Tressie McMillan Cottom

Tressie McMillan Cottom is a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Information, Technology and Public Life, a New York Times columnist, and 2020 MacArthur Fellow. She is known for her essays examining race, gender, class and capitalism. Her first book, Lower Ed, analyzes how profit and debt have transformed higher education, influencing policy discussions led by senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Her 2019 essay collection, Thick, was a National Book Award finalist. She presents talks and gives speaking engagements arranged through The Harry Walker Agency.