ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SURVlY ^Ue q. ^ 7e 04AUt m J04AMn THE UNIVERSITY IN ITS COMMUNITY COUNTRY CLUB RD NASHIK 101 Fall 1970 Office of Public Infonnatioii Universify of Illinois af Urbana-Champaign IlLINOIS K!STCRICAl SURV£]f THE GOWN IN TOWN The University in Its Community The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has more than 90 separate programs that deal with such basic social problems as poverty/ racial discrimination, insufficient education, unequal job opportunities and substandard housing. These programs are a part of a concerted effort of the imiversity to assist those who need it to develop themselves fully in our competitive system. As a result of administrative decisions aimed at expanding educational and service opportunities, a number of colleges, departments and agencies have developed significant programs. Some of these programs, such as the academic Special Educational Opportunities Program, were initiated at the campus or university level. Others are developed at other academic levels--by colleges, departments, schools, divisions or other units. A class may sponsor a project, such as the Douglass Center Branch Library developed by a graduate class in library science. Other programs may be sponsored by university clubs and organizations. Volunteer Illini Projects is run entirely by students. Concerned people on the campus — from the administration, the faculty, the staff and the student body — are becoming increasingly involved in these and other service programs, both as individuals and as institutional representatives. They serve on local committees, join local organizations and otherwise offer their individual expertise and abilities. Although :he university may not be officially involved at the beginning, this type of participation often leads to recognized programs or projects. At least eight major goals have been identified with these programs : — To increase higher educational opportunities for the educationally and economically disadvantaged. — To overcome educational deficits and problems in the community, working with preschool, primary, secondary and adult education, — To provide university students with an opportunity to learn directly from the disadvantaged. — To develop programs which will be more effective in the education of both the disadvantaged and the advantaged. — To develop and provide services to aid more effectively the disadvantaged. — To augment cultural and social experiences while opening avenues of communication. — To develop leadership capabilities of black students and members of the black community. — To discover and respond to the roots of racial discrimination on the campus and in the whole community. These programs are all part of the university's mission. Each serves at least one of the three inter-related functions of the university: education, research and service. Although the programs discussed in this pamphlet are placed in one of the three categories for convenience, in reality there is a great deal of overlap of programs and categories. 3. ATTACKING THE PROBLEM THROUGH EDUCATION Higher Education Many programs are designed to assist the self-development of the educationally disadvantaged. At the university level they seek to increase higher education opportunities for the economically and educationally disadvantaged. These and other programs provide university students with the opportunity to learn directly from the disadvantaged, either through field experience or class projects. 1. Increasing Higher Education Opportunities Under the Special Educational Opportunities Program (SEOP) the university recruits high school graduates who are financially disadvantaged and who meet admission requirements although their schooling did not prepare them for the level of academic competition which presently exists at the U. of I. SEOP students receive three types of assistance: academic, supportive and financial. This assistance is available to all U. of I. students who need it, whether or not they participate in the program. The Special Educational Opportunities Program coordinates these university services in developing a package best suited for each student's individual needs. Special sections of many basic freshman- sophomore courses are offered to help overcome academic deficiencies of students who were either "counseled out" as not "college material" or did not have the subject offered in their high school. A second general area of academic support is that of additional academic advising through the college offices. Four major types of supportive services are available to the SEOP student: (1) assessment of his ability through academic testing by the Student Counseling Service; (2) provisions for the improvement of reading, writing and study skills through expanded use of the reading clinic and the writing laboratory; (3) development of a student tutoring system; and (4) development of special programs designed to respond to the unique needs of SEOP students as they attempt to acclimate to academic life of the Urbana-Champaign campus. Four general types of financial aid are available for SEOP and other needy students. The Educational Opportunity Grant and Illinois State Scholarships provide non-repayable grants and scholarships. Repayable long-term loans are available through the National Defense Education Act/ the Illinois Guaranteed Loan Program, and similar programs. Financial aid is also provided from the university's own resources, through the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Fund, the University of Illinois Foundation and the Students for Equal Access to Learning program. The fourth type is student employment . The number of new students that can be admitted each year has been limited by the number of qualified applicants and the availability of federal and state aid. A total of 601 students enrolled during the 1968-69 year, with an additional 276 in 1969-70. Approximately 300-325 more will be admitted through the program in 1970-71. The College of Education and the College of Commerce and Business Administration have developed programs in conjunction with the Special Educational Opportunities Program. This summer 17 minority students participated in the pre-college