The PhD now comes with food stamps

"I am not a welfare queen," says Melissa Bruninga-Matteau. That's how she feels compelled to start a conversation about how she, a white female adjunct professor, with a PhD in medieval history, came to rely on food stamps and Medicaid, writes Stacey Patton for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Bruninga-Matteau, a 43-year-old single mother who teaches two humanities courses at Yavapai College, in Prescott, Arizona, says the stereotype of the people receiving such aid does not reflect reality. Recipients include growing numbers of people like her, the highly educated, whose advanced degrees have not insulated them from financial hardship. "I find it horrifying that someone who stands in front of college classes and teaches is on welfare," she says.
Full report on the Chronicle site