The College's Upward Bound Program - one of only five in the nation still in existence from a pilot program that began in 1965 - will be funded for the next five years thanks to a $1.9 million grant announced this week. The program will help 84 students at Corcoran, Henninger and Nottingham high schools prepare and graduate from college. Le Moyne received a similar grant in 2012 that helped fund the program through this year.
Read the story on syracuse.com about the funding.
"We are so grateful that we will be able to continue to fund this program, which truly helps us live our mission as a Jesuit institution," said President Linda LeMura. "I'd also like to acknowledge Steve Kulick and Lisa Lessun in advancement for their work on securing this grant, and Kenyon Black and everyone in the Upward Bound Program for their expertise and dedication working with students."
Over the past 52 years, Upward Bound has served more than 2 million students. Today, nearly 1,000 programs are funded at colleges and universities nationwide, with more than 62,000 students currently participating. As mandated by Congress, two-thirds of Upward Bound students served must come from families with incomes at or below 150% of the federal poverty level and in which neither parent graduated from college. Besides Le Moyne, the only other programs still operating from the original 17 pilot programs are Howard University, Dillard University, Columbia University, and Texas Southern University.
The program partners with colleges to expose students to college and prepare them for the challenges of higher education. Students between the ages of 13 and 18 received instruction in college readiness, literature, composition, mathematics and science. It is run on campuses after school, on Saturdays and during the summer (students involved with Le Moyne’s program actually live on campus for several weeks over the summer.)