Joe Ferrare discusses social capital and higher education in podcast

Joe Ferrare, associate professor in IAS, was recently interviewed in a podcast by Julia Freeland Fisher about the importance of social capital in higher education. During the interview, Ferrare discusses his research that has shown the ways in which universities serve as brokers of crucial relationships that can have a lasting impact on students’ social connections, academic success, and professional advancement. However, as Ferrare notes, this brokerage process is often experienced unevenly and can exclude low-income and students of color. Ferrare then argues that, rather than disciplinary knowledge, social connections are actually the primary value that institutions of higher education offer to students and suggests ways that universities might take greater ownership of their relationship-building capacity.