Won’t Lose This Dream

How an Upstart Urban University Rewrote the Rules of a Broken System

Andrew Gumbel

With a new afterword by the author

The “heartfelt” (Shelf Awareness) story of how Georgia State University tore up the rulebook for educating lower-income students

“Georgia State . . . has been reimagined—amid a moral awakening and a raft of data-driven experimentation—as one of the South’s more innovative engines of social mobility.” —The New York Times

Published to wide acclaim, Won’t Lose This Dream is the “illuminating” (Times Literary Supplement) story of a public university that has blazed an extraordinary trail for lower-income and first-generation students in downtown Atlanta, the birthplace of the civil rights movement.

“A powerful story of institutional transformation” (bestselling author Beverly Daniel Tatum), Won’t Lose This Dream shows how Georgia State University has upended the conventional wisdom about low-income students by harnessing the power of big data to identify and remove obstacles that previously stopped them from graduating—an earthshaking achievement that is reverberating across every college campus today.

“Drawing on extensive on-the-ground reporting” (Kirkus Reviews), Andrew Gumbel delivers a thrilling, blow-by-blow account of visionary leaders who overcame fierce resistance, and the remarkable students whose resilience and determination inspired the work at every stage. Their success shows how the promise of social advancement through talent and hard work, the essence of the American dream, can be rekindled even in an age of deep inequalities and divisive politics.

“A superb work for anyone interested in higher education” (Library Journal), Won’t Lose This Dream “lays out a persuasive vision for reform” (Publishers Weekly) and a concrete vision of higher ed that works for all Americans.

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Praise

“Drawing on extensive on-the-ground reporting, Gumbel offers a richly detailed narrative. . . . Required reading for education reformers seeking to broaden community connections and benefit minority constituencies.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Gumbel relies on clear analysis and rich anecdotes to explain how one school helped its students thrive. A superb work for anyone interested in higher education.”

—Library Journal (starred review)

“Spreading Mark Becker’s high-tech and high-touch college completion model developed at Georgia State will become crucial to graduating the citizens and workers we need.”

—Anthony Carnevale, research professor and director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, and co-author of The Merit Myth

“A must-read. . . . At a time when too many voices are questioning the value of higher education, this is a clarion call about the transformative power of college. Gumbel is a nimble storyteller, tackling the journey of Georgia State University, Tim Renick, and the student lives they have forever changed. This book should be required reading for anyone who cares about equity and the future of college education and our country.”

—Eric Waldo, executive director, Reach Higher, Michelle Obama’s education initiative

“Illuminating. . . . Gumbel tells the story with an eye to the consequences for individual students.”

—Times Literary Supplement

“[Gumbel] poignantly profiles the minority, low-income, and first-generation college students who form the bulk of Georgia State’s student body. . . . Accessible and inspirational, this enthusiastic account lays out a persuasive vision for reform. Educators and policy makers should consider it a must-read.”

—Publishers Weekly

“[A] powerful story of institutional transformation that reminds us of these truths: Leadership matters. Institutional change is possible. Lack of money does not mean lack of talent. When barriers are removed, students thrive. Every educational leader in need of inspiration should read this book!”

—Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita, Spelman College, and author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Other Conversations About Race

“It’s fitting that Won’t Lose This Dream begins with the story of a student overcoming life-threatening obstacles on the path to a college degree. Gumbel’s behind-the-scenes account of the rise of Georgia State University shows how Mark Becker, Tim Renick, and others made student success the university’s top priority—doubling graduation rates for African American students and eliminating racial disparities as a result—despite the risk of inertia and some opposition to the approach. The charge for higher education leaders is clear: scale up the moral courage and smart management required for colleges and universities to serve as engines of upward mobility, particularly for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds, or else end up on the wrong side of history.”

—Dr. John B. King Jr., tenth U.S. secretary of education, president and CEO, The Education Trust

“The months spent researching the details of GSU’s renaissance, especially the remarkable stories of its students, was an epiphany that comes through in Gumbel’s narrative style—unsentimental but inspired and urgent.”