Double Discovery Center records, 1965-2005, bulk 1985-1995

On August 20, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA), which was the centerpiece of his "War on Poverty" legislative agenda. This legislation created government funded programs that provided the opportunity for economically disadvantaged Americans to develop skills, continue their education, and find employment. The EOA established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO). Directed by Sargent Shriver, the OEO created programs such as Head Start and Job Corps. The passage of the EOA by the United States Congress marked the beginning of the "Great Society" legislation of Johnson. Based on the "New Frontier" Program of President John F. Kennedy, this legislation established Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Medicare, and Medicaid.

The goals of the War on Poverty inspired the Columbia College Citizenship Council to establish a summer tutoring program for low-income students who lived in neighborhoods adjacent to Columbia University. The Columbia College Citizenship Council was a student committee that directed the Columbia College Citizenship Program. Steven Weinberg (CC 1966), Chairman of the Citizenship Council, Roger Lehecka (CC 1967), Professor James P. Shenton, and Dean John W. Alexander, submitted a grant proposal in the spring of 1965 to the OEO requesting funds for this new program. With the assistance of Arnold Saltzman (CC 1936) whose contacts included Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Director Sargent Shriver, Columbia University was awarded an initial grant of $157,020 from the OEO to establish Project Double Discovery (PDD). The name derived from the "double discovery" that was made by both the students and staff of the students academic potential. PDD was one of seventeen pilot Upward Bound programs in the United States.

In July of 1965, PDD initiated their first summer Upward Bound program. The program consisted of 160 high school students who were identified as having strong academic potential, but lacked the motivation that was necessary to seek a higher education. The College Discovery and Development Program (CDD) -- established in 1965 by the City University of New York (CUNY) and the New York City Board of Education to provide tutoring and college counseling to economically disadvantaged students--selected the initial PDD participants from 600 individuals already enrolled in the CDD program. Since CDD was an academic-year program, the educational assistance during the summer from PDD served to complement the efforts of CDD.

During the eight-week Upward Bound summer program, students lived in Columbia University campus housing and were supervised by Columbia and Barnard College student counselors. From Monday to Friday, students were expected to attend classes from 8 a.m. to 1p.m. Two hour-long afternoon study sessions followed their lunch break. One afternoon during the week, students traveled on short field trips to museums, government agencies, and important local institutions such as the United Nations. Murray Bromberg, a teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, directed this initial 1965 summer program; Dean Alexander supervised him. Weinberg was Assistant Director of PDD and Lehecka his assistant.

In 1966, after the first summer program, the OEO increased funding to PDD to $317,000. In 1968, OEO Director Sargent Shriver expanded the Upward Bound program to provide academic assistance to over 20,000 low-income high school students nationwide. As a result of this increased funding, PDD became a year round program that provided after school and Saturday tutoring. Due to similarities between the new year-round version of PDD and the CDD, the relationship between the two programs would eventually terminate in 1973. In order to extend their services to more students, the Talent Search program was created at PDD in 1977. With the addition of the Talent Search program, PDD changed its name, in 1985, to the Double Discovery Center (DDC). Both Talent Search and Upward Bound programs provide academic classes, tutoring, college advising, personal development workshops, and counseling services. However, Upward Bound students are required to participate in all DDC activities. Students enrolled in the Talent Search program are encouraged to participate in these activities, but it is not required. Both programs receive funding from the government through the Higher Education Act of 1965--Special Programs for Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (generally referred to as TRIO). Additional funding comes from both state and local grants along with private donations.

Originally created by the students of the Columbia College Citizenship Program, the DDC became a separate department under the Dean of Columbia College in 1980. The Executive Director of the DDC monitors all services provided by the organization. In order to improve the DDC, the Board of Friends was organized in 1984 to monitor and evaluate the delivery of program services. The Board of Friends makes recommendations for the overall improvement of the DDC. Standing committees organized by the Board include: Fund Development, Mentoring and Volunteerism, Nominating, and Program. The Director of the DDC holds a position on the Board of Friends. Assistant directors for both Upward Bound and Talent Search provide assistance to the Director in the management of DDC.

The DDC further expanded their organization in the 1980s and 1990s. Career Beginnings was established in the 1980s and provided career awareness to the students of the DDC. However, this program was discontinued in 1990. Other programs at the DDC include: Brothers of a New Direction (BOND), Reaching Youth Through Saturday Education (RYSE), Latino Project Discover, Sonya Kovalesvskaya High School Math Days, Young Achievers, Young Womens Alliance, and Youth Education Through Sports (YES). In an attempt to reach junior high school students prior to entering high school, DDC expanded their Talent Search program in 1991 to seventh and eighth grade students in the city. This was accomplished through the creation of the Seventh and Eight Grade Early Intervention Initiative (EII). In honor of the 30th anniversary of the program, the DDC conducted an Alumni Attainment Survey in 1995. Of the 352 responses, 98% enrolled in college and 66% graduated from college. In 1998, President Bill Clinton praised the DDC for its program designed to reduce racial disparities through education.