The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students, by Anthony Abraham Jack
Thursday, September 12, 2019—Noon to 1:00pm
State Library of Massachusetts—Room 341, Massachusetts State House
Dr. Jack’s book examines the overlooked diversity among lower-income undergraduates, highlighting in new ways how the college experience differs for the “privileged poor” (lower-income college students who graduated from private high schools) versus the “doubly disadvantaged” (lower-income college students from public schools). Throughout the course of his research, which included interviews with more than 100 undergraduates, Dr. Jack found that the privileged poor tend to enter college already familiar with the social and cultural norms of elite academic settings, unlike the doubly disadvantaged, who experience culture shock, isolation, and unfamiliarity with unspoken expectations, such as approaching professors during their office hours. As the book asserts, access is not the same as inclusion. The Privileged Poor urges us to change our perception of diversity in higher education, with the goal of creating a community of inclusion in our colleges and universities.
Author Anthony Abraham Jack holds the Shutzer Assistant Professorship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. He is a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows and an assistant professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A first-generation college student, Dr. Jack earned his B.A. from Amherst College and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. In 2016 he was named an Emerging Diversity Scholar by the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan, and his work has been featured in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.
The State Library’s Author Talks are free and open to everyone. Don’t miss your chance to see Dr. Jack at the State Library before he resumes his nationwide book tour!
Laura Schaub
Cataloging Librarian