summer education program in the College of Commerce and Business Administration. The program for the new SEOP students was co-sponsored by 17 Illinois business corporations. The ten-week simimer program includes nine weeks of pre-college education and training on this campus and one week of more detailed acquaintance with the particular firm sponsoring each student. The College of Education developed the Alternate Teacher Education Program to increase the opportunity for students interested in the field and to develop an undergraduate teacher training program for teachers of the disadvantaged. Under the Alternate Teacher Education Program, assignments and emphasis are coordinated in the core courses of education, history and philosophy of education, and rhetoric. In addition to the regular class schedule, each student works in a public school for four hours per week. Traditionally, school experience was reserved for the last semester of teacher training programs. The early experience under this new program provides a context for educational theory and gives the students an earlier orientation from the viewpoint of the school. Groundwork for the Special Educational Opportunities Program was laid by a summer experimental program of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for 20 youths in the summer of 1965. Lessons learned through this program expedited the development of SEOP plans. SEOP is not the only program on campus aimed at increasing educational opportunity. Special financial aid is made available to students in law and library science. U. of I. Trustee W. Clement Stone recently announced a program which will make one and a half million dollars available for disadvantaged students to pursue the study of law on this campus. The program will provide financial assistance for three classes of 25 new students each year for three years, beginning this fall. Under the program, designated the Illinois Equal Opportunity Law Fellowship Program, the W. Clement & Jesse V. Stone Foundation will provide up to $500,000, and nine participating banks — including five Champaign banks — will provide approximately $1 million in federally guaranteed student loans to help them with living expenses while living in school. Twelve graduate students are enrolled in the first year of the Scholarship Program in Library Science for Members of Minority Groups. The program provides tax-free stipends of $2,000 for the academic year, $500 for the first summer, plus tuition and fee waivers for up to two years plus one summer. Approximately 12 per year will be admitted under this program, depending on the availability of funds. 2. Field Experience in Working With the Disadvantaged The Jane Addams Graduate School of Social Work maintains a Field Learning Center next door to the Champaign County Family Service Office. Here the graduate students in social work become involved in marital and family counseling, homemaker services and family life education. They work closely with area nursing homes, hospitals, the county rehabilitation center and the Urban League. In addition to the experience the students receive, the center also brings the latest theory from the university setting to the agency in the field for testing and adoption. Students in the College of Law receive academic credit for their participation in the Public Defender, State's Attorney and Legal Aid programs. Under all three programs the second- and third-year law students work eight to ten hours per week in the local offices under the direct supervision of agency attorneys. They aid the attorneys by interviewing clients, researching questions of law, preparing motions and briefs, and sometimes actually trying cases. During the summer several law students also participated in community involvement programs in Urbana-Champaign and in Chicago. In this community they worked for the local legal service agency and various family service agencies. Those who qualified were paid through the Federal Work-Study Program. In Chicago they worked as summer VISTA lawyers for Community Legal Counsel of Chicago, an organization which provides legal assistance and representation to local community action organizations in that city. Law students enrolled in the regularly offered courses in Family Law and Psychiatry also receive some clinical experience. These courses place a limited number of students in agencies which deal with problems related to the academic problems being studied. Approximately 50 U. of I students participated in the Slammer recreation programs of the Champaign and Urbana park districts. Most of them worked as playground leaders and recreation directors, although some helped out in maintenance work or as lifeguards. A few worked in Urbana 's day camp program. All students received pay for this work. In addition, some received academic credit for field work. Students in architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, interior design and engineering gain field experience through the Community Advocacy Depot (CAD) . The depot was organized by the local poor community to provide the necessary professional and technical expertise required in the solution of their problems, especially housing and social problems. Control of CAD remains with the poor black and poor white communities. The depot works through the university departments in obtaining the help it needs for its projects. Whether or not the students receive academic credit for their work with the depot is detearmined by their college or department. Closely related to CAD is the Afro-American Consolidated Contractors organization. U. of I. students, especially those in architecture and engineering, help this group of new black businessmen in learning the technicalities of preparing bid documents, making estimates, etc. As a part of their studies, university home economics students in child development work with the children at the Community Day Care Center as well as thost: in the nursery schools at the Child Development Laboratory. 