WASHINGTON, D.C. - The University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Peace Corps, becoming the second Fellows/USA program at the University of South Carolina. The university’s Center for Child and Family Studies in the College of Social Work is one of Fellows/USA's original partners and has been enrolling returned Peace Corps volunteers as Peace Corps Fellows for the past nine years.

As one of the Peace Corps' domestic programs, Fellows/USA has established similar partnerships with 36 other universities that provide reduced-cost graduate education to former Peace Corps volunteers. In return, former volunteers are asked to complete internships in underserved U.S. communities in addition to graduate course work. Returned volunteers are well suited to fill hard-to-staff positions or work in multilingual environments as a result of the language and professional skills they acquired during their Peace Corps service.

Through the Moore School, Peace Corps Fellows will study international business administration and act as field consultants for the Frank L. Roddey Small Business Development Program where they will facilitate both the social and business efforts of communities like Rock Hill, Charleston, Columbia, Greenwood, and others, working closely with community developers and minority groups. In South Carolina, the fastest growing ethnic population is Hispanic.

In return, the Moore School will provide Fellows with a $20,000 fellowship, fee reduction, and work grant stipend totaling $26,000 or more.

"The Peace Corps' 40-plus years of understanding world cultures is the perfect marriage with our 30-plus years of understanding global business," said Dean Joel A. Smith, III. "The International MBA program has always attracted returning Peace Corps volunteers to the Moore School. We are delighted now to have a formal program to encourage them to enroll here."

For more information about the Peace Corps Fellows/USA program at the Moore School of Business, contact Reena Lichtenfeld at 803-777-6749 or at rlichten@moore.sc.edu. Please visit the Peace Corps Web site at http://www.peacecorps.gov/fellows for more information about Fellows/USA.

Since 1961, more than 178,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps, working in such diverse fields as education, health, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, information technology, business development, the environment, and agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a two-year commitment.

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