Photo: Molly Haley

For years, economists have been warning that more and more people hoping to switch careers would need to get additional education to go from one workplace to another—even in industries such as manufacturing that have not always previously required it. 

Now that prophecy is coming true—and schools are taking note.

Louise Seamster is a respected sociologist whose work focuses on the intersection of wealth, race, education, and inequality. 

In this interview, Seamster discusses America's student debt crisis—what it’s like to live with crushing levels of debt, why it's hard to understand the student debt crisis without understanding the wealth dynamics that undergird it, what an entirely different model for funding higher education might look like, and more.

Race-and-ethnicity course requirements were in high demand last year following a nationwide push to diversify course curricula. On campuses across the country, student activists urged administrators to provide more courses about the experiences of people of color and the issue of racial justice.

A number of colleges decided to do that, but on some campuses, choosing which content satisfies the requirement is proving more contentious than anticipated.