Geneseo History Research Project

During the 2005-2006 school year, a number of students, faculty, and staff initiated a research project, "Women at Geneseo: Historically and Today," that focused on archival research on women at Geneseo in the late 19th and early 20th century. During the 2006-2007, some of us continued working on Geneseo history, but with a focus on race, gender, and politics from the 1950s through the 1970s. We've started with the Lamron and yearbooks, but are moving into other archival materials and have plans to begin some oral histories early next semester. In addition to this specific focus, we are interested in the history of race/ ethnicity at Geneseo throughout the College's history.

Some of our early findings include: a newspaper clipping about a planned boycott of discriminatory down town stores that was "averted" in 1963; articles and photographs about the Northern Student Movement; discussions of the 1964 Rochester Riots; debate about changing the name of the College Union in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King; and a very brief history of the influx of African-American students in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We have also found photographs of African-American students who attended the college in the 1960s and early 1970s and a list of demands from Black students of this era, including their call for the creation of a Black Studies program, more Black faculty, and a more diverse student body.

Among other things, we hope to interview and hear from alumni about their experiences at Geneseo.

If you have questions or comments, please contact rgp@geneseo.edu.
SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY 14454, (585) 245-5594
The illustrations are from the SUNY Geneseo College Archives.