News & Blogs

Find the latest from the Center, learn new and innovative approaches from colleagues, and engage with current mainstream media conversations on first-generation student success. In addition to the filters below, please utilize the “search” bar in the top, right corner to search by keyword, author name, or publication title.

male teacher in front of the classroom talking

This Top Funder of Higher Education Keeps Stepping Things Up

Great Lakes keen to advance sole mission, "helping low-income students, students of color and first-generation college students graduate from college."

Inside Philanthropy / March 16, 2018

Undocumented Immigrant is Appointed to a Statewide Post in California

A 33-year-old first-generation college student has become the first undocumented immigrant named to a statewide post in California.

Washington Post / March 15, 2018

students in classroom standing with teacher

Students Report Food, Housing Insecurity

“College is hard in the first place, regardless of where you come from or what you have or don’t have... But education breaks the cycle of poverty.”

NC State News / March 15, 2018

Scholarship will benefit first-generation college students

As first-generation college students, the Southards worked their way through college, completing both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Kent State Stark / March 14, 2018

Establishing a Beachhead at Ivy League Schools

Features the essay from the Hechinger Report about a first-generation Ivy League conference.

The Washington Post / March 13, 2018

First-gen Students at Elite College

A reflection on the 1vyG Conference and why it was implemented by Ivy Leagues campuses to better support first-generation, low-income students.

The Hechinger Report / March 12, 2018

The Elmo Antidote

Sonia Sotomayor’s message of empathy, listening, and compromise is what we need.

Slate / March 06, 2018

Creating Exposure and Awareness of the First-generation Community

LMU Faculty and Staff started First To Go simply as a mentor program for first-generation college students.

Ashley Watterson M.A. / February 28, 2018

Building a First-generation Community

What tools are used at the University of Memphis First Scholars Program that help connect with first-gen students?

Jaclyn P. Rodriguez M.P.S. / February 22, 2018

Faculty Reflections: A first-generation college student experience

Many are not aware of the needs of contemporary first-generation students, even if they were themselves first-generation.

T. Mark Montoya Ph.D. / February 20, 2018

Beyond barriers: Best practices for first-generation students

For five and a half years, an innovative Professional Development Learning Community of faculty and staff at NAU has been grappling with first-generation college student experiences.

T. Mark Montoya Ph.D. / February 15, 2018

Approaching First-generation Success With Creativity and Intention

Project Achieve is an integrated program dedicated to enhancing students' college experience.

Mercedes Terrazas M.Ed. / January 29, 2018

Using Data to Support First-generation Students

Rutgers–New Brunswick Chancellor Emeritus, Richard L. Edwards, charged schools with developing initiatives that provide an inclusive community.

James H. Whitney III Ed.D. / January 19, 2018

Winter Break: First Generation Penn Students Returning Home

This article recounts the educational journey of Carmen Duran, an 18-year old first-generation college student at the University of Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Inquirer / January 18, 2018

Unprepared and Confused

Few college students feel expressly confident that they have the skills and knowledge to find a job or succeed in a workplace.

Inside Higher Ed / January 17, 2018

UVA State on Track to Break Degree, Application Records

UVA focuses more attention on high-achieving, underserved high school students, whether in rural Virginia or the center of the District of Columbia

The Daily Progress / January 16, 2018

How UWM Peer Georgia State Figured Out How to Graduate More Black Students

UWM is replicating efforts by Georgia State to improve retention and graduation rates for at-risk students.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / January 16, 2018

U-Mary TRIO Program Offers Leg Up to First-Generation Students

This article emphasizes the importance of the TRIO program, specifically at the University of Mary.

MyNDNow / January 15, 2018