Anya Kamenetz To Give Keynote Address in Year of Transforming Education

March 25, 2013 – Award-winning education writer and media expert Anya Kamenetz will give a keynote address at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, in Ford Chapel at Allegheny College. The public is invited to this free presentation, titled “DIY U: The Coming Transformation of Higher Education.” A book-signing will follow the talk.

Kamenetz’s visit to Allegheny is part of the college’s Year of Transforming Education, an exploration of the inequalities inherent in American education, the future of the U.S. public education system and the value of liberal arts education.

Written in 2005 when she was just 24, Kamenetz’s book “Generation Debt: The New Economics of Being Young” drew national media attention and passionate online debate with its argument that young people are facing unique and unprecedented economic challenges.

Her second book, “DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education,” is about talent, human capital and how our institutions must evolve to meet the challenges of the next century.

Her latest book, “Learning, Freedom, and the Web,” written in collaboration with the Mozilla community, was published in September. She has also written “The Edupunk’s Guide to a DIY Credential,” which is funded by the Gates Foundation and available for free download.

Kamenetz regularly appears on major news networks including CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, CNBC and NPR. A nationally syndicated columnist for Tribune Media, she also covers the future of business, including sustainability and social entrepreneurship, as a senior writer for Fast Company magazine.

She was named a 2010 Game Changer in Education by the Huffington Post, received 2009 and 2010 National Awards for Education Reporting from the Education Writers Association, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing by the Village Voice in 2005.

Kamenetz’s talk is co-sponsored by Allegheny Student Government. More information on the Year of Transforming Education can be found at www.allegheny.edu/yearof or on Facebook: search for Transforming Education Allegheny College.