In 2000, Reaching Up, a non-profit organization founded in 1989 by John F. Kennedy, Jr., joined with The City University of New York (CUNY) to establish the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Institute. This public/private partnership serves as a vehicle to carry on the work that John Kennedy started.

In 2007, the JFK, Jr. Institute was integrated into the Office of the University Dean for Health and Human Services.