The Associated Colleges of Upper New York (ACUNY), 1946-1951, was New York State's answer to the nationwide dilemma of assimilating World War II veterans into the educational system. The organization owed its beginnings chiefly to New York State Governor Thomas Dewey. In March 1946 the Governor held a conference of 85 New York State college presidents to evaluate the issue. Earlier studies by the State Education Department found that the existing colleges could not sufficiently absorb the anticipated 100,000 veterans seeking college-level education under the G.I. Bill of Rights.

ACUNY was a joint venture between the state and private colleges of New York. Under the auspices of the Governor, the State Education Department, and ten college presidents, ACUNY received its charter from the Board of Regents on May 17, 1946. The charter awarded ACUNY nonprofit status and set its objective to provide the first two years of college for any qualified veteran who was rejected from one of the state's four-year colleges because of "insufficient housing, overcrowded classrooms and lack of instructional staff."

Expediency was necessary in order to insure that the emergency facilities were established and ready to function by the fall semester 1946. The temporary Army and Navy facilities of upstate New York held enough housing and classroom space to alleviate overcrowding. The military sites chosen were the United States Naval Training Center (Sampson College, opened September 15, 1946), Rhoads Hospital (Mohawk College, opened October 16, 1946) and Fort Plattsburg (Champlain College, opened September 23, 1946). In February 1947 another center was launched in Middletown at the request of the community.

In July 1946, Dr. John S. Allen, Executive Director of Higher Education, and Dr. J. Hillis Miller, Associate Commissioner of Education, realized that New York City was heavily affected by the problem. ACUNY agreed to extend its trusteeship to include eight New York metropolitan college presidents as well as the Superintendent of Schools in New York City, John Wade. Vice-Chancellor and Secretary of NYU, Harold Voorhis served as acting-Trustee for Chancellor Harry Chase, who was preoccupied with NYU's Medical Center campaign. Edmund Day, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, ACUNY, appointed Voorhis Chairman of the Special Committee to investigate the New York City situation. In January 1947 the Committee reported that the establishment of an emergency college in the city was unnecessary.

Originally, ACUNY was to cease operation July 1, 1948; the emergency was only expected to last two years. But the charter was extended twice: once in 1948 for an additional year, and again in 1949 for an additional two years. ACUNY's President, Asa Knowles, left his post after the initial two-year period. Frederick A. Morse, the Executive Assistant for Higher Education in the State Education Department, was elected the new president by the Board of Trustees.

Under Morse, a new attitude developed at ACUNY; the institution actively sought prospective college students rather than supplementing the existing universities. It began sending out faculty members as recruiters to high schools and published an illustrated booklet.

The fates of the colleges differed. Mohawk College closed in June 1948, and Sampson College closed in June 1949. Champlain College went on to become the first liberal arts college of the State University of New York, and Middletown became a two-year community college. Overall, ACUNY's existence was successful despite the short-lived civil rights complaints of the faculty and students of Sampson in the spring of 1948. After the first two years of its existence, ACUNY managed to transfer its qualified students to four-year colleges to finish their college careers.

Sources:

Gilbert, Amy. ACUNY: The Associated Colleges of Upper New York. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1950.