Yesterday, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama both highlighted the need for Americans to participate in community service, mainly by being volunteers.  Today, the President continued this message by visiting the 1,000 Points of Light Foundation in Texas, the volunteer organization started by President George H.W. Bush 20 years ago.  This administration has definitely supported the call to service, most notably with the passage of The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which provides funding for volunteer programs across the country.  It is an incredible program and we are proud to be endorsed by Service Nation who organized the effort for the bill’s passage.

Now, however, it is time to focus on the next obvious piece of the public service puzzle and that is leadership.  Without rigorously trained leaders, how will we channel all the man-power in our volunteer armies?  Where will these leaders come from?  Certainly not from business schools, or engineering programs, or art schools.  No, they need to come from the US Public Service Academy which will train them in the specifics of public service work, also known as local, state and federal government agencies.  And by creating a school that educates them for four years and requires them to “give back” by serving in a public sector job for five years, it is highly likely that these Academy graduates become career public service leaders, not just volunteers.  We need both ends of the spectrum to solve the crises facing our country, and now is the time to train the leaders by creating the Academy.