9. Although the program requirements generally preclude disadvantaged youth from participating in the Child Development Laboratory nursery schools, the laboratory does provide community service through workshops, tours and short courses. Nursery schools for the disadvantaged were held at the Child Development Laboratory the spring before the Head Start Program was initiated in this community. The director of the laboratory has been a consultant to the national Head Start Program in Washington, D. C, since the program began. She is also on the board of the Community Day Care Center. Graduate students in the Leadership Training Program for Administrators of Preschool Programs for the Disadvantaged receive training and field experience through several projects of the Special Education Department at the Col. Wolfe School. Many students receive no academic credit for their volunteer work. Yet they receive valuable experience through working with Volunteer Illini Projects (VIP), the PAL program of the University YMCA and other organizations in the university community. Through VIP students gain experience as tutors, as teachers' aides recreation leaders, team teachers and discussion leaders, and social workers. They work with youth; with the emotionally disturbed and retarded, both young and old; with adults studying at the Opportunities Industrial Center, and with the aged in the nursing homes. 10. A variety of programs are coordinated through the Office of Student Programs and Services, which will provide staff support next year for Campus Volunteer Services. Many projects under SPAS are service- or culturally-oriented, aimed at opening communications with the black community. University faculty members participate as individuals in many community organizations and projects. Although this may not be part of their official duties as members of the faculty, this participation often has a direct impact on their teaching and research and may grow into field experience for their students or even into a class project. 3. Class Projects A graduate class of nine library students wanted to do something practical about library service to the disadvantaged. Because of their project, a community library will open some time this fall at the Douglass Community Center. Original plans called for a small library of paperbacks/ financed with the $3,000 available to the class through the library school. But local response and enthusiasm resulted in a successful request for $62,000 in federal funds for the first two years' operation, after which financial responsibility will be assumed by the Champaign and Urbana Public Libraries. The library will be staffed by community people and headed by a professional director selected by the community. 11. The community has also benefited from industrial design class projects. Student-designed and mass-produced toys were distributed to local children through VISTA last year. For its spring project the class tackled the problem of developing uses for disposable materials, which could be beneficial to anyone on a tight budget. Under a new course in the College of Law students may participate in the actual trial of cases before the Federal District Court in Danville. Students will assist the professor in the litigation of cases in which he is presently engaged. Neither the professor nor the students will receive any remuneration for their participation in the cases used in the course. Adult and Continuing Education Several programs are aimed at helping people upgrade or acquire skills or knowledge so that they can improve their lives in this community. These programs center around developing and improving skills and knowledge in fours areas: nutrition, child care, local enterprise and employment. The fourth area will be discussed later in the pamphlet, 1. Nutrition Nutrition programs seek to improve the family diet by better utilizing the resources available. During the past year and a half the U. of I. has made a concentrated statewide effort in this area with the Expanded Nutrition Program, sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Service in the College of Agriculture. 12. Studies showed that the 307 Urbana-Champaign families enrolled in the program improved their original family diets by 15 per cent by the end of the first year. Utilizing community leaders as program assistants, the program shows the poor better and more economical ways of buying food, planning meals and preparing the food. Lessons taught by the program assistants in the weekly classes also include the role that various foods play in the diet, money management and other features of interest and need to the homemakers. Kitchen eguipnent for the classes at the Francis Nelson Health Center, the Wilbur Heights Community Center and the Extension Office was furnished by the County Extension Homemakers Association. A second nutrition project. Nutrition for Mother and Baby, is sponsored by Home Economics Education. Weekly classes are held for pregnant women and community leaders interested in working with these new mothers. Transportation and lunch are included as part of the class. A third nutrition project, also sponsored by the Champaign County Cooperative Extension Service and the College of Agriculture, is a garden project helping the poor grow some of their own food. Working with the Black Coalition, the extension staff helped the new gardeners borrow the necessary farm equipment and plant the garden. The County Agricultural Extension Council provided money for seeds, plants and fertilizer. 13. After the harvest the program assistants plan to teach the people canning and preserving methods so that they might preserve the produce not used as fresh vegetables. 2. Child Care Mothers in low income families often have limited education and limited awareness of the problems associated with preparing children for successful participation in school. To help these mothers develop new knowledge and skills the Department of Special Education has organized a program in Teaching Mothers to Teach Their Infants. First initiated in the fall of 1967, the program works with mothers with low incomes who have infants between the ages of 12-23 months. According to the program each mother (1) participates in weekly group meetings where she learns how to teach her child at home, (2) teaches her infant for 15 minutes to an hour a day, and (3) works with a home visitor who visits her at home once a week and helps her with any individual problems that she has had with the child. Four mothers who participated felt the program was so important that they set up sub-programs in the housing areas. According to observations the children developed greater increases in attention span and eagerness for learning through the program. A second program sponsored by the department at the Col. Wolfe School is its Training Program for Mothers of Three-Year-Old Disadvantaged Children, which emphasizes both mother-child education and mother-centered activities. 