Who wins if Oprah runs? It’s not who you think
Oprah Winfrey may or may not choose to run for president, but it would be good if she did — though not only for the reasons her supporters might think. What people aren’t talking about is that a Winfrey run could bridge the growing economic and social divide between those who finished college and those who didn’t.
These fissures have been widening for some time and were starkly exposed in the 2016 election. At the start of her career, Oprah was one of the nearly 40 million Americans who have some college but no degree or post-high school credential.
Among the many divides facing our nation, recent surveys reveal one of that is more surprising — the divergence of attitudes toward higher education depending on your political party affiliation. In fact, the 2016 voting differences were most stark along lines of educational attainment, more than history would predict based on race or gender lines. We need a national conversation about the role of higher education in the 21st-century economy. And an Oprah candidacy might help bring these issues to the fore.
The stunning economic divide between those who have completed a college credential and those who have not has also been growing since the onset of the Great Recession in late 2007. Bachelor’s degree holders now earn 67 percent more than those with only a high school degree and nearly $20,000 more annually than those who attended college but never received a bachelor’s degree. It is even more difficult to sustain a middle-class lifestyle without a high quality credential. Global competition and the growing knowledge economy have changed the economic reality of what it means to make it in America.
Certainly, Oprah’s amassed wealth — she is a self-made billionaire who grew up in poverty — is far removed from that of the average American. Yet her experience — of starting college and then stopping out — is something she has in common with millions of other. Though Oprah eventually went back and finished the course she needed 10 years after leaving school, her journey brings to the fore the very real issue of how the nation moves forward in dealing with the changing global economy.
Oprah is obviously aware of the transformative power of education. Many of her philanthropic efforts have focused on supporting the education of needy people in the United States and abroad. With her candidacy, the nation might begin to think about how to open more opportunities for adults to return to college, make college more affordable, or start giving college credit for real-world experience.
Confronting these issues doesn’t negate the need for a living wage, increased consumer protections, and better benefits for workers and working families. Yet what education policy looks like for those who began a degree and never finished must also be discussed.
Many adults, for example, have valuable life experience that they could bring to a college classroom. But not enough schools make it easy for them to return. Colleges don’t reach out to working adults or offer classes at convenient times for working people, or structure programs tied to fields relevant to the local job market.
In fact, working adults often don’t need to start from ground zero. They have a variety of life and work experiences that may be worthy of college credit. Current financial aid policy, unfortunately, makes it difficult for colleges to grant credit for what students know and can do. Instead, they prefer the traditional 15-week course model.
When people think of college, they often picture elite, out-of-touch ivory towers. But the true range of college options is far broader. There are community colleges, public state institutions, and a growing bevy of online options. This diversity of educational providers could serve a large adult population in need of new opportunities to meet the national demand for talent.
Oprah went back to school after she had already become quite successful, but by that time she had more flexibility and privileges that many other working adults lack.
Her alma mater — Tennessee State University — allowed her to finish the last class she needed to complete her degree on a schedule and timetable that worked for her busy life. Perhaps more institutions might create opportunities for working adults without the means of Oprah, transforming opportunity, and creating bridges to communities feeling left out of the changing economy.
Zakiya Smith Ellis, Ed.D. is a strategy director at Lumina Foundation, and prior to that served as senior White House policy advisor for education in the Obama administration.
