NEW BRUNSWICK — R. Sargent Shriver, the first Peace Corps director, is shown addressing Corps volunteers in the quad near Hegeman Hall on the campus of Rutgers College in this photo taken in June 1961. According to rutgers.edu, "Peace Corps volunteers known as Colombia I, arrived at Rutgers for training (in June, 1961). They learned Spanish, studied Colombian culture and...
NEW BRUNSWICK -- R. Sargent Shriver, the first Peace Corps director, is shown addressing Corps volunteers in the quad near Hegeman Hall on the campus of Rutgers College in this photo taken in June 1961.
According to rutgers.edu, "Peace Corps volunteers known as Colombia I, arrived at Rutgers for training (in June, 1961). They learned Spanish, studied Colombian culture and history and pursued rigorous physical conditioning. Sixty-two men were sent to work alongside villagers in Colombia from 1961 to 1963, assisting rural communities in the planning and development of schools, roads, aqueducts and health clinics."
John F. Kennedy, Shriver's brother-in-law, first suggested the concept of the Peace Corps in 1951 while in Congress, and raised the idea again during a campaign speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1960.
On March 1, 1961, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10924 that officially started the Peace Corps.
Shriver served as director of the Peace Corps from 1961 to 1966.
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