14, Under this program the mothers attend weekly meetings to obtain materials and information on how to be more effective teachers of their children at home. These are followed by- weekly home visits where she can be observed teaching her child and receive additional help. Mother-centered activities come under the headings of occupational enhancement and participation in the life of the community . 3. Local Enterprise Two projects in Urbana-Champaign are aimed at helping the disadvantaged develop their own businesses. Both local projects are sponsored by the black community, with the university furnishing professional guidance and assistance when requested. Faculty members of the College of Commerce and Business Administration work with representatives of the Progress Association for Economic Development (PAED) in its formation as a profit corporation and in its proposed Entrepreneurial Development Training Center (EDTC) . The college will provide tutorial sessions for PAED officials taking the Illinois security dealers examination and also provide lectures and assistance as requested by the EDTC. Through its faculty and students the university has helped the Community Advocacy Depot and the Afro-American Consolidated Contractors organization by providing technical and professional assistance as requested. This includes helping these organizations obtain funding for their projects. 15. Preschool, Primary and Secondairy Education Increasing opportunities for higher education requires the prevention or reversal of academic deficiencies. Some programs work toward preventing these deficiencies or seek to overcome them before a youngster reaches the college level. As an institution which is preparing students as future teachers, principals and administrators, the university has a vital interest and a natural vehicle in the prevention and solution of these educational problems. The university operates two laboratory schools: the Washington Laboratory School in Champaign and University High School in Urbana. The Washington Laboratory School is a cooperative venture with the Champaign Unit 4 School District which was launched to provide high quality programs in a racially and socio-economically integrated environment and, at the same time, to develop and test improved instructional materials and techniques. University High School is used to develop and test new instructional materials and techniques at the high school level. Programs developed at the two laboratory schools may be adopted by community schools to improve their instruction. There are two types of programs for the economically and educationally disadvantaged youth: tutoring or other special educational programs and youth-oriented cultural and social activities. 16. 1. Tutoring and Special Education Individual tutoring is available through two groups: Volunteer Illini Projects and the summer tutorial project of the Afro-American Commission. During the school year the tutors often work in the local schools, taking the children out of homerooms, study halls and classes. They may also work with the youths in their homes after school in the evenings. This tutoring is available in whatever areas the students need; major deficiencies are in reading and arithmetic. In order to better represent the population of the community, University High School accepted a class of students who were slightly below the average achievement level of its sub-freshman class. This special class included both blacks and whites with the same entrance patterns. This group of 16, although they would rank above average in their home schools, still require special help in mathematics and English. The university's Reading Clinic is helping those who need it. This help will continue at least through the freshman year. The program just completed its first year, but this group appears to be developing into superior students through the special courses. They are holding their own with other University High students in social studies and science classes. In the future some of the methods developed here may be applied in the local grade and high schools. 17. The Champaign County Expanded Nutrition Program, mentioned earlier for adults, was recently expanded to teaching nutrition to youth. Each program assistant is responsible for organizing groups of children between the ages of 6 and 19 into nutrition clubs. The clubs are led by adult volunteers who are given special training in nutrition by the program assistants. There are four clubs currently under way with the youngsters being taught nutrition, leadership and citizenship. Four programs at the Col. Wolfe School, in addition to the two mentioned earlier, are aimed at special education of disadvantaged youth. Through a summer project, titled The Training of Teenagers to Tutor Their Young, Disadvantaged Siblings, young teenagers, aged 11-14, teach their younger brothers and sisters, from 2-4 years old. The older youths attend weekly meetings in groups of three to four and are observed weekly working with their young brothers and sisters in the home. In addition to the educational benefits provided for the younger children, this program is also valuable to the teenagers in showing them how to accept responsibilities and in providing them with positive contacts in a working relationship with members of the university community. This fall Col. Wolfe is operating a Cooperative Dual Kindergarten with the Champaign Unit 4 Schools. The four classes for five-year-old disadvantaged children provide experience for trainees in the Leadership Training Program for Administrators of Preschool Programs for the Disadvantaged as well as provide the children with the opportunity to improve their preparation for school. 