University of Connecticut, Center for Academic Programs Records

The University of Connecticut’s history of TRIO and educational opportunity programs, which eventually came together under the umbrella of the Center for Academic Programs (CAP), began in 1967. That year, under the leadership of Professor David Ivry, the Connecticut Pre-collegiate Enrichment Program (CONNPEP) launched. CONNPEP provided 30 high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to participate in a summer residential program at the Storrs campus designed to prepare them for access to and success in higher education. CONNPEP was unique in that it was fully funded by the state until 1968, when UConn received its first TRIO Upward Bound grant to serve first-generation, low-income high school students. This commitment by the University proved essential to the development and longevity of a high-quality college access and preparation program. (A draft of the Upward Bound grant proposal and letters of support are present in this collection, along with other memorabilia from CONNPEP.) Also in 1967, an initiative called Summer Program began. Its goal was to prepare incoming low-income and/or underrepresented UConn freshmen from the state’s urban areas for the rigors of university academics and acclimate them to campus life. Students participated in an intensive, six-week pre-collegiate summer program during which they took classes, attending workshops, and received individualized counseling. Summer Program was fully state funded until 1970, when the University received its first TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) grant to serve first-generation, low-income students. (Student writing and other materials from the SSS program are contained in this collection.) In 1971, the Committee for the Education of Minority Students (CEMS) was established alongside Summer Program, becoming UConn’s only program designed specifically for minority students. Approximately 30-35 incoming freshmen each year, who identified as having academic need, arrived to campus three days prior to the start of freshmen year for an extended New Student Orientation. CEMS staff continued to work with the students throughout their tenure at the University. The programs were managed separately until they reorganized under the Department of Special Academic Enrichment Programs in 1980. In 1983, per the suggestion of a committee charged with addressing the high dropout rate among the University’s underrepresented students, the Center for Academic Programs was established. At this time, CONNPEP changed its name to Upward Bound (UB); at the same time, Summer Program and CEMS merged into one program called Student Support Services (SSS), serving students at the main campus in Storrs and the regional campuses. After 45 consecutive years of renewal, the U.S. Department of Education did not award UConn the federal TRIO Upward Bound grant after a fierce grant competition in which several long-standing UB programs throughout the country also were not renewed. This prompted a return to full University funding and the program has been renamed the UConn College Access and Preparation Program (UCAP). In October 2017, CAP marked its 50-year history of serving first-generation, low-income and/or underrepresented students at UConn and throughout the state of Connecticut with a celebratory gala at the Storrs campus that included alumni from CONNPEP’s inaugural cohort. Other TRIO and educational opportunity programs that CAP has managed are: (put in date ranges and funding sources): • The McNair Scholars Program (funded by a U.S. Department of Education TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program grant) • The First Star Academy (funded by the University through a partnership with the National First Star Academy and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families) • ConnCAP (funded by the Connecticut Office of Higher Education) • Educational Talent Search (funded by a U.S. Department of Education TRIO ETS Grant) • GEAR UP (funded by a U.S. Department of Education Gear Up grant) People that have been instrumental in the establishment, development, and continuation of UConn’s TRIO and educational opportunity programs include: (include brief descriptions of their titles and role with CAP): • Homer Babbidge, UConn President (dates) • Sandy Plante and Trudy Johnson, Connecticut Department of Education representatives that approached Homer Babbidge about creating a college access program for low-income, first-generation high school students • Professor David Ivry, CONNPEP founder, School of Business Faculty (dates) • Dr. John Norman, first CONNPEP Director (dates) • H. Fred Simons • David Carter • Robert L. Brown, • Antoinette Moran • Joe Grant • Iris Kinnard, Upward Bound Director and CAP Director (dates) • Alma Maldonado-Cordner, CEMS and SSS counselor • Carolyn McDew • Bernice Taylor • Dr. Maria D. Martinez, CAP Director from (dates) and Associate Vice-Provost for the Institute for Student Success (dates) • Dr. Bidya Ranjeet, CAP Executive Director (dates) and SSS Director (dates) • Susana Ulloa, CAP High School Initiatives Director (oversees UCAP and The First Star Academy, formerly Director of Upward Bound and ConnCAP)