Shared History and Values

The Monterey Institute’s long-standing relationship with the Peace Corps through the PCMI program has combined learning, service, and career development in a way few other educational experiences can match. "One marvelous aspect of the Master’s International program," said Professor Peter Grothe, "is that it helps prepare the student, in a very practical and professional way, for future Peace Corps service, as well as for her or his future career in the international arena. Another immediate benefit is that it includes a half-tuition scholarship for the final semester."

For over fifteen years the Peace Corps Master’s International program (PCMI) and the Monterey Institute have collaborated to provide Peace Corps scholarships through the generous funding established by Larry Horan and alumnus and U.S. Representative Sam Farr. Horan was in a law partnership with Farr’s father, the late Fred Farr, when, in 1964, he took a leave of absence and became a Peace Corps director in Colombia, where the younger Farr was in the midst of his two-year stint as a volunteer.

The valuable experiences developed by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV) are shared throughout campus through current students, several faculty and staff members who have all served as volunteers, benefiting not just the PCMI participants themselves but their colleagues and classmates as well.