18. A Model Program for the Early Education of Handicapped Children from all socio-economic levels began operations at the Col. Wolfe School this fall. The children, ages 3-5, have primary handicapping conditions (hard of hearing, deaf, speech impaired, visually handicapped, seriously emotionally disturbed, crippled, or other health impairments) and function in the mentally retarded range. This project is a joint effort of the U. of I. Department of Special Education, the Urbana and Champaign public schools and the State of Illinois Department of Public Instruction. The fourth Col. Wolfe program, the Hoopeston Model Program for the Early Education of Migrant Children, financed by the Illinois Migrant Council, involved 90 children ranging from infancy through 5 years old. A total of 65 high school students participated in this summer's Upward Bound program. Upward Bound is a pre-college program for low income students, designed for high school students who have the ability to be successful college students but are now receiving average or low grades in high school or otherwise are not expected to have an opportunity to go to college in the future. The program lasts for three summers and two school terms. Summers are spent on the U. of I. campus, where all Upward Bound students attend classes in English, mathematics and speech. Elective courses in psychology, history, typing, sewing, and arts and crafts are also available. During his junior and senior years in high school the Upwa'rd Bound student attends Saturday morning classes on the U. of I. campus. 19, There is no cost to the students, who receive $7.50 per week spending money during the summer sessions on campus and $15 per month during the school year/ as long as they remain active in the program. The Junior Engineering Technical Society of the College of Engineering sponsors a two-week summer program in engineering for youth from the inner city. Although the program was set up primarily for Chicago and East St. Louis youth, it is open to interested youths from the community. Each summer for the past three years the School of Chemical Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has participated in the Catalyst program of the American Chemical Society. The program brings promising high school students from disadvantaged families into university chemistry laboratories where they work for two months with professional scientists. The program, partially financed through a grant from the ACS, is designed to motivate disadvantaged young people and give them the incentive to continue their education. Last summer two seniors from Centennial High School participated in the program. One was financed by the national society and one by the local chapter. Four Urbana-Champaign high school boys worked with electricians through the Sxommer Youth Program in the Trades, sponsored by the local electrician's union and the university. Under the program 20. two youths worked with electricians in the university's operations and maintenance division and two with local contractors. The program gives the youths a summer job, knowledge about opportunities in the construction trades and motivation to complete high school. The high school diploma is required for entrance to many apprentice programs. This program may be expanded into other trades in the future. 2. Activities Oriented to Youth Several programs are aimed at the cultural and social education of disadvantaged youth in Urbana-Champaign. The Division of University Extension held art and music classes at community centers and local schools through the Northside Project, which was terminated last spring because of the lack of funds. During its one and a half years Northside Project sponsored art classes at the Douglass Center and the Martin Luther King and Gregory Schools and guitar classes at the two schools. A group of 80 4-H junior leaders, including four from Champaign County, this summer led a day camp for 80 disadvantaged youth — 40 from Urbana-Champaign and 40 from Decatur. The day at the 4-H camp in Monticello was filled with nutrition-education games, group singing, sports, swimming, boating, hiking and concluded with a cookout near the lake. 21. This day camp is an indication of the new direction of 4-H. Many 4-H clubs are developing urban-oriented programs. A group of U. of I. students have organized and are leading two clubs in the Wilbur Heights area. Sesame Street, a popular children's program aimed at the disadvantaged preschooler, is televised on WILL-TV twice daily during the school year. Many projects of VIP are aimed at helping the youth's cultural and social education. These include recreation projects at Beardsley School, Crystal Lake Park, Cunningham Home, Martin Luther King School, Marquette School and the Adler Zone Center; working with Girl Scouts and the Wilbur Heights 4-H clubs; Project Friendship where the student volunteers work with problem children on a one-to-one basis; and a bowling program for trainable mentally retarded children 12 years and older. 22. ATTACKING THE PROBLEM THROUGH RESEARCH Programs which are successful in one city sometimes fail in another. Thus all programs for the disadvantaged may be regarded as experimental. Whether or not they are formal research projects, such programs affect the university's research. Problems are defined, causes projected and analyzed, and solutions proposed. The best of these solutions are initiated in the community or on the campus. The results of these "field trials" are evaluated. These programs seek to solve some part of the basic social problems through answering one or more of three basic questions: — Which educational methods are most successful, for both advantaged and disadvantaged, in the school and in the community? — How can the university best aid the community? — What should be the university's role in these programs? Should it be a leader, a teacher, a partner, a consultant, a bank, or just a meeting place? No program is aimed specifically at answering the third question. The results of all programs will help provide its answer. 