Author to discuss college costs, affordability and ‘Betrayal of the American Dream’

Scholar-activist Sara Goldrick-Rab, author of “Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream,” will deliver a talk based on her new book on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 2 p.m. at Rosch Recital Hall.

A prominent researcher on low-income students and public policy, Dr. Goldrick-Rab has a singular mission: to identify novel approaches to making higher education the accessible and affordable place that families want and need it to be, according to her website.

Goldrick-Rab has spent the last 15 years studying and writing about how and why some students realize their dreams of diplomas while the dreams of others drown in pools of debt. She is a professor of Higher Education Policy and Sociology at Temple University in Philadelphia, and previously taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Goldrick-Rab’s important book should be read by policymakers, students and parents. She explains clearly how access to college has been narrowed by rising costs, how elected officials have dodged their responsibility to maintain access, and what we must do to save the American Dream -- the promise that all have equal opportunity to succeed,” according to Diane Ravitch, a research professor of education at New York University.

“Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream” was published in September 2016 by the University of Chicago Press.

Goldrick-Rab’s talk is part of the “Conversations About the Future of College” discussion series sponsored by the Office of the Provost. During the semester, students, faculty and staff have joined in reading her book. She will sign copies of the book after her talk, which is free and open to the public.

Politico magazine named Goldrick-Rab to its list of the 50 most influential “thinkers, doers and dreamers” in 2016 for her efforts to make college affordable. She has written op-ed pieces in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic and has contributed numerous articles to the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed, among other publications.

Goldrick-Rab received a doctoral degree in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.