UC Santa Cruz took the top spot in the Peace Corps’ 2015 rankings of the top volunteer-producing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the United States.
Forty-two alumni are serving in the Peace Corps. More than 800 UC Santa Cruz alumni have traveled abroad to serve as volunteers with the Peace Corps, which was founded four years before the campus opened in 1965.
California is home to eight of the top 10 HSIs in this year’s rankings. The state produces more Peace Corps volunteers than any other state nationwide. More than 29,400 California residents have served overseas as Peace Corps volunteers and 926 residents are currently serving.
For 12 straight years, UCSC has placed within the top 25 in the Peace Corps’ ranking of large universities for alumni participation. The Peace Corps sends Americans abroad to tackle the most pressing needs of people around the world. Volunteers work at the grassroots level to develop sustainable solutions that address challenges in education, health, economic development, agriculture, environment and youth development.
Peace Corps’ 2015 top volunteer-producing Hispanic-Serving Institutions are:
1. University of California, Santa Cruz (42 currently serving volunteers)
2. University of California, Santa Barbara (38 currently serving volunteers)
3. University of New Mexico (29 currently serving volunteers)
4. California State University, Long Beach (26 currently serving volunteers)
5. Humboldt State University (25 currently serving volunteers)
5. San Diego State University (25 currently serving volunteers)
7. University of California, Riverside (23 currently serving volunteers)
8. Florida International University (16 currently serving volunteers)
8. California State University, Fullerton (16 currently serving volunteers)
10. California State University, Chico (15 currently serving volunteers)
*Rankings are calculated based on fiscal year 2014 data as of Sept. 30, 2014, as self-reported by Peace Corps volunteers.