1. Developing Educational Methods The Engelmann-Becker program, which is used in the federal government's Follow Through program for underprivileged children, was developed through a research project at this University of Illinois cam.pus. 23. The government- sponsored Follow Through picks up where Head Start ends, continuing through third grade the special individualized attention received in Head Start. More than 5,000 children in classrooms ranging from a Sioux Indian reservation in South Dakota to the Ocean-Hill-Brownsville district of New York are learning reading, writing, arithmetic and science with the help of the Engelmann-Becker program. Research in the College of Education is coordinated through the Bureau of Educational Research, the Center for Instructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation, the Curriculum Laboratory and University High School, and the Institute for Research on Exceptional Children. Lab schools such as University High School and the Washington Laboratory School are utilized to develop and test improved instructional materials and techniques. Many of these methods are quite successful in working with under-achievers and slow learners. The research and educational programs at the Col. Wolfe School have received national acclaim for their work in providing preschool education for the economically disadvantaged. The National Laboratory on Early Childhood Education is located in Urbana-Champaign. Another major educational research facility on campus is the Children's Research Center, a part of the Graduate College. Research projects in the Speech and Hearing Clinic and the Psychological Clinic, both in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, may also benefit the disadvantaged. 24, Local nutrition classes for mother and baby are part of a home economics education research project. This project has three research goals: to develop new ways to teach nutrition, to develop adult education for the disadvantaged and to develop nutrition materials that they can read. The Cooperative Extension Service was the most successful in working with the farmer and the rural population. Will this pattern be as successful in the city? The Expanded Nutrition Program, developed by the service, is using the same technique of community leadership and demonstrations. At the university level the Special Educational Opportunities Program can be considered experimental in both teaching methods and supportive services. Some of the techniques developed for the special sections have been adopted in other classrooms. Research in developing instructional materials for the college classroom is coordinated by the campus Office of Instructional Resources. The office aids faculty members in developing, using and evaluating instructional procedures, including technological innovations such as television, programmed instruction, films and other audio-visual techniques. Through these and other programs the university seeks to discover and develop better educational techniques at all levels of education, from infancy to adulthood. Both pure and applied research in a large number of areas on campus have educational benefits that cut across social, economic and racial lines. 25. Examples include research into reading ability and levels, teaching methods, improving communications, mathematical concepts, child care and nutrition. Research currently under way also deals with early childhood education, the effectiveness of preschool education, improving reading skills, improving writing skills, methods of adult education and social behavior. There are also a number of on-going research programs in learning problems, developmental problems and human relations in the departments of psychology, educational psychology, anthropology and other departments. 2 . Discovering Ways to Aid the Community The College of Commerce and Business Administration plans to hold a Conference on Investment in People late in the fall. The conference will be centered on ways in which business, government and educational institutions might cooperate to enhance educational and employment opportunities of the disadvantaged. Participants are to include approximately 50 businessmen and 50 from the various branches of government at the state and national levels and educational institutions. This is the only program that directly addresses itself to this question. But each program aimed at helping the disadvantaged attacks the problem in the way its sponsors feel will be most successful. Thus a comparison of all programs and their achievements might come up with the most promising form of aid which the university could provide the disadvantaged community. 26. ATTACKING THE PROBLEM THROUGH SERVICE Serving the Community Service to the Urbana-Champaign black community is centered around three basic goals: — Providing cultural opportunities. — Developing community leadership, — Opening avenues of communication. Many cultural and social events on the campus are open to the community. Special efforts are often made to invite members of the black community to events that are of particular interest to them. The role of the local resident in many events is changing from that of a member of the audience to that of active participant. Members of the Urbana-Champaign community add their voices to the Black Chorus / their beat to the Afro-American Percussion Group/ their steps to the Afro-American Dance Group. Many of these events are coordinated through the university's Office of Student Programs and Services (SPAS) and the Afro-American Commission. The Afro-American Commission sponsors three types of programs: the Afro-American Academic Program, which is responsible for Afro-American perspective and emphasis in the academic activities conducted on the campus; the Afro-American Cultural Program; and the Afro-American Public Service Program, which is concerned with community-related matters. SPAS has initiated a series of community teenage dances, utilizing community facilities and resources as well as those on the campus. Other events under the "action now" program during 27. the second semester last spring were the "Soul Bowl" basketball tournament, a skate party at the Douglass Center, a cabaret-dance-variety show, a "Soul Dinner", a "Soul Picnic" and a work day in the community to assist senior citizens in spading and planting their gardens. The first campus Black Mothers Day celebration in May, held in conjunction