UT President William Powers and UT Student Government have signed on to endorse the U.S. Public Service Academy, a federally funded public service university.
The U.S. House of Representatives is still deciding on whether or not the academy will become an accredited university. The school is hoping for the legislation to be passed by 2010 and for the school to be open in 2012. If passed, the college will still be a liberal arts school where students can graduate with a bachelor of arts degree or bachelor of science degree in a number of majors, but the core curriculum will focus on leadership and civic and international education.
The academy already has the support of almost 100 colleges and universities, including other flagship state institutions like the University of North Carolina and private universities like Stanford.
Chris Asch, executive director of the academy, said the school will be modeled after military institutions with free tuition and a unique culture where students will share the same ideals and mission.
“I think serving and doing something for your country is something unique and that you can’t get on other civilian campuses,” Asch said.
Powers said he is familiar with the people who have organized the program and has kept in touch with them over the past five years regarding their vision for a public service academy.
“I think five years ago when the people had the idea, the chances of it happening were very small, they have done fabulous work getting it to the point where it may happen,” Powers said. “I applaud them for the effort. I think having an academy where people can go and then give back to public service is a terrific idea.”
Nicole Trinh, a graduate student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and intern for the academy, said that she would like students to realize the value of public service beyond the military.
“It’s very symbolic to have a flagship university like UT support this national effort,” Trinh said. “It represents the value we have for service and education.”
