Reflections on Pell – Championing Social Justice through 40 years of Educational Opportunity

This volume celebrates a remarkable milestone in recent American history. For 40 years, our country has come together around the simple proposition that every American “with the moxie and the drive” should be able to go to college.

Since 1972, more than 60 million students have pursued higher education with a Pell Grant, including 9.8 million students today and much of America’s current college-educated workforce.More than ever, Pell Grant recipients are our future and represent our changing face as a nation. More than 50 percent of African-American and 40 percent of Latino college students count on Pell Grants. For African-Americans, a bachelor’s degree erases any difference in economic mobility compared with their White peers. For the average American, a bachelor’s degree will add about $1 million to his or her lifetime earnings.

And that is why this volume is so timely. As our generation shapes the American Dream in the coming years, one commitment will become more essential than ever before: opening these doors of knowledge and opportunity to all. You will find in this volume a wide variety of reflections, which both celebrate the 60 million individuals who have gone to college on a Pell Grant, and encourage us to keep our commitment to the principles of access and opportunity in the future.