Broton

Katharine Broton

Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of Iowa
Areas of Expertise:
  • Antipoverty Policy
  • Inequality & the Middle Class
  • Higher Education
  • School Reform

Connect with Katharine

(319) 335-6413

About Katharine

Broton studies educational inequalities with a focus on higher education. She is particularly interested in the role of education institutions in promoting social mobility. Her current research includes a multi-method study of students' experiences of material hardship during college; how higher education institutions make sense of and respond to students who lack basic needs; and policy perspectives on this growing subgroup of college students. Her work has been supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, and Lumina and Kresge Foundations.

Briefs | Podcast | Publications | In the News

Briefs

Why the Time is Right to Expand the National School Lunch Program to Higher Education

  • Sara Goldrick-Rab
  • Emily Brunjes Colo
SSN Key Findings,

The Problem of College Students without Reliable Housing

  • Sara Goldrick-Rab
SSN Key Findings,

Podcast

Publications

"Going Without: An Exploration of Food and Housing Insecurity Among Undergraduates" (with Saara Goldrick-Rab). Educational Researcher (2017).

Provides the best estimates of the incidence of food and housing insecurity among college students with a focus on the previously overlooked population of community college students.

"The Dark Side of College (Un)Affordability: Food and Housing Insecurity in Higher Education" (with Sara Goldrick-Rab). Change 48, no. 1 (2016): 16-25.

Discusses strategic efforts of college leaders to support students from low-income families who are unable to pay their college costs without experiencing material hardship.

"Working for Tuition: The Causal Impacts of Financial Grants on Undergraduate Employment " (with Sara Goldrick-Rab and James Benson ). Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 38, no. 3 (2016): 477-494.
"Hungry to Learn: Addressing Food and Housing Insecurity among Undergraduates," (with Sara Goldrick-Rab and Daniel Eisenberg), Argues the need for a multi-pronged, comprehensive set of institutional, state, and local policies to alleviate the barriers presented by poverty, so as to improve educational success., Wisconsin Hope Lab, December 2015.
"Clearing the Path to a Brighter Future: Addressing Barriers to Community College Access and Success," (with Sara Goldrick-Rab and Christin Gates), Association of Community College Trustees and Single Stop USA, May 31, 2013.
Examines the potential of providing public benefits access to low-income community college students through a single on-campus location.
"Housing Instability among College Students," (with Sara Goldrick-Rab), Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education and Center for Financial Security, September 30, 2013.
Calls attention to the issue of housing insecurity among college students.

In the News

Guest to discuss college students' growing struggle to pay for all college-related expenses on Here & Now, Wisconsin Public Television, Katharine Broton, February 5, 2016.
"Hungry, Homeless and in College," Katharine Broton (with Sara Goldrick-Rab), New York Times, December 4, 2015.
"To Cut Costs, College Students are Buying Less Food and Even Going Hungry," Katharine Broton (with Sara Goldrick-Rab), The Conversation, September 25, 2015.