Photos by Ron Bend
Construction of the new Peace Corps Tribute Garden just west of the Lory Student Center Theatre is now complete, and grand opening celebrations are planned for Oct. 14-15.
This weekend marks the 63rd anniversary of then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy’s momentous speech at the University of Michigan in which he proposed the establishment of an international volunteer program that would become the Peace Corps.
Colorado State University’s long history with the Peace Corps dates back to 1961, when researchers Pauline Birky-Kreutzer, Maurice Albertson and Andrew Rice published a feasibility study that laid the foundations for service and training for the Peace Corps, which is dedicated to international development and cooperation. Albertson was a professor in CSU’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
More than 1,750 CSU volunteers
CSU annually ranks in the top 15 sending institutions for Peace Corps volunteers and has sent more than 1,750 volunteers since 1961, which ranks 11th all-time among sending institutions in the nation.
The project to build a tribute garden memorializing the role of CSU and its community members in the Peace Corps officially launched with a celebration on campus last spring, and construction began last summer.
“The Peace Corps Tribute Garden at CSU is a great way for us to recognize and promote the important role CSU played in the formation of the Peace Corps,” said Kathleen Fairfax, vice provost for international affairs. “In addition to providing the recognition to those who helped contribute to the foundation of the Peace Corps, we hope the garden will serve as an inspiration to CSU students to join the Peace Corps after graduation, following the footsteps of the nearly 2,000 CSU graduates who have served in the Peace Corps.”
Opening celebrations
Now that the garden has been finished, celebratory events have been planned for Homecoming and Family Weekend. A grand opening celebration will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 15. After remarks in Lory Student Center Ballroom D, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the garden. RSVPs are requested and can be made at evite.me/wSgPc4KcDs.
That celebration will be preceded by an event on Oct. 14 in which Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Northern Colorado will share stories of their Peace Corps experiences. That event begins at 6 p.m. at the Wolverine Farm Publick House at 316 Willow St. in Fort Collins.
“All of the planets aligned on this project,” said Campus Landscape Architect David Hansen, noting that contractor Waterwise Land and Waterscapes happened to have an open window to perform most of the construction in just a few weeks. He said the project idea has been in the works for many years.
The garden features a wide circular path that winds past CSU interpretive signage as well as plaques and inscribed stone benches funded by donors in remembrance of their loved ones or personal ties to the Peace Corps. The swirling path ends at a concrete pedestal that features words describing the Peace Corps experience around a bronze disk bearing the Peace Corps dove and language about CSU’s legacy with the program.
Symbolic design
Laura Thornes in the Office of International Programs helped spearhead the effort to create the garden. She said the circular design of the path reflects the fact that the Peace Corps experience is not linear.
Hansen added: “We often hear Returned Peace Corps Volunteers say they expected the Peace Corps to be one thing, and it became a circuitous journey.”
He explained that only native or regionally adaptive plants were used in the garden, including many recommended by the Plant Select program, a collaboration among CSU, the Denver Botanic Gardens and professional horticulturists. The large stones were sourced locally from Masonville, he added.
Thornes credited many others for their contributions to the project, including Hansen, project manager Rusty Pearson of Facilities Management, International Programs and members of the design committee. Thornes added that the late John Roberts, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, was also an advocate for the project and his initial donation was a catalyst to attract more university and donor funds to create a tranquil space to honor CSU’s history and to inspire the next generation of global leaders.
