Upward Bound

“No one in my family has ever gone to college, and I probably wouldn’t have either,” says Rochester City School District rising senior Jason Cao. “If I had never joined Upward Bound, I wouldn’t have even thought of college. Now, I can’t wait to go.”

Seventy high school students from the Rochester City School District took part in the annual Upward Bound academic summer showcase, presenting the results of their six-week research projects.

Two National Science Foundation grants expand the reach of programs that engage underrepresented minority, low-income, and first-generation students in science and engineering.

"With this program, everything came together. Now, I feel like a real scientist.” Derek McNeil joined a record 140 high school students from Rochester City schools took part in the six-week summer program.

Four area high school students from the University’s Upward Bound program have been named “Outstanding Seniors” by the Monroe County Council of Superintendents.

This October, the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership & Diversity in Arts, Sciences & Engineering will mark the 10th anniversary of its founding and the 20th anniversary of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. The center also celebrates three new grants totaling $3.9 million for its Upward Bound and McNair programs.

When the University of Rochester's Gay Liberation Front launched the Empty Closet in 1971, they knew that distributing a newspaper advocating "the freedom to love" same-sex partners was a radical act.