Education Justice Project

You Can Make A Difference

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:14:34 +0000

Higher education in prison reduces recidivism, saves the state money, creates safer prison environments for staff and incarcerated people alike, and promotes public safety. It also improves life prospects for the families of incarcerated people and restores hope. All contributions, from the smallest to the largest, will help.

Please send your donations to:
Education Justice Project
University of Illinois
805 W. Pennsylvania Ave. MC-057
IPRH Building
Urbana, IL 61801

or contact us by email at info@educationjustice.net

Current/Upcoming Events

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:38:49 +0000

If you would like to help out with EJP projects in the upcoming year, submit a statement of interest.

Click here for EJP Interest Form.
Click here for Language Partners Application.

Upcoming events appear in our public calendar, which is also viewable here.

Why Higher Education in Prison?

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:42:14 +0000

Research is clear. College-in-prison programs reduce arrest, conviction, and reincarceration rates among released prisoners. Evidence has also linked the presence of college-in-prison programs to fewer disciplinary incidents within prison, finding that such programs produce safer environments for prisoners and staff alike. College-prison programs also have benefits for inmates’ families and, hence, their communities. The strongest predictor of whether a given person will attend college is whether her or his parents did. When an incarcerated person receives a college education, whether or not s/he is eventually released, his or her children are more likely to pursue their own educations. In spite of these significant benefits, there has been a precipitous drop in college-in-prison programs around the country. There were over seven hundred degree-granting programs at their height, in the early 1990s. In 1994 the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act eliminated the use of Pell Grants for prisoners, and most prison college programs closed, including Illinois’ BA-granting programs. Bachelor degrees have not been offered in Illinois prisons since 2002.

Advisory Board

admin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:32:42 +0000

Jorge Chapa, Director, Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society
Violet Harris, Associate Director, College of Education
Rob Scott, PhD Candidate, Education Policy Studies
Rebecca Ginsburg, Director, EJP
William Sullivan, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture
Dede Ruggles, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture
James Kilgore, Research Associate, Center for African Studies
Julian Rappaport, Profesor Emeritus, Department of Psychology

Other Ways You Can Become Involved

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:33:55 +0000

We welcome your interest, whether you’d like to serve on one of EJP’s committees, volunteer as a tutor, teach a class in prison, or support our work with a donation. Please click on “Contact EJP” at the top of this page and fill out the form. Someone will contact you.

admin — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:35:47 +0000

For press inquiries, please contact Rebecca Ginsburg, EJP Director, at rginsbur@illinois.edu or 217-244-3344