Pre-College Programs

HomeAcademicsSpecial ProgramsPre-College ProgramsUpward Bound ProgramHistory of the Upward Bound Program

History of the Upward Bound Program

In the late 1960’s Upward Bound was established as one of the initiatives of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty” campaign. The central idea of the program was to link institutions of Higher Education with target schools in an effort to expose students, who have been defined as low income and first generation potential college students, to postsecondary education. This translated well into a variety of settings from Bronx to Appalachia. Upward Bound is sponsored by the United States Department of Education and is the oldest and most successful federal TRIO Program.