The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service is thrilled to announce Dr. Anthony Abraham Jack Ph.D. will be a keynote speaker for the 2024 Toward One Wisconsin Conference (T1W) on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (DEI), held May 7-8, in Eau Claire, WI.

As a sociologist, author, and associate professor of higher education at Boston University, Jack’s research focuses on diversity efforts in higher-education and how lower-income students are often overlooked and left out.

In his acclaimed 2019 book, “The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges are Failing Disadvantaged Students,” Jack explores the topic of poverty and higher education by examining the different experiences and struggles of two groups of students – the “privileged poor” and the “doubly disadvantaged.”

Jack describes the “privileged poor” as students from low-income, minority communities who first attend elite private schools before arriving at college. The second group, the “doubly disadvantaged,” are students from underprivileged backgrounds who do not have boarding school to prepare them for the transition to college.

“The question of if diversity is worth it is ever present and not just at colleges but at organizations of all stripes,” Jack said in his 2019 TEDxCambridge speech. “The answer is – yes, it is. But we should not be surprised when certain new groups struggle. We must move from access to inclusion, and data will help in this endeavor.”

Jack will be speaking on the first day of the 2024 T1W, at the Pabo Center in Eau Claire. His second book, “When Campus Closed: How Elite Colleges Are Still Failing Disadvantaged Students,” is set to be released in 2024.

The T1W Conference began with a mission to foster and sustain a statewide culture that understands DEI is essential to Wisconsin’s continued excellence. Since the first conference in 2019, this conference has brought together thousands of attendees from diverse backgrounds to have conversations around the work of DEI and how to move from talk to action.

To learn more about the conference and Dr. Anthony Abraham Jack, visit t1w.org.