Goldrick-Rab was most recently the Professor of Sociology and Medicine at Temple University until she resigned in August 2022,[1][2][3] the Founding Director of The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice,[1][4] the founder and Board Secretary of Believe in Students,[1][3][5] and the Chief Strategy Officer for Emergency Aid of Edquity.

[10] Goldrick-Rab grew up in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. She describes herself as an "East Coast Jewish woman" who was "taught to be outspoken and forthright.

[14][15] In an early study of Single Stop, an on-campus program that connects community college students to government services, Goldrick-Rab found that participant retention improved.

[19] On April 16, 2013, Goldrick-Rab testified before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions regarding the challenge of college affordability,[21] which impacted federal legislation on financial aid limits for working students.

The proposal called for all students to receive two free years of education at a public college or university, including most living expenses, in exchange for fifteen hours per week of work-study employment.

[23] The New York Times cited the report as a “clear influence on the Obama plan” for free community college introduced during the 2015 State of the Union Address.

[26] The plan for two free years of college proposed by Goldrick-Rab and Kendall faced extensive criticism, including concerns about its lack of detail, vague definitions of length, and apparent focus on full-time students.

[30] Similarly, Minnesota higher education commissioner Larry Pogemiller emphasized that the plan neglected private institutions, covered only two years of college, and subsidized all students regardless of financial background.

[31] Goldrick-Rab founded the Wisconsin Harvesting Opportunities for Postsecondary Education (HOPE) Lab in May 2014 to test the efficacy of college affordability programs.

[32] Following her The New York Times op-ed, Inside Higher Ed's Matt Reed commended Goldrick-Rab for the study's focus on student precarity rather than poverty alone.

[34][35] Her subsequent Twitter activity, in which she compared the then-state governor with Adolf Hitler and discouraged future students from attending the university, drew criticism from conservative news groups.

[36] Madison's Faculty Senate steering committee responded that they were "deeply dismayed" by her actions, which they felt had damaged the principle of academic freedom.