Poverty in the US is growing at an alarming rate. The current economic climate demands higher education to embrace the economic diversity of all students and to prepare them, regardless of economic class, for a globally competitive workplace. Unfortunately, the higher education community is not as adept at serving low-income students, as it is…

A journalist and college instructor who attended college on a Pell Grant recounts her escape from poverty through education. She notes shifts in public policy toward financial aid through loans and tax credits rather than grants, but urges that the Pell Grant program be restored to the level of assistance provided youth from economically deprived…