Guide Overview
SEEK in CUNY Archives is an inclusive research guide to archival materials about the Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) program, and College Discovery (CD) program available at CUNY archives. The SEEK Program was established within CUNY in 1965 on the pre-baccalaureate level to integrate Black and Puerto Rican students into the CUNY system and expanded to other senior-level colleges in 1966. The program provides students with academic and financial support, as well as tutoring and counseling services. Currently, the SEEK Program is available at twelve of CUNY’s four-year colleges. College Discovery is a two-year program offered at six of CUNY’s community colleges and provides students with the same opportunities as the SEEK program on an associate degree level.
The purpose of this guide is to provide students and researchers with an overview of all available SEEK and CD collections and materials in the various archives in the CUNY system. Materials about SEEK and College Discovery programs can be found in the records of SEEK and College Discovery offices, as well as in other collections relating to college administration, college publications, Open Admissions, Ephemera Collections, and other special collections. The guide is organized by repository with descriptions about which archival collections contain SEEK and College Discovery materials.
The following CUNY archives are referenced:
- CUNY Digital History Archives
- Baruch College’s Special Collections and Archives
- Brooklyn College’s Archives and Special Collections
- City College of New York (CCNY)
- College of Staten Island (CSI) Library Archives and Special Collections
- Archives of the Puerto Rican Diaspora/Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) at Hunter College
- Hunter College Archives and Special Collections
- LaGuardia Community College Special Collections and Archives
- Queens College Special Collections and Archives
This guide was researched and authored by Reign McConnell, Associate Archivist of the CUNY Cultivating Archives and Institutional Memory Project, an initiative administered by CUNY’s Office of Library Services to explore, unify and increase awareness of CUNY’s vast archival collections. Photos, publications, and other historical records found in CUNY archives illustrate CUNY’s relationship to broader social and political currents within New York City and beyond. The guide is one of several projects aimed at increasing awareness of research materials that provide context to people, events, and ideas that have shaped CUNY’s past, present, and future.