Anthony Jack

Anthony Abraham Jack is an Associate Professor and Faculty Director, focusing his research on how elite colleges support, or fail to support, disadvantaged students. After earning his PhD in Sociology from Harvard University in 2016, Anthony Jack went on to establish himself as a leading scholar in educational inequality, with a focus on how elite colleges support, or fail to support, disadvantaged students. Dr. Jack’s early career included a junior fellowship at the Harvard Society of Fellows, followed by an assistant professor role at Harvard.

Jack’s career was the publication of his widely recognized book, ‘The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students’ in 2019. This seminal work brought his research on ‘doubly disadvantaged’ students and the ‘privileged poor’ to a broader audience, earning features in prominent media outlets including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, and NPR. In recognition of his transformative contributions to the field, Muhlenberg College awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2020. Currently, Dr.

Jack holds the distinguished position of inaugural Faculty Director of the Newbury Center and serves as an Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. In these roles, he continues his dedication to making higher education more accessible, particularly for first-generation students. His ongoing research and advocacy consistently center on understanding and addressing the unique experiences of lower-income students within elite academic environments. Further solidifying his influence in the discourse on educational equity, Dr.

Jack released his most recent book, ‘Class Dismissed: When Colleges Ignore Inequality and Students Pay the Price’, in 2024. Through his leadership at Boston University and his published works, Dr. Jack remains at the forefront of shaping policy and practice to create more equitable and supportive educational pathways for all students.