Bentley, City Year will unveil partnership

Students at Bentley College, a Waltham school specializing in business education, will receive incentives to give a year of community service through the national youth service organization City Year, in a partnership being rolled out today at a ServiceNation Summit in New York.

Under the "give a year" program, participating students -- to be called Bentley National Service Scholars -- will get scholarship support and internships with global organizations. They'll join City Year corps members in 18 locations in the United States and one in South Africa, working as tutors, mentors, and role models.

Bentley is investing a total of $1 million in the program, which aims to make community service an integral part of the college experience for Bentley students. The name of the program derives from the tagline of Boston-based City Year: "give a year, change the world."

The college plans to award as many as 10 $20,000 scholarships each year to Bentley students who take part. Each will also receive a $4,725 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award when they complete the program. During the year, they'll receive monthly stipends, health insurance, and other benefits.

The ServiceNation Summit, co-chaired by Caroline Kennedy, was launched yesterday with a presidential candidates forum with Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. The Bentley program will be announced today by the college's president, Gloria Cordes Larson (right), and City Year chief executive Michael Brown.
(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)