ACS Project SEED

On April 4, 1968 the ACS Council passed a resolution “to take the appropriate steps to ease the problems of underprivileged segments of the nation’s population, particularly in relation to lack of education and unemployment”; a resolution in response to one of the most turbulent years of the 20th century, fueled by racial tension, segregation, police brutality, lack of employment and opportunity for all.  The ACS wisely recognized the toll that the political and social unrest could take in terms of the future of the chemical sciences: depriving underprivileged people from access to education and employment, and the chemical industry from the potential contributions by this growing pool of individuals.  From this, Project SEED (originally “Summer Experiences for the Economically Disadvantaged”) was born and has flourished.