Aaron Williams, director of the U.S. Peace Corps, will present "The Peace Corps: 50 Years of Promoting World Peace and Friendship," Thursday, Sept. 2, at 4:30 p.m. in 233 Plant Science Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Cornell's relationship with the Peace Corps goes back to the 1960s when Cornell provided training assistance to the organization through the International Agriculture Program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In 2009, Cornell was the third highest producer of volunteers among medium-sized colleges and universities in the country. That same year, Ithaca had the highest per capita number of volunteers than any other metropolitan area in the country.

Numerous Cornell faculty members are returned Peace Corps volunteers, including Jim Haldeman, director of International Programs; John Forester, director of graduate studies for city and regional planning; and Alice Pell, vice provost for international relations.

After serving as a volunteer in the late 1960s in the Dominican Republic, Williams has worked as a senior manager at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and as executive vice president of the International Youth Foundation. He has extensive experience in the design and management of assistance programs in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He was awarded the USAID Distinguished Career Service Award, and was twice awarded the Presidential Award for Distinguished Service.

His lecture is sponsored by the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs.