June 1, 1999

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

                              THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release                                    June 1, 1999


                        STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

     Today, I am announcing that my good friend and trusted adviser, Mark
Gearan, will be leaving his position as the Director of the Peace Corps
later this summer.  Mark has accepted the exciting challenge of serving as
the next President of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, one of our
nation's most distinguished academic institutions.  The Trustees of the
Colleges have made a very wise decision in selecting Mark Gearan as their
new President.  He is gifted, humane, a leader, and deeply committed to the
education of young people.  I know that he will bring great vision to the
colleges as they enter the next century.

     I have relied on Mark Gearan's skills, wisdom, and talents for many
years.  He was a close aide to me from the time I first sought the
presidency; he served as Vice President Gore's campaign manager in the 1992
election; and he served me in the White House as Deputy Chief of Staff and
Director of Communications.

     One of the best personnel decisions I have made as President was to
appoint Mark Gearan as the Director of the Peace Corps.  I believe he has
been one of the most successful Directors since President Kennedy
established the Peace Corps in 1961.  He has rejuvenated the Peace Corps,
and demonstrated a deep commitment to its legacy of service and the women
and men who serve as Peace Corps volunteers.  He can be proud that the
Peace Corps will soon have more volunteers serving overseas than at any
time in a generation.

     Mark strengthened the Peace Corps in many ways.  He has established
the Crisis Corps, a new program within the Peace Corps that enables former
volunteers to help people in other countries recover from the effects of
natural disasters and humanitarian crises.  He established new volunteer
programs in South Africa, Jordan, and Bangladesh, and has managed the Peace
Corps with great skill and care.  This record of performance has convinced
me, and the Congress, that the Peace Corps should field 10,000 volunteers,
and I was proud to sign into law an authorization bill that will put us on
the path toward achieving this goal by the year 2003.

     I thank Mark for his friendship and service.  Hillary and I will miss
Mark, his wife, Mary, and their two daughters, Madeleine and Kathleen.  We
wish them the very best as they take this new step in their lives.

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