Hugh R. Leavell, Assistant Dean of the School of Public Health, will take a year's leave of absence to serve as special adviser to the government of India, John C. Snyder, Dean of the School of Public Health School said yesterday.

A grant given by the Ford Foundation will sponsor Leavell as he organizes a program for training Indian health workers and tries to determine the best way to enlist the cooperation of Indian villagers in community projects.

While in India, Leavell will search for ways to further improve teaching foreign students at the School of Public Health. He remarked last week that courses must apply to the whole world and not just to the United States.