Northern IllinoisU Peace Corps Training 

The early Malaya training programs (Malaya 1 to 6 and Malaysia 7, 11, and 13) were held at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in Dekalb, Illinois.  The selection of NIU as the training site for the early Malaya Peace Corps programs was linked to the presence of Professor Norman Parmer, a specialist on Malaya and a faculty member at NIU. Parmer was the first Peace Corps Director (Representative) in Kuala Lumpur from 1961 to 1963. The well-known NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies at NIU grew out of the first Peace Corps training programs for Malaya. Here are some photos from the early NIU training programs from the 1960s include Sargent Shriver, university administrators, program staff, and trainees.

Friends of Malaysia is working with the Special Collections and Archives Department of the NIU Library to digitize records from the NIU Malaysia/Malaysia Peace Corps Training Center. This page will be expanded as these records become available.