The Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established in 1933 as part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. The CCC provided work opportunities for financially strapped young Americans during the Great Depression. Their work helped save ecosystems and build infrastructure in forests and parks across the country. Missoula was selected as the regional headquarters for the state of Montana, in part because the University of Montana resided there. Students and faculty from the forestry school supervised and assisted CCC workers as they planted millions of trees and fought forest fires. In total, UM taught 40,000 young men (25,000 Montanans) valuable forest management skills and gave them an appreciation for public lands. The United States’ entrance into World War II brought a swift end to the CCC program in 1942. However, many CCC members quickly transitioned to military service in large part because of skills acquired from serving in the CCC.
Group of CCC service members from the Fort Missoula District building a highway near the Many Glacier Hotel at Glacier National Park.
The Peace Corps
The University of Montana has deep ties to the Peace Corps. Esteemed Grizzly alumni and professor Senator Mike Mansfield was an early advocate for the program’s establishment. It is no surprise his alma mater became one of the top producing schools for the Peace Corps with over 800 graduates serving since 1961 – ranking UM within the top 50 universities in the nation and out-serving schools like Penn State, Notre Dame, and Duke.
A caricature of Senator Mike Mansfield pressuring Senator Everett Dirkson to support President John F. Kennedy’s Peace Corps initiative in 1961.
AmeriCorps
The Clinton administration created the Americorps program in 1993. The program was modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, but differed in two distinct ways. First, Americorps expanded the scope of the CCC by reinvigorating local communities and promoting social justice. Second, college students made up the majority of service members. The University of Montana is the headquarters of the Montana Campus Compact (MTCC) which directly works with Americorps, encouraging people of all ages and backgrounds to attend college and combat poverty in local communities. Each year, around fifty people serve with the MTCC and assist thousands of others. Groups that work with Americorps in Montana include Justice for Montanans, Big Sky Watershed Corps, and Montana State Parks. In 2001, the University of Montana was one of seven colleges awarded the Higher Education Award for Leadership in National Service.