2025 Hall Family Speaker: Dr. Anthony Abraham Jack Speaks on Access and Inclusion in Higher Education

Student leaders Kayla Thugi ’25 and Noah Previtera ’29 introduced Dr. Jack, whose groundbreaking research highlights the overlooked diversity among lower-income undergraduates. Much in demand as a speaker, Jack is the Inaugural Faculty Director of the Boston University Newbury Center and an Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership at Boston University and has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and NPR. In their introduction, Thugi and Previtera emphasized the importance of fostering a sense of connection and understanding across various backgrounds. 

As part of a “continued dialogue of what access and inclusion means,” Jack began his address to the Rivers community by thanking the institution’s unsung heroes: janitors, security guards, groundskeepers, and cooks.

“I hope this talk is just one of many about the new responsibility that inclusion demands of all of us—teachers and students, staff and administrators alike.”

Jack's research explores the concept of inclusion in higher education, coupled with his own personal narrative research on “how poverty and inequality shape the trajectories to and through higher education.”  Many of these familiar elite institutions—the Harvards and the Yales—successfully enroll students of a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and first-generation status alongside students from wealthier backgrounds–and appear to demonstrate a diversity of the student body. 

However, these actions still don’t go far enough for many students. “An admission letter and generous financial aid do not a diverse college or even day school make,” said Jack, attempting to distinguish between access and true inclusion. 

Furthermore, Jack shared that even within groups of students from similar backgrounds, there are differences that, for some students, make the transition to college and success much more difficult. Jack shared the concept of "The Privileged Poor"—a term he coined to describe students from lower-income backgrounds who attend elite institutions, often after being educated in private boarding or prep schools—and the “Doubly Disadvantaged”—those students from disadvantaged backgrounds who do not have the access and opportunity afforded by prep schools. He described the tension these students experience when navigating the worlds of both privilege and disadvantage—facing obstacles many of their wealthier peers and graduates of prep schools do not.

Jack shared his personal story as a first-generation college student, recounting his journey from a public school in a disadvantaged community to studying at Amherst College. “I thought that rest was a luxury I couldn’t afford,” he shared.

He noted that while selective colleges can be springboards for upward mobility, there are significant barriers for students from lower-income backgrounds, especially if they do not come from a prep school. He gave the example of how students from prestigious institutions often access a wealth of resources and networks that students from less privileged backgrounds might not even know exist, the concept referred to as the “hidden curriculum.”

He shared stories about how he struggled as a first-generation student to navigate the unspoken norms of college life—office hours, term papers, and even simple phrases like "cultural capital"—things that many of his wealthier peers took for granted.

“Citizenship is more than just being in a place,” Jack explained. "It’s about access and all the cool rights and privileges that are promised to us.”

“I was granted access to places and experiences that were foreign to me. But what does it mean to be a college student today when your reality is so different from that of your peers?"

He also addressed the issue of food insecurity that disproportionately affects students from lower-income backgrounds, particularly during school breaks when dining halls close. Jack painted a stark picture of the challenges faced by students who are hungry or homeless, even at elite institutions with multibillion-dollar endowments. 

Jack’s message was clear: to truly engage with diversity and foster inclusion, educational institutions must begin by acknowledging the different realities of all students and the inequalities they face. He challenged the Rivers community to ask themselves how they could better support peers potentially struggling with invisible burdens like food insecurity or social isolation.

"You must be willing to look beyond the surface," he urged. "Don’t make assumptions about what students have or don’t have. Instead, actively engage with them, understand their struggles, and offer help where needed."

Following the assembly and before heading into classrooms for short discussions, some students and adults gathered to talk with the affable and approachable Jack more informally, before engaging in drop-in sessions over lunch.

 

In Grade 7 Global Citizenship, students have just completed their "Blueprints for Justice" projects, where they developed ideas to combat various social injustices they researched. Gathered in a circle with Dr. Jack in the yurt, students shared their topics—which ranged from mental health and food insecurity to healthcare affordability and climate change injustice—and also one fact from Jack’s address that resonated the most, with many students struck by the food inequality related to spring break closures.

 

The discussion moved to a Q&A—with students eagerly participating, learning about Jack’s process for collecting feedback from universities to make tangible changes in inclusion on their campuses. 

One student asked how universities can change after this feedback is identified. Jack said he always tries to pair an expensive change, like keeping dining halls open for a week, with a free one, like defining office hours. 

 

“DEI, to me, is not about programs,” Jack told the class. “It’s about retention and access. You can’t focus when you’re hungry.”

Earlier in the day, as Jack wrapped up his address, he left the Rivers School community with a final thought: "The purpose of education is not just about acquiring knowledge but about becoming a citizen—about understanding and engaging with the rights and privileges that come with being part of a community. Your education must be a tool for social change, for lifting up others, and for ensuring that the doors of opportunity are open to all."