NJ-STEP

Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons

May 27, 2018
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Teaching Les Miserables in Prison

Teaching Les Miserables in Prison

Chris Hedges recently published a piece about teaching Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables with NJ-STEP. Read full article here

April 29, 2018
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on The Crime of Being Poor and Black

The Crime of Being Poor and Black

From: https://www.truthdig.com

NEWARK, N.J.—This is the story of Emmanuel Mervilus, who got locked up for a crime he did not commit, whose life was derailed and nearly destroyed by the experience and who will graduate this spring from Rutgers University. It is a story of being a poor black man in America, with the exception being that most poor black men never get a second chance.

The only reason Mervilus got a second chance was because of one man, history professor Don Roden, who founded the Mountainview Program at Rutgers for formerly incarcerated students. This program accepts, among others, the students I teach in prison, one of whom, Ron Pierce, also will graduate this spring.

There are only a few saints in this world. Professor Roden is one.

Read Full Article Here.

Written by Chris Hedges.

 

Emmanuel Mervilus, who will graduate soon from Rutgers after being in prison, speaks in Newark, N.J., at an event sponsored by the Mountainview Program, which fosters education among those who have been incarcerated. (Mountainview Program)

 

November 7, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on NJ-STEP Professor Awarded The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence

NJ-STEP Professor Awarded The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence

From: https://rutgersclassics.com/

 

Here’s another great Rutgers Classics first. Honored in the inaugural group of seven recipients of Rutgers New Brunswick’s important new faculty award—the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence—is Associate Professor in Classics Emily Allen-Hornblower.

In a ceremony Tuesday 4 October 2016, Chancellor Richard L. Edwards recognized Professor Allen-Hornblower in the category of Excellence in Service.

In presenting the award, Edwards cited “her heartfelt conviction that the Classics are of significance to people in all life situations and her dedication to bringing her scholarship beyond the university classroom to new audiences through her participation in the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons program (NJ-STEP)”.

Emily Allen-Hornblower has taken her teaching talents outside Rutgers’ classrooms, in an unusually visceral way. In November 2014 she spotted a feature in Rutgers Today about an ex-inmate and university student, Christopher Etienne, who managed to receive his undergraduate degree in large part through the help of Rutgers’ innovative Mountainview Program. It was then that Emily was inspired by the idea of being able to teach currently incarcerated inmates.

This led to her involvement with NJ-STEP, an association of colleges and universities that provide college courses for inmates and assist in their transition to college life upon release from prison.

Read Full Article Here.

 

 

September 13, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on The Iliad is doing hard time and the inmates love it…

The Iliad is doing hard time and the inmates love it…

“Maximum-security inmates at a New Jersey prison have been learning about the literary world with Rutgers University associate professor Emily Allen-Hornblower. But the novelty isn’t that they are studying literature, or even that they are doing it behind bars. ” Read More

June 13, 2016
by Chris Agans
Comments Off on NJ-STEP Student Ean Polke Highlighted Upon Completing His Degree

NJ-STEP Student Ean Polke Highlighted Upon Completing His Degree

Courtesy of Kevin Shea, nj.com

“The last time Ean Polke was featured in local newspapers was 2004. He was the defendant in a murder trial, charged with gunning down a city teen two years earlier.

During one court session, a prosecutor held up the gun Polke used and photographers captured Polke’s baby face staring at the firearm. It was front page news. He was 22.

Late last month, Polke, now 34, posted the news photo on his Facebook page as a throwback. But on top of it was an updated photo of him: wearing a Rutgers University graduation gown, staring at a medal he wore in commencement exercises in May.” …

Read the full story here

April 6, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Emily Allen-Hornblower’s teachings on tragic heroes resonate with inmates

Emily Allen-Hornblower’s teachings on tragic heroes resonate with inmates

Allen-Hornblower recently taught a western civilization course at the medium-security Northern State Prison in Newark. Facing a class of 16 men, some incarcerated for decades, Allen-Hornblower presented powerful studies in such works as The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, and Aristotle’s writings on anger.

February 26, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on President Obama visits Rutgers University–Newark to Promote Improvements in Criminal Justice

President Obama visits Rutgers University–Newark to Promote Improvements in Criminal Justice

“I’ve spoken to men and women who are part of programs like NJ-STEP here at Rutgers–Newark,” President Obama said. “You’re giving prisoners a chance to start taking college courses before their release so that they can re-enter society with marketable skills.”

A recent Rutgers Magazine feature shares details on a recent visit from President Barack Obama, including a roundtable discussion he hosted featuring participants from NJ STEP.

Photography: Shelly Kusnetz

November 4, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Recent Remarks by President Obama on Criminal Justice Reform Mention NJ-STEP

Recent Remarks by President Obama on Criminal Justice Reform Mention NJ-STEP

“I’ve spoken to men and women who are part of programs like NJ-STEP here at Rutgers-Newark. You’re giving prisoners a chance to start taking college courses before their release so that they can re-enter society with marketable skills.”

FULL REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY NEWARK

September 16, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on RU-Newark Welcomes Its First Cohort of NJ-STEP Students

RU-Newark Welcomes Its First Cohort of NJ-STEP Students

This fall Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N) welcomes its first cohort of 10 students whose college careers began through the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) program. NJ-STEP, a statewide initiative administered by RU-N, works in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, the State Parole Board, and a network of public and private, two- and four-year colleges to provide higher education courses to eligible individuals who are incarcerated in one of New Jersey’s seven correctional facilities. The program also assists in the transition to college life of released students who demonstrate they are college-ready and eager to improve their lives.

Full article here: RU-N Welcomes Its First Cohort of NJ-STEP Students

September 15, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Rutgers Expands Opportunities for Former Inmates

Rutgers Expands Opportunities for Former Inmates

Rutgers is expanding its program that helps transform lives by giving former prisoners a chance to earn a college degree.

Since its inception in 2005, the Mountainview program has enrolled 100 former inmates at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. They have graduated at a rate of 73.3 percent – slightly below the university’s six-year graduation rate of 77 percent for students pursuing bachelor’s degrees. The program’s graduates have an overall 3.1 grade point average, with one former inmate having attained a perfect 4.0.

Twenty-five have earned bachelor’s degrees, five have earned master’s degrees and 49 remain active students.

Full article here: The Mountainview program comes to Newark