Georgia College & State University Special Collections houses the Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Papers. A relationship between GC & SU, Coverdell, and the Peace Corps began in August of 1990 when the university agreed to launch the University Fellows Program for the first time in a rural school system. Returned Peace Corps volunteers attended GC & SU and taught at schools within a 50 mile radius of Milledgeville, GA.

When Paul D. Coverdell left the Peace Corps to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate, GC & SU president Edwin Speir, who is a former Peace Corps volunteer, expressed an interest in Coverdell’s Peace Corps papers. Senator Coverdell signed the deed of gift donating the papers to the Ina Dillard Russell Library Special Collections during a ceremony in the fall of 1996. At the ceremony Coverdell spoke about his involvement in the Peace Corps and discussed the changes the world and politics underwent while he was serving as Director of the Peace Corps.

The collection is currently being processed and is not open for review.

Paul D. Coverdell as Director of the Peace Corps

Paul D. Coverdell was selected by President George Bush to serve as Director of the Peace Corps. He began his directorship in May 1989, and resigned November 1991 in order to run for a seat in the United States Senate.

The World Wise Schools initiative was started under Coverdell’s directorship in 1989, “to promote a better understanding of the people served among people of the United States.” The World Wise Schools program matches Peace Corps volunteers serving in foreign countries with students in schools across the United States. During the school year students and volunteers communicate and exchange letters. Participating schools are provided videotapes and teacher guides to help students learn about culture, geography, and people in the country in which the volunteer is serving. While Coverdell was director of the Peace Corps, 60,000 students from all 50 states were participating in the World Wise School program. The program has continued to grow in the late 1990s with an average of 3500 volunteers communicating with students from all 50 states.

Paul D. Coverdell as Peace Corps Director with volunteer Ann McAllen.
Guatemala, May 1989.

For more information about Paul D. Coverdell as United States Senator visit the following links: