Husson Hosts Anthony Jack as Keynote Speaker for Faculty and Staff Development Days
Published on: August 22, 2024
Husson University had the honor of hosting Boston University associate professor Dr. Anthony Jack, author of “The Privileged Poor” and “Class Dismissed,” as the keynote speaker for the university’s Fall Faculty and Staff Development Days event in the Gracie Theatre on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. Dr. Jack was introduced to room full of faculty and staff members by Kristin Tripp, Husson’s director for Title III, and Logan Longley, a senior in criminal justice at Husson.
During his presentation, Dr. Jack discussed the challenges first-generation and low-income college students face in their pursuit of work experience that will help set them up for successful careers after graduation. He specifically talked about how these students often miss out on “life-of-the-mind” jobs and internships, such as research and teaching assistantships, because they often aren’t well-versed in the “hidden curriculum of higher education” - an unwritten set of rules that comes natural to those familiar with the college environment, but is often unknown to students who are the first in their family, or even community, to go to college. Those who follow this “hidden curriculum,” which includes rules and norms about networking and making connections, are more likely to gain an inside track toward securing the more lucrative jobs and internships.
“When no set rules or guidance exist, students fall back on what they know,” Dr. Jack stated during his speech. “For many low-income and first-generation college students, who colleges recruit to increase campus diversity, this often means what they don’t know - the pathway to secure on-campus jobs that also contribute to long-term career options is often hidden from students who are unfamiliar with the hidden curriculum.”
Students that fall into the first-generation or low-income categories also find themselves missing out on these highly desirable positions due to other external factors, such as the need to pursue other positions that meet work-study program requirements or a lack of advertising about certain job openings. Dr. Jack says colleges need to do a better job of supporting and making educational opportunities outside of the classroom more accessible to these students.
“If colleges are to be true engines of mobility, it is imperative that more campuses remove barriers that lead to separate and unequal experiences, and must also account for what is causing that inequality to persist,” Dr. Jack said. “Colleges aren’t just spaces where students learn, colleges are also places where students work.”
In addition to his role as an associate professor, Dr. Jack is also an accomplished researcher and the faculty director of Boston University’s Newbury Center, which supports first-gen students as they make their way through college. His work has been referenced in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, the Boston Globe, The Huffington Post and more. He received the Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize from the Harvard University Press in 2018 for “The Privileged Poor.”
For more than 125 years, Husson University has prepared future leaders for the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson offers quality educational programs in areas including technology; business; health and education; animal care; legal studies; pharmacy studies; science and humanities; and communication. For more information about educational opportunities, visit Husson.edu.