with campus Mothers Day activities, was a joint university-community venture. All but one of the local black churches joined the Black Chorus for the evening gospel sing, presented to a capacity audience in the Great Hall of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Visiting parents were then invited to Sunday morning services in the local black churches. University-community relations include all aspects of the campus and the community, including the relationship of black university students to the local blacks. Last year the three black fraternities on campus opened all house social events to all from the black community. SPAS and the Afro-American Commission cooperate in sponsoring many cultural events in the community. Some of these joint ventures include the Uhuru performers, which combine African and American music and dance, and a cultural series of dance and entertainment. Many events are presented at community centers and in local parks as well as on the university campus. 28. When the Afro-American Commission built a stage for these performances, it located the stage in King Park so that it can be used for community events as well. Several events at the Afro-American Cultural Center, an agency of the Afro-American Commission, are also open to the community. The center's programs and workshops for writers, dancers and musicians are not restricted to students. Its cultural programs, often presented by visiting speakers and artists, are also open to the community. Black Awareness, a program involving a series of lectures by visiting authorities, open to the public and extensively advertised, as well as a course for regular enrolled students, has been sponsored by the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Fine and Applied Arts. It will be repeated in spring 1971. Through these projects and assistance to community organizations such as the Community Advocacy Depot and the Progress Association for Economic Development, the university hopes to develop leadership in the community. Many of these people are already leaders in the black community. Much of the effort is in helping them obtain the skills and knowledge required to become leaders of the entire community, so that their businesses can be comparable to similar white businesses. In addition, black youth need the opportunity to learn how to become leaders. The students leaders in integrated high schools are usually white, and black students often do not have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. 29. This fall SPAS is working more with adults from the north end, helping them become familiar with the campus and what it has to offer for their families and community. Assisting the community "help itself" also comes through university assistance to local organizations in preparing and filing funding proposals and in finding financial aid and other resources. Every human relations program has an affect on communication between the university and the poor community, between black and white, whether or not opening avenues of communications is a primary goal of that program. Increasing Black Opportunities 1. Educational Opportunity Programs aimed at increasing educational opportunity for university students, for local children from infancy through high school and for adults in the community are discussed in the education section of this pamphlet. 2. Housing All approved housing for undergraduates and all housing listed by the university must be open to individuals of all races. Each landlord must sign a pledge before his facilities are approved or listed. This requirement covers the entire spectrum of campus housing, from university and private residence halls to fraternities and sororities, independent houses and rooming houses. 30. University philosophy on housing discrimination is that the offense is against the university, not the complainant. The complainant is just a witness of the offense. To follow up charges of discrimination the university established the Housing Review Committee in 1964. During the 1969-70 academic year the committee investigated eight complaints of discrimination. Of these, charges were dismissed without hearings on three complaints, the landlord was found guilty as charged in three cases and sanctions were recommended against a fraternity found to have discriminated. A hearing has not been held on the eighth case. Sanctions against those found to have discriminated include loss of university recognition as approved housing and loss of all privileges to list with the university any housing associated with the landlord either as owner or manager. In addition, the board recommends that complainants report the discrimination to the local housing review board. At the request of the black community, the university hired an outside firra to do a survey of the university's impact on housing in Urbana-Champaign, especially on low-income housing. This report, which showed the university to have a major effect, has been reviewed by the Technical Advisory Task Force of the Ad Hoc Policy Committee on Community Housing Development. 31. The committee works with the Concerned Citizens Committee and other local interest groups and agencies in providing technical assistance in community housing development efforts. 3 . Employment Equal employment opportunity is a major concern of the university. President David D. Henry this summer announced creation of a University Council on Equal Opportunity to "provide a new level of attention and involvement, a systematic means of communication and a continuing mechanism for planning, coordination and evaluation." This council will be concerned with equal opportunity in all phases of the university. There are three areas of work in the university's equal employment opportunity efforts on this campus. — To open jobs to qualified blacks and members of other minority races. — To recruit persons who are qualified for employment on the campus but who traditionally have been hesitant to apply. — To help educationally disadvantaged persons become qualified for university employment. The Affirmative Action program for nonacademic employment, now directly responsible to the Chancellor's Office, increases the number of jobs open to blacks and members of other minority races through the institution of trainee programs, the elimination of administrative barriers, and intense cooperation with employing units on campus . 32. Each unit has an affirmative action officer to develop and execute programs for his unit, working through the Affirmative Action for Equal Opportunity Office. When a vacancy occurs, the employing unit contacts the Personnel ServicesOf fice , which sends over the top three candidates on the list. Positions on the list are determined by competitive examinations, which have been designed to be free of any racial bias. The affirmative action officer seeks to insure the employing units do not discriminate when selecting from qualified applicants. After a black is employed, the affirmative action officer in the unit works to resolve any problems which may arise through his employment. This fall greater efforts will be made to increase the number of minority workers on campus construction projects. New contracts will have stricter requirements on equal employment opportunity, including a clause requiring contractors to document good faith efforts to employ blacks. The university is also negotiating with local unions to let it gain some control over the selection of apprentices to be employed by the operations and maintenance division on the campus. One of the main difficulties in increasing the number of minority employees is that traditionally few of those who are qualified apply. In addition to opening up job opportunities, the university actively recruits members of minority groups for these positions. Black employees of the university and those associated with the Affirmative Action program work with community leaders and organizations in the identification and recruitment of qualified applicants . I I 33. This recruitment even extends to the high schools. One of the duties of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Related to Construction, being established this fall/ vill be to visit local schools to encourage students to get their diplomas and to recruit them for the construction trades. The university maintains a list of blacks wanting to work in the construction trades. For several years the university has been working with local trades unions and the black community in developing pre-apprentice training programs. As of June 8, 44 learner, apprentice and trainee programs in many areas of employment were approved for this campus. Nine more were pending approval, and a tenth has been proposed. All are aimed at increasing employment opportunity by helping blacks qualify. The list includes 32 learner programs, of which five are pending; nine apprentice programs, of which four have been tentatively approved, four are pending and one is to be submitted; and 13 trainee programs, all approved. Largest and best-known is the Clerical Learner Program, which has graduated 50 since it was started in December 1968. The program is aimed at training unskilled women to the point where they can pass the civil service examination for the Clerk-Typist I position. Under the program the learners attend classes for half days and work in the department offices the other half. Their salaries are paid by the department. 34. In the classes the learners receive instruction in power typing, office techniques and personal grooming. The program will be expanded this fall to include transcribing and stenography. A curriculum for the Clerk-Typist II position, next on the scale, is currently being developed. This program has been well accepted by the local community. There were 60 names on the waiting list at the end of the summer. 35, FROM GOWN TO TOWN Degrees of Involvement There are three levels of human relations programs, according to type and amount of involvement. The first level is the infrequent or one-time program, such as a Christmas party for a group of children. Other examples are collecting food, clothing, toys, money, etc., for distribution at Thanksgiving or Christmas. A favorite project, especially for organized houses, is to take a group or class to the circus or some other event on campus. Because this is a one-time or infrequent venture with a group sponsoring activities or doing something for another group, there is little individual contact. At the second level continuing programs are developed on campus or elsewhere and then brought into the community. Local involvement may be limited to attending and participating in the meetings or programs. If there is little community participation in the planning and control of the program, it may not be accepted very well in the community. However, these programs can be successful, especially if local participation is encouraged and increased once the programs are under way. The third type is a cooperative effort, often with the black community providing the leadership and the planning and the university taking the role of professional consultant. 36. The university offers its resources to aid in developing programs at the request of the community. This might include aid in preparing bid documents, in helping with engineering studies, in decorating or landscaping new housing developments, or in assisting local organizations in preparing applications for funding from the federal government or private foundations. To Go To Town The opportunity is available for anyone at the University of Illinois who desires to contribute to programs for the disadvantaged. Students can work individually through Volunteer Illini Projects, the Office of Student Programs and Services, campus organizations or churches. If their service is related to their field of study they can contact an interested professor or their department about the possibility of gaining field experience for credit or initiating a class project. Faculty and employees also can volunteer their services through these and other organizations, such as service groups, churches, the United Fund, etc. Working to solve the basic social problems of poverty, racial discrimination, insufficient education, unequal job opportunities and substandard housing is a major concern of the entire university. Everyone on the campus—administrator, professor, student or employee- can participate according to his special interests, desires and ability.