Economic and Social Mobility: Redefining Higher Education for Generational Wealth

What if the true measure of a university's success isn't graduation, but generational wealth?

In Economic and Social Mobility: Redefining Higher Education for Generational Wealth, Hakim J. Lucas challenges the long-held promise that a college degree automatically leads to opportunity. At a time when student debt has surpassed $1.7 trillion and many graduates struggle to build lasting financial stability, Lucas argues that higher education has been measuring the wrong outcomes. Instead of focusing solely on retention and graduation, he calls for institutions to embrace "living goals" such as home ownership, entrepreneurship, investment participation, stable employment, insurance security, and lifelong institutional support. Drawing on the social determinants of health, Lucas introduces the groundbreaking Economic and Social Mobility (ESM) framework and outlines nine determinants of generational wealth. By positioning Historically Black Colleges and Universities as powerful examples and proposing six new institutional metrics, Lucas offers a transformative roadmap that shifts the conversation from credentialism to long-term prosperity.

This book is ideal for higher education leaders, policymakers, researchers, social mobility advocates, and anyone interested in the future of equity, opportunity, and generational wealth in American higher education.