About Us

Donate to the PEP!

The Prison Education Program was established in 2016, building on collaboration between the University of Oregon and the Department of Corrections to offer credited classes through the Inside-Out Program beginning in 2007.

We work in an interdisciplinary academic framework, and with a broