La Roche College has received a third federal grant to support its Pacem In Terris program. The grant of $999,900 comes from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which engages in comprehensive programs aimed at conflict resolution and economic development in the developing nations of the world that support the transition to free market economies and political pluralism. The grant will be used to support scholarships during the 2003-04 academic year for students enrolled at La Roche under the auspices of the Pacem In Terris program.

“Through the Pacem In Terris program, we are helping to develop the leaders of the third world for the 21st century,” said Monsignor William Kerr, La Roche College president. “This third federal grant represents an ongoing endorsement of USAID for our efforts to spread peace through education.”

La Roche College has received two previous grants from USAID in support of the Pacem In Terris program. The first was $1,000,000, received in 2000 for scholarships for students from the Great Lakes region of Africa. The second was $999,900 for general support of Pacem scholarships received in February of this year.

Kerr established Pacem In Terris (Latin for Peace on Earth) in 1993. The goal is to provide scholarship assistance to students from developing and post-conflict countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East. Once students graduate from the program, they agree to return to their homelands and apply what they have learned to improve conditions there.

As the only program of its kind in the United States, the Pacem In Terris Institute believes higher education can widen the individual perspectives of young people, thereby promoting global understanding. Because it is rooted in democratic ideals, the program extends hope for a more just society. Since its inception, the Pacem In Terris Institute has enrolled almost 400 students from 27 countries outside the United States. The program has produced 128 graduates who are working in Bosnia, Macedonia, Croatia, Haiti, Namibia, Jordan and Rwanda. Funding for the program comes from U.S. and international government investment, private foundations, businesses and committed individuals.