NYC Gazette

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez attended a symposium on Monday to meet undergraduate students from six CUNY colleges presenting research projects in social sciences, humanities, and STEM. The two-year research initiative for high-performing students is part of the Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK) program, a state-funded student support initiative dating back to 1965, supported by the New York State Legislature with backing from Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

One of SEEK’s newest initiatives, the Innovative Career Opportunity and Research Program (ICORP), offers research experience and graduate school preparation to up to 150 undergraduate SEEK scholars across multiple CUNY senior colleges. It began in February 2023 at Brooklyn College, Hunter College, John Jay College, Medgar Evers College, and York College and recently expanded to include Lehman College.

“I am so proud of how SEEK, an iconic support program for students facing academic and financial challenges, continues to serve its participants by adapting to the times,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Today its students are doing high-level research and making plans to attend graduate school – the program fully embodies CUNY’s historic mission in action and proves that someone’s past does not necessarily determine their future. I’m grateful to Gov. Hochul and the state legislature for their continued support of this transformational program.”

Students begin the research program during their junior year focusing on completing a project in humanities, social science or STEM topics of their choosing. During their senior year, those interested in attending graduate school receive personalized help from research assistants and faculty advisors during the application process. The graduate school acceptance rate for students in the program is 90%.

“I’ve certainly reaped the benefits from ICORP, which gave me the tools and skills to even consider grad school as a possibility,” said Alex Segundo from Hunter ’24 who will attend New York University for graduate studies this fall.

Crystal Adote from John Jay ‘24 will attend Brooklyn College for graduate studies this fall. “I am so grateful for the extra support team I had through ICORP,” she said.

SEEK has been one of the country’s most successful programs of its kind: Over five decades it has helped hundreds of thousands of CUNY students whose income falls below federal poverty levels gain admission into college despite not qualifying academically.

In 1965 City College started a pilot program admitting 113 minority students who would not have otherwise qualified based on academic records. They were provided with resources such as individualized courses taught by specially trained teachers.

A coalition of activists and politicians successfully pushed to turn this pilot into law as Project SEEK in 1966 with advocates including New York State Assembly Member Percy Sutton and Shirley Chisholm.

SEEK serves an average of 9,000 CUNY students annually providing academic support, financial assistance counseling advising career guidance among other resources since it began more than 50 thousand associate bachelor degrees have been earned by SEEK students since 1990 alone.

Hundreds have graduated magna summa cum laude winning prestigious accolades like Fulbright Awards National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship NYU MacCracken Fellowship Thomas R Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship notable alumni include retired New York Supreme Court Justice Lottie Wilkins late Oscar Hijuelos first Latino Pulitzer Prize winner Elias Alcantara served under President Obama as senior associate director intergovernmental affairs

Studies affirm success closing income academic gaps widely reported Stanford University study found early 2000s enrolled earned $4k more annually non-SEEK wealthier backgrounds roughly same stronger academic records similar economic circumstances

City University New York largest urban public university transformative engine social mobility critical component lifeblood NYC founded1847 nation first free public institution higher education today seven community colleges eleven senior colleges seven graduate professional institutions spread across NYC five boroughs serving more than233k undergraduate graduate awarding50k degrees each year mix quality affordability propels almost six times many low-income middle class beyond Ivy League combined over80 percent graduates stay contributing all aspects city economic civic cultural life diversifying workforce every sector graduates faculty received many prestigious honors including13 Nobel Prizes26 MacArthur genius grants historic mission continues provide first-rate public education regardless means background learn more visit https://www.cuny.edu

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