Award-Winning Author Karin Klein to Visit Hancock
September 4, 2024-- Allan Hancock College will host a special event featuring award-winning journalist and author Karin Klein.
Klein will visit the college’s Santa Maria campus on Wednesday, Sept. 18 to discuss her latest book, Rethinking College: A Guide to Thriving Without a Degree. The event will be held at the Boyd Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Complex (building F) at the college’s Santa Maria campus. The evening will begin with a community discussion at 5 p.m., followed by a book signing from 6-6:30 p.m.
The event aims to engage the community in a critical conversation about the challenges and opportunities in expanding career pathways beyond traditional college degrees.
“Hancock is excited to welcome author Karin Klein to our campus,” said Hancock Superintendent/President Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D. “Our goal is for parents, educators and members of the community to join us for this important conversation about how we can create more diverse educational choices for all students.”
In her book Rethinking College, Klein challenges the conventional wisdom that a four-year college degree is the only path to success. From apprenticeships to creative careers, white-collar trades to public service, Klein’s book offers practical advice and real-world examples of how individuals have found fulfilling, well-paid careers without a four-year degree, and also discusses the role community colleges can play in reshaping opportunities for students.
“While most four-year colleges have been slow to change with the times, community colleges have become an ever-better option for people who don’t want a four-year degree and can’t afford the expense but need some extra education and training to follow their dreams,” said Klein.
The conversation on educational options with Klein pairs well with Hancock’s current effort to seek approval from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to create a program that will allow students to earn a bachelor's degree in applied professional studies. As proposed, the degree would create an applied career technical education program that provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete and succeed in a constantly evolving job market. The degree is designed with two groups in mind: local employers (who struggle to recruit and retain office managers and other white-collar positions) and local students (who are denied access to the California State University system due to geographic and family constraints). AHC’s baccalaureate proposal for a degree in applied professional studies is a key component to build a talent pipeline.
“If this degree is approved, local businesses, organizations and schools will have access to highly skilled, local professionals who are more likely to stay in our community,” said Walthers.
The community discussion with Klein is free and open to the public. Copies of Klein’s book will be available for purchase on site. Klein will sign copies immediately following the event. No registration is required. To learn more, visit https://www.hancockcollege.edu/klein.
About the Author:
Karin Klein has been a member of the Los Angeles Times editorial board for the past 20 years, covering education, medicine, science, and environment, and was a regular columnist for the Sacramento Bee for four years. She won two team Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of breaking news and was the 2006 recipient of the Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writers, the Logan Science Writing Fellowship at Woods Hole and Arctic Alaska, and the Metcalf Institute Environmental Writing Fellowship. She also has won numerous national, regional, and local journalism awards, including the Education Writers Association award for her creation of an interactive education page for The Times.
