A brief introduction to our work at the Wesleyan Center for Prison Education, featuring images of our program in action at Cheshire Prison in Connecticut.

1. Wesleyan University
Center for Prison Education

2. To provide a high-caliber college education to
incarcerated men and women, in order both
to enrich the lives of those who are
systematically denied access to educational
opportunities and to enhance Wesleyan's
academic community.
OUR
MISSION

3. The Center for Prison Education offers a
dynamic approach to democratize access to
educational opportunity and reduce rates of re-
incarceration, thereby creating healthier and
safer communities.
OUR VISION

4. The Center is an initiative of Wesleyan University
in collaboration with Connecticut’s Unified School
District #1, and a member of the Consortium for
the Liberal Arts in Prison at Bard College.
WHO WE ARE

5. In September 2009, the Center enrolled its first
class of students—19 men at Cheshire Prison.
Over the past two years, these students have
pursued a broad curriculum of Wesleyan courses
in the humanities and the natural and social
sciences. Now in its third year, the Center will
double its student population this Fall, and plans
to expand to a facility for women by 2012.
COLLEGE IN
PRISON

6. The Center also provides diverse research and
volunteer opportunities for students on
Wesleyan’s main campus. Current
undergraduates collaborate closely with
incarcerated men, women and youth in a range of
courses offerings and workshops, and by serving
as writing tutors and teaching assistants.
SERVICE
LEARNING

7. There are more African American men incarcerated than
enrolled in college. At current rates, one in three black men
will spend time behind bars. Here in Connecticut – the state
with the highest incarceration rate in the northeast – Latinos
are 12 times more likely than whites to be imprisoned, and
Blacks are 22 times more likely than whites to be
imprisoned.
Reflecting nationwide trends, Connecticut’s prisoners come
disproportionately from low-income communities and
communities of color, demographics that schools like
Wesleyan struggle to reach.

8. Our students are selected solely on the basis of
their academic merit. As much as possible,
our admissions committees seek to identify
creativity, curiosity and intellectual potential
independent from prior educational attainment.
None of our current students had attended
college prior to their arrest, and 60% received
high school equivalency while in prison.
ADMISSIONS
PROCESS

9. THE
MULTIPLE
BENEFITS
OF COLLEGE
IN PRISON

10. Prisoners who merely participate in
postsecondary education are 46% less likely to
recidivate than members of the general prison
population. Increased education levels
correspond to even lower rates: those who leave
prison with associates degrees are 62% less
likely to return to prison than those with a GED.
…FOR
TAXPAYERS

11. I am amazed by how the prison’s culture has
changed in such a short period of time. The
Wesleyan program has done more than offer
college accredited courses. I know to some
degree the program will be judged by grade
point averages, but the true success can be
measured in the lives that have already been
changed. The education being afforded to a
segment of the population cannot be viewed
as static – it has had a dynamic effect on the
entire population. My classmates and I have
undergone a preparatory process which will
allow every one of us to contribute in ways
that we never imagined.
– David Haywood, student
…FOR PRISONERS

12. Corrections officers attest that college-in-prison
facilitates improved relations between guards
and inmates, promotes successful mentoring
relationships among prisoners, reduces racial
tension and decreases disciplinary infractions. A
study of an Indiana college-in-prison program
found that enrollees were 75% less likely to
commit infractions.
…FOR
CORRECTIONS
OFFICERS

13. Wesleyan faculty are given an opportunity to have
a direct impact on a crucial social issue precisely
by doing what they already do best: teach. The
University is able to live up to its stated mission
of civic engagement, and students are given an
exciting array of service-learning opportunities.
…FOR WESLEYAN

14. “When I signed up to participate in the program, I did not
imagine that this would end up to be the most profound
teaching experience I have ever had. The challenges, the
level of engagement, the progress, and the impact: every
aspect of the course was more intense and rewarding than I
have ever experienced before.”
– Professor Michael McAlear
Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

15. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
With in-kind support of overhead, office space, and volunteer and
staff time provided by Wesleyan University, gifts to the Center
directly impact our students. All contributions are tax-deductible.
• Adopt a Course: $7,500 provides for a faculty stipend and
course books for 19 students.
• Sponsor a Student: $3,000 supplies a full scholarship for 1
student for 2 years.
• Supply a Computer: $300 will buy one computer in our new
Wesleyan IT lab at Cheshire.
• Host an Event: Bring friends, family and colleagues together to
learn about and support the Center.

16. Wesleyan Center for Prison Education
167 High Street, first floor
Contact Middletown CT 06459
Alexis Sturdy
860.685.2162
asturdy@wesleyan.edu
To learn more and to contribute, please visit:
www.wesleyan.edu/cpe