A View from the 50th Street Gate on Washington Avenue: Reflections of a Working Class Academic.

Abstract

This manuscript offers a firsthand account of obstacles I experienced as a working-class, first-generation college student and how my origins still affect my thoughts and actions as a professor of Public Administration. In this context, I consider larger issues of social class in admissions and the overall college experience, including proposing strategies to help students, especially those whose backgrounds are similar to mine, to maximize their odds of finishing their degrees. The manuscript ends by proposing that our field begin placing more emphasis on understanding social class inequalities.