For the first time in over 20 years, UW-Madison is not the top-producing institution for Peace Corps volunteers.

The University of Washington, with 110 alumni volunteers, narrowly gained the top position over UW-Madison, which had 106 alumni participants. UW-Madison still holds the No. 2 overall ranking, with 2,764 alumni serving since 1961.

In addition, participant numbers from both UW-Madison and the University of Washington have increased since last year, according to Gary Lore, public affairs specialist for the Minneapolis-area Peace Corps.

UW-Madison Associate Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Ken Shapiro, said despite losing the No. 1 ranking, he is pleased with the vast number of young people still volunteering for the Corps.

“I think slipping is unfortunate terminology,” Shapiro said. “It’s not that we’ve fallen down, it’s just that Washington has had a better year than usual.”

“All in all I think that this university has something to be proud of,” Shapiro continued. “We’ve been the top recruiter for over 20 years and I commend the University of Washington for climbing up and joining us at the upper most rungs of the ladder—it’s a wonderful competition to have.”

Lore said he agrees.

“Volunteering continues to be strong, the number of inquires and applications continues to grow,” Lore said. “It’s important to note that the University of Wisconsin actually provided more volunteers in 2006 than it did the year before.”

The Peace Corps enables volunteers, who make a 27-month commitment, to work in fields such as HIV/AIDS education and prevention, information technology, business development and agriculture and environmental preservation in one of 72 different countries.

“With the kind of support we get from UW-Madison … there’s no question in my mind that UW will continue to shine and ascend to No. 1 next year,” Lore said.