A Public Service Academy?

Someone in the comment thread for the post on national service mentioned the idea of a US Public Service Academy. It would be something like the military academies, except for the civilian jobs the government needs: "The Public Service Academy will provide a rigorous undergraduate education followed by five years of civilian service to the country." I'd heard this proposal before, and it sounded like a good idea to me then and still sounds like a good idea to me now. Maintaining a high-quality civil service is absolutely vital to our country's future, and this seems like one useful way to accomplish that.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/07/a-public-service-academy/49063/