Chris Myers Asch envisions a free college that would fill the ranks of American public servants.

Asch, co-founder of the not-yet-created U.S. Public Service Academy (USPSA), will visit Syracuse University today to answer questions about his groundbreaking project.

The USPSA will be ‘America’s first national civilian university, a flagship institution designed to build a ‘more perfect union’ by developing leaders of character dedicated to service in the public sector,’ according to its Web site.

Asch will be speaking on his vision in the Schine Student Center in room 228B at 11 a.m.

In an interview Tuesday, Asch described it as the ‘civilian counterpart to West Point.’

The academy will offer a free undergraduate education to all of its students in exchange for five years in the public service field after graduation. The professions in which the students serve will range from teachers and park rangers to police officers and border agents.

The need for public service work prompted the idea for the academy, Asch said.

‘There has been a steady decline in esteem for public service jobs,’ he said. ‘Fewer and fewer students in schools are going into public service because they are in debt from college, so they choose a more lucrative field.’

The notion of spending five years in the public service field has not scared off the dedicated students who interact with Asch daily through his Facebook group. The group, which now has more than 3,500 members, appears to be growing by the day.

Marshall Spevak, an administrator for the Facebook group and an SU sophomore, said his sense of American duty drew him to become involved with the USPSA.

‘I was reading online and found the USPSA Web site and said to myself, ‘Wow, that is a fantastic idea. This is something that can change the way America thinks about public service,” he said.

Daniel Kent, a freshman at Haverford College, said it was his extensive volunteer work that led him to the public service field.

‘I realized that community service and patriotism are both two great ways for youth to connect and to learn and grow,’ Kent said. ‘My father attended the United States Air Force Academy, and I always looked up to him because of that. While I am not as athletic as he was, I still feel passionately about our country and making it a better place.’

After he encountered the USPSA’s site, Kent said he ‘fell in love with the idea.’

Despite all the support, Asch said there are struggles with completing a project of this magnitude.

‘We are a grass-roots operation with no money,’ Asch said. ‘I am the only full-time worker, and we’re constantly looking to spread the word.’

The public relations aspect may get a little easier for Asch, as Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has signed on as one of the academy’s co-sponsors.

‘Hillary’s been fantastic. She was the first person on Capitol Hill to support us – in fact, she called us asking to be a part of it,’ Asch said.

Asch added that because Clinton is an active U.S. Senator, and the USPSA needs its bill to be passed, the academy has a lot to benefit from their relationship.

Amid all the worries, Asch and his loyal crew are staying positive. When asked whether the USPSA has a legitimate chance of becoming a reality, Spevak had no doubts.

‘Absolutely. Members of Congress, academics and public servants everywhere are recognizing that this idea has a legitimate chance of succeeding and are supporting it,’ he said.

Published on October 17, 2007 at 12:00 pm