In September 2018, with the support of ECMC Foundation and others, Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, professor of higher education policy and sociology launched The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University's College of Education and Human Development. The Hope Center is an evolved and enhanced version of the former Wisconsin HOPE Lab at University of Wisconsin-Madison, which since 2013 has conducted research on college affordability and food and housing insecurity among students.

With the desire to take the HOPE Lab to the next level, Goldrick-Rab decided to scale her work and change her approach. Sara and her team developed a three-pronged model, which integrates policy, practice and perception. Rather than focusing mostly on research, as the HOPE Lab did, "our researchers work hand-in-hand with practitioners and communication professionals to ensure that everything we produce is timely, relevant and accessible."

Read the full story at the ECMC Foundation website.