The Harvard Adult Literacy Initiative was established in the Harvard University School of Education through the university's Reading Laboratory in 1987. Basic goals of the initiative are to: provide professional training and find effective procedures for training teachers and administrators in the field of adult literacy; conduct research; develop materials for instruction, assessment, and evaluation; and explore the use of technology and media to enhance instruction. The teacher training aspects of the initiative were undertaken first. For the past 3 years, a course has been offered jointly by the Harvard Reading Laboratory and the Extension School for both graduate and undergraduate credit to train teachers and volunteers who work with adults at literacy centers. The course includes a practicum in which students diagnose and teach reading to adults under close faculty supervision. The course serves three purposes--providing training for professional and volunteer personnel, supplying a service for adults who want to learn to read, and generating research data for studying adult literacy. The course was made available through the Extension School to a broad group of people at a modest fee. An outreach effort made to attract adult literacy clients received excellent response. Waiting lists were established for persons wishing to take the course and those wishing literacy instruction. The model developed can be adapted for use by other colleges of education to respond to the issue of adult literacy. (KC)