addition, he served as senior deputy assistant secretary of state for human rights from 1977 to 1979, and as a staff member for U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy from 1970 to 1977.
Schneider is the recipient of the Bernardo O'Higgins Medal for human rights work from the government of Chile, the Congressional Fellowship of the American Political Science Association, and a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellowship at Reed College.
A fluent Spanish speaker, Schneider received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and his master's degree from San Jose State University.
