University of Virginia Library

UYA Program To Promote
School-Community Relations

By BOB MAHONEY

"Through the University
Year for Action (UYA)
Program, we are attempting to
bring about a marriage between
the academic community and
the community at large. At the
same time we are providing
students an opportunity to
participate in a learning
experience outside the
classroom," said Dean Niel R.
Berte of the University of
Alabama addressing a crowd of
about 65 in Newcomb Hall
Ballroom last night.

Program Explained

Mr. Berte outlined the basic
make-up of the program on a
national level.

The UYA program acts as a
coordinator between interested
student volunteers and social
agencies working in the field.
These agencies contact the
UYA, which then trains the
volunteers for tasks in the
community.

The UYA provides a
structure for these
coordination efforts and also
serves as a consulting agency to
which volunteers can return.

According to Mr. Berte, the
definite emphasis of the
program, funded by the
federal government, is on
students.

"Research has shown that
many times the career goals of
students have been reinforced
by participation in these
programs," he said. "The value
systems of the students have
often been challenged by the
conditions they meet in these
low-income areas," Mr. Berte
added. "Yet research has
pointed to the fact that the
value systems of students are
becoming increasingly
service-oriented."

In Charlottesville, 25
students will start training for a
full year's work Jan. 30, 1973,
and the latter stages of training
will include work within the
low-income, rural areas.

Students Operate In Teams

Students accepted into the
program will be assigned in
teams, usually of three, to
enter and reside in the
community. Each volunteer
offers a particular talent to aid
the community.

The Center for the Delivery
of Health Care provides the
nucleus for the program by
providing the UYA program
with 22 existing projects or
agencies in the field. The
academic thrust of the
program, which will provide
students with a full year's
credit, challenges the student

in his particular field of study
by calling upon practical
application of the knowledge
he has acquired.

"We look for this to be a
reciprocal relationship between
volunteer and community."