The University of Arizona has received a lifetime achievement award for its commitment to the Peace Corps. The University is one of the top 25 national producers of Peace Corps volunteers with UA grads serving from Mongolia to Madagascar. The UA also is home to the 2nd largest Peace Corps Fellows/USA program, which allows returning volunteers to "earn" their tuition for graduate school by working with under-served populations in Tucson. This win-win partnership has provided more than 80,000 hours of community service to local non-profit organizations.

Camping with UA Wildcats can be more eye-opening than scary ghost stories. Sitting around the fire, munching S’Mores and talking about the future can put disadvantaged youth on the path to college. Through Camp Wildcat, youngsters hang with UA students, have fun and learn that a university education is attainable, even for those with physical, mental or financial disadvantages. Camp Wildcat is a non-profit organization run entirely by UA students, who raise the money, organize about 10 free camping adventures or other outings a year and pal around with challenged middle-school students, helping them realize that college can be their path to a sweeter future.

J. Jefferson Reid likes digging in dirt. He uncovered his passion for archaeology on a summer job and changed his major. More than 30 years later, his zeal for exploring past civilizations and reconstructing human behavior and culture still inspires students. His inquisitive nature, depth of experience and innovative spirit capture their imaginations – in the classroom, in the field and through his pioneering virtual reality modules. A preeminent pre-historian of the American Southwest, Reid directed the UA Archaeological Field School for 16 seasons, training a generation of influential archaeologists. This Distinguished Professor in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and his wife Stephanie Whittlesey are co-authors of three books on Arizona archaeology.

Imagine having 20,000 dishes. That’s how many Southwestern Indian vessels are in the Arizona State Museum collection, making it the world’s largest collection of Southwest Indian pottery. The hand-crafted pots span 2000 years of life in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, reflecting almost every cultural group in the region. This collection is considered one of nation’s most significant cultural resources. Established in 1893, Arizona State Museum is the oldest and largest anthropology museum in the Southwest and one of the UA's oldest research units. See the pots online at www.statemuseum.arizona.edu.

Dark, challenging and thrilling, the underground world of mining is the stuff of legends. What was it really like to work in the mines – or grow up in a rough-and-tumble mining town? That’s what the Miners’ Story Project aims to find out. The UA’s Flandrau Science Center and Mineral Museum are sending a fully equipped mobile recording studio – a shiny copper "Story Trailer" – into mining towns to record true-life stories of miners, their families and friends. With support from the Phelps-Dodge Foundation, this project will preserve the oral history of Southwest mining communities and enliven new exhibits at the museum. Listen up at www.minersstory.org.

S. James Anaya is one of the world’s top human rights scholars, an advocate for indigenous peoples. The United Nations recently named the UA law professor Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples. This means Anaya will conduct human rights investigations and research around the world, expanding the work for which he is best known. Anaya successfully led a precedent-setting case for two Central American Maya villages against Belize, which violated their land rights by approving logging and oil exploration. Anaya came to the UA in 1999 and holds the James L. Lenoir Professorship in Human Rights and Policy.