Clark State Community College will welcome higher education expert Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab to the Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, January 23.
Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab is professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University and founder of the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice in Philadelphia, as well as the Wisconsin HOPE Lab. She is best known for her innovative research on food and housing insecurity in higher education, having led the three largest national studies on the subject, and for her work on making public higher education free.
“Many of our students face barriers to success that have nothing to do with academic preparation, such as transportation issues, childcare costs, food insecurity, insufficient housing and other basic needs,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “Let’s face it: when a student is hungry, she cannot concentrate on her studies. Clark State is deeply engaged in finding ways to help students meet their basic needs as well as their academic ones. Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab is a leader in this field of study—and advocacy—and is their champion in raising awareness about this timely topic.”
Goldrick-Rab is the recipient of the William T. Grant Foundation’s Faculty Scholars Award and the American Educational Research Association’s Early Career Award. In 2016 POLITICO magazine named her one of the top 50 people shaping American politics. Her latest book, Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream (University of Chicago, 2016), is an Amazon best-seller, a 2018 winner of the Grawemeyer Award and has been featured on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. The Chronicle of Higher Education calls her “a defender of impoverished students and a scholar of their struggles.”
She is ranked 7th in the nation among education scholars according to Education Week, and in April 2018 the Carnegie Corporation named her a Carnegie Fellow. The American Educational Research Association bestowed its 2017 award for best research article on her study of financial aid and college employment.
“If we want students to succeed in earning degrees, we need to support their basic needs,” said Goldrick-Rab. “I’m excited to talk about the opportunities to do that.”
Blondin will facilitate a discussion on food and housing insecurities for college students beginning at 3:30 p.m. The discussion will take place at the Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center, 275 South Limestone Street, Springfield.
Dr. Goldrick-Rab’s formal lecture at the Clark State Performing Arts Center, 300 South Fountain Avenue, Springfield, will begin at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.