Chris gets a nice mention on a blog about the true life of social entrepreneurs.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Andrew Rice, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, announced his support Tuesday for the Public Service Academy Act, which will create a civilian counterpart to the military academies.

“Young people of this generation haven’t had the same call to service as previous generations,” said Rice, who is currently an Oklahoma State Senator from District 46. “I’m waiting for a president to ask us what we can do for our country, but in the meantime I’m going to be asking that question. That’s why I’m behind this cause. That’s why I’m the first public official in Oklahoma to endorse it. We need to engage more of our best and brightest young people in public service.”

The Public Service Academy Act was introduced in March 2007 by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) in the Senate and Rep. James Moran (D-VA) and Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) in the House of Representatives. The bill currently has 19 Senate co-sponsors and 96 House co-sponsors. It also has earned the endorsement of numerous organizations, including City Year, the National Peace Corps Association, and the U.S. Student Association, as well as prominent individuals such as Madeleine Albright, Lee Hamilton, and three former superintendents of West Point.

Rice said he appreciates the bipartisan nature of the Academy idea and knows that service is something that Americans from both parties support.

“This is the sort of positive initiative that can establish a national citizen-driven infrastructure that will provide young people opportunities, allow us to address many different societal needs, and restore people’s faith that government actually can help people,” Rice said.

Rice has worked extensively and effectively with Republicans and Democrats in both the Oklahoma House and the evenly divided Oklahoma Senate. In the 2008 session, Rice passed bills with House Republican co-authors Rep. Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, and Rep. David Derby, R-Owasso. When elected to the U.S. Senate, Rice will bring the same bipartisan approach to his work and this bill.

“Fortunately, service isn’t an issue that gets bogged down in partisanship,” Rice said. “Service is something we engage in to strengthen our communities and to create a better America with more opportunities for all of our citizens.”

The Public Service Academy Act will establish America’s first national public college devoted to developing civilian leaders. The Public Service Academy would be a federally-subsidized four-year college modeled on the military service academies. More than 5,000 students would get an intensive undergraduate education focused on service and leadership development. Following graduation, they would be required to serve for five years in education, health care, emergency management, or other public service fields at the local, state, and national levels.

The Academy is the brainchild of two Teach for America/AmeriCorps alumni, Chris Myers Asch and Shawn Raymond. They have spearheaded a grassroots movement in support of the idea.

“The Academy will transform the way young Americans perceive, prepare for, and pursue public service,” said Asch. “It will reinvigorate our sense of public service and revitalize our public sector.”

More big public service stories in the main stream media!! Today the New York Times did a feature story in the Education section about Harvard students and some of the personal conflicts they face whether to head into a high paying Wall Street career, or go into a public sector job upon graduation. Are they departing “to serve better thy country and thy kind” as the Dexter Gate on their campus says, or fulfilling their own individual needs and shirking a moral and ethical duty to share their knowledge with their communities? Check out this interactive slide show of many of the Class of 2008 speaking about this very concern.

Professor of Education, Howard Gardner has been holding seminars asking students to reflect on their Harvard experience and what would be the best way to put it to work in the real world. Harvard is well-known for being a fast-track to lucrative finance and consulting jobs on Wall Street. For some college graduates with loan repayment looming, it is the path many have taken. Professor Gardner is asking his students to consider a holistic approach to making these career decisions and encouraging them to give back in the form of a public service or non-profit sector job. Putting the prestigious and privileged Harvard education to work in service for the country and world seems like a much better investment. And isn’t it incumbent upon them to do so, these best and brightest?

Great American institutions of higher learning like Harvard are turning out intellectually curious, highly prepared and motivated graduates, but even their own John F. Kennedy School of Government focuses on graduate work and does not obligate the grads to participate in public sector work as a condition of their enrollment in the programs. Remember, the Academy would require graduates from the Bachelor’s program work for five years in a public sector job for the privilege of attending college at no cost to them.

Thanks to the YACers and Regional Coordinators flooding the comment board with mentions of the Academy!