Peace Corps Signs National Declaration with Tidewater Community College
Peace Corps Signs National Declaration with TCC
Peace Corps Dep. Director launches International Education Week with speech at TCC
Peace Corps Signing ~ Streaming Video Clips
NORFOLK, Va. – (Nov. 17, 2003) – An event of national note took place at Tidewater Community College on Nov. 17. Recognizing TCC’s in-depth practices and model for international education at the community college level, the Peace Corps signed a declaration with the college. The declaration cites TCC’s leadership and a partnership to deepen international education in community colleges through joint Peace Corps and TCC mentorship.
Peace Corps Deputy Director Jody Olsen commended TCC’s success and years of leadership with international education in the community-college arena. “TCC has laid incredible groundwork for students to gain global awareness through a community-college experience and has extended its efforts into the wider community. We hope this declaration will serve as a model for future community-college partnerships as we strive to promote a better understanding of other peoples and their cultures through education and volunteer service.” Olsen followed the signing and news event with a talk and question-and-answer session to the TCC community.
“This opportunity to solidify our working partnership with the Peace Corps and, by extension, to dozens of nations around the globe, enlarges TCC’s opportunities in the crucial role of a community college serving its citizens,” asserts TCC President Deborah M. DiCroce.
Equally, the declaration incorporates a partnership with returned Peace Corps volunteers, who continue the Corps’ goals of striving for peace and understanding both abroad and at home. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for returned volunteers to share what they’ve learned around the world and continue the mission,” says Dr. Clay Drees , president of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Hampton Roads. The volunteers and returned volunteers participate in class sessions, mentoring activities and K-12 teacher training using the curriculum from the Peace Corps’ global education program, Coverdell World Wise Schools .
TCC’s prominent role in bringing international education to the community-college stage earned the 2002 award, Promising Practices: Spotlighting Excellence in Comprehensive Internationalization, from the American Council on Education. The ACE profiled TCC, citing its partnerships with organizations such as NATO and its mentoring of community colleges, in the 2002 Promising Practices case book funded by Carnegie Corp.
TCC’s model features global outreach including major service-learning abroad programs, one in horticulture in Costa Rica and one in Vietnam, tutoring English. TCC students can take a variety of languages, from the traditional Spanish, German and French to rarer Chinese, Japanese and Tagalog. Study-abroad programs for TCC students take them to Costa Rica and France, with a plan for a service-learning program in the Philippines.
