2007.03.23: March 23, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Fiji: Politics: Congress: National Service: National Service Academy: Wilton Villager: Christopher Shays calls for the creation of a National Public Service Academy
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2007.03.23: March 23, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Fiji: Politics: Congress: National Service: National Service Academy: Wilton Villager: Christopher Shays calls for the creation of a National Public Service Academy
Christopher Shays calls for the creation of a National Public Service Academy
In a press conference today with Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Arlen Specter, R-Penn., Shays will propose legislation commissioning the U.S. Public Service Academy. The institution would offer a free college education for young people who agree to five years of public service. "Just like we have military academies to create military leaders, we'd like to have an academy of public service [for people who] have devoted their education to this concept," Shays said in an interview. The academy would prepare young Americans for public service positions in fields including education, the environment, health care, foreign policy and law enforcement. Academy students would earn four-year bachelors of arts or bachelors of science degrees. Unique programs proposed include a mandatory junior year abroad and summer learning programs focusing on emergency response or military training.
Congressman Chris Shays of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fiji in the 1960's.
Christopher Shays calls for the creation of a National Public Service Academy
Shays proposes free tuition for students who perform public service
By PATRICK R. LINSEY
plinsey@wiltonvillager.com
NORWALK — A former Peace Corps volunteer, U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays is calling for the creation of a national public service academy.
In a press conference today with Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Arlen Specter, R-Penn., Shays will propose legislation commissioning the U.S. Public Service Academy. The institution would offer a free college education for young people who agree to five years of public service.
"Just like we have military academies to create military leaders, we'd like to have an academy of public service [for people who] have devoted their education to this concept," Shays said in an interview Wednesday.
The academy would prepare young Americans for public service positions in fields including education, the environment, health care, foreign policy and law enforcement.
Academy students would earn four-year bachelors of arts or bachelors of science degrees. Unique programs proposed include a mandatory junior year abroad and summer learning programs focusing on emergency response or military training.
After graduating, students would be required to serve for five years in the public sector or a pre-approved private sector field, or they would face a dishonorable discharge from the academy and have to repay the cost of their education.
The idea for the academy was conceived by Chris Myers Asch, the founder of a public service program in rural Mississippi.
"It came out of Hurricane Katrina," said Asch. "We all saw the breakdown of public institutions."
Ash recalled wondering why residents of the Gulf Coast called for military assistance after the hurricane struck in August 2005.
"It got me thinking why is it we can trust the military to come in a crisis situation and perform jobs that they are supposed [to be performed by] civilian institutions?" he said. "Why don't we have a civilian counterpart to the military service academies? Why don't we invest in civilian leadership like we do in military leadership?"
Shays was the first in Congress to take an interest in the proposal, Asch said. The congressman is a founder of the National Congressional Service Caucus.
"I think there's a recognition that we need to get people focused on public service," Shays said. "We're asking people to contribute to their community and their country."
Shays and his wife, Betsi, volunteered for two years in the Peace Corps, teaching at a remote school in Fiji. Betsi Shays recently finished a term as the Peace Corps' director of the Center for Field Assistance and Applied Research in Washington, D.C.
Shays said his volunteer experience is a factor in his support for the academy.
"I believe [in] what John Kennedy did when he talked about serving our country in the Peace Corps, his whole focus on community service, serving your nation," Shays said. "And a country that needs to be more involved in what's going on in the rest of the world is really at the center of that."
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: March, 2007; RPCV Chris Shays (Fiji); Figures; Peace Corps Fiji; Directory of Fiji RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Fiji RPCVs; Politics; Congress; National Service; National Service Academy; Connecticut
When this story was posted in April 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: Wilton Villager
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Fiji; Politics; Congress; National Service; National Service Academy
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