FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2006
PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE JOINS PRINCETON UNIVERSITY'S WOODROW WILSON SCHOOL'S NEW "SCHOLARS IN THE NATION'S SERVICE" PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Washington, D.C. - The Partnership for Public Service today announced that they have joined with Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in a new initiative, “Scholars in the Nation's Service,” to encourage more of the nation's best and brightest students to pursue careers in the U.S. federal government, especially in the international relations arena.
The six-year program, to begin in a student's junior year in college, will include a summer federal government internship, approximately two years of federal government service after college, and a master's degree in public affairs (MPA) from the Wilson School.
The Washington, D.C.-based Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing public service, and The Woodrow Wilson School will work with the scholars before graduation to match their skills with substantive work in federal agencies, with a special emphasis on international affairs careers. After their two-year tour in government, scholars will return to the School to earn an MPA degree.
Max Stier, President and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, said, “We are delighted to help match civic-minded students with unique opportunities in federal service. These outstanding scholars will gain invaluable experience that will launch their careers, while the federal government will benefit from an infusion of fresh talent and ideas.”
“This ‘Scholars in the Nation's Service' program is a direct response to the critical need in this country to attract greater numbers of talented students to careers in the federal government,” said Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School. “All the efforts of the non-profit sector and the private sector cannot substitute for a strong and competent government committed to finding and implementing solutions to public problems.
“For many years, public officials and other leaders have expressed concern that government service does not compete successfully when our very best students nationwide are making their career plans, a concern that has grown more acute in recent years as many government employees approach retirement age” Slaughter added. “‘Princeton in the Nation's Service,' the University's informal motto, encompasses many different kinds of service but at the core of public service, as Woodrow Wilson knew, is government service. This is the training the Woodrow Wilson School provides at the graduate level; this is the commitment we now seek to foster at the undergraduate level through this new program.”
The purposes of the program, modeled after the Rhodes and Marshall Scholars, are twofold. The first is to ensure that a wide range of Princeton undergraduates, and eventually undergraduates at other colleges and universities, appreciate the range and impact of positions available to them in government service. The second is to provide exceptional students with opportunities to experience government service first-hand and to gain the skills they need to succeed in government positions.
Scholars in the Nation's Service will be selected based on superior academic performance, a proven track record of accomplishment, and a demonstrated commitment to government service, with emphasis on those areas of the federal government that are concerned with international relations and affairs.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service was established in 2001 to improve government performance by transforming the way government works and inspiring a new generation of Americans to enter government service.
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The Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
