For my interview, I spoke to Associate Research Professor Roland Anglin, who is the Director of the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies School at the Public Affairs and Administration department of Rutgers University-Newark. Anglin recently transferred to this office form the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers-New Brunswick, where he was Executive Director of New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute. Anglin is an expert on poverty, race, urban affairs and local economic development. Anglin’s career includes more than two decades of experience working in the public, educational, and philanthropic sectors.
I asked about the hindrances that low-income students may come across in their efforts to pursue higher education. Anglin first pointed out the inadequate educational programs in urban communities, stating that students are "not being prepared by good schools". This leads to lower grades and higher college dropout rates for the minority population. Anglin also added that there are other "socio-cultural challenges such as [higher] crime rates". The culture that students experience is one that drives them away from the educational path, toward one that is influenced by drugs, gangs and crime. Anglin followed with noteworthy examples in which the state makes efforts to improve the situation of urban communities. The socio-cultural obstacles that low-income students face are met with "social policies that try to address this problem." These policies include, "earned income tax credit, workforce development, [job] training, and community development programs".
I moved directly into the issue with for-profit colleges, and their alleged targeting of vulnerable populations for large revenue. Anglin said that according to congressional reports he has come across, "targeting low-income students may be what [for-profit colleges] are doing." He believed that for-profits purposely target the "people who qualify for [federal] aid." Anglin also assessed the general results of enrolling targeting these students who are not prepared for higher education. He added "unfortunately, these are the ones that have lower graduation rates, or graduating with no real skills." He believes that although for-profit education programs are suspect in many cases, considering the negative outcomes of enrollment. Still, he said they are necessary. Not all students have access to traditional schooling.
I chose to speak with Professor Anglin because of his decades of experience. Not only has Anglin is renowned for his economic and community development studies of marginalized communities, he has also supervised research programs in New Jersey, exploring to the role of crime prevention and youth development. I believe that his expertise in his field has helped me to gain further insight into the socio-cultural issues that low-income college students face. Also, I believe that he has first-hand experience of these issues. He received his bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College, his master's degree from Northwestern University, and his doctoral degree from the University of Chicago. Anglin has worked his way through areas filled with the issues that minorities face, making his experience in the effects of societal issues on urban schooling a notable one.
Roland Anglin, PhD
Associate Research Professor;
Director, Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies
ccms@andromeda.rutgers.edu
973-353-1750
School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA)
Rutgers University-Newark
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