Author to discuss ‘Privileged Poor’ paradox in March 5 talk

Dr. Anthony Jack will discuss the central paradox of his book “The Privileged Poor” as the next speaker in SUNY Oswego’s I Am Oz Diversity Speaker Series, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, in the Sheldon Hall ballroom.

The talk is free and open to the public, with doors opening at 6 p.m.

In his book and research, the sociologist and Harvard educator looks at situations where a student from a low-income background attends an elite university on scholarship and finds themselves burdened by that status. This kind of upheaval, Jack notes, will be addressed when modern institutions revise the policies of subtle, and not-so-subtle, exclusion that can harden these divisions between students.

Jack’s book “The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Poor Students,” plus his research and talks seek to provide a firm foundation for this conversion in the ongoing dialogue about race, inclusion and social justice.

A 2016 Harvard graduate, Jack is now a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows and an assistant professor for Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. His writings and research have been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio and many other outlets. 

Jack has held fellowships from the Ford Foundation and the National Science Foundation, and was a 2015 National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellow. The National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan named him a 2016 Emerging Diversity Scholar. 

An audience question-and-answer session, then a sale and book-signing of “The Privileged Poor” will directly follow the talk.

The college’s Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management sponsors the talk. Persons in need of accessibility accommodations to attend the event should contact the Office of Campus Life at 315-312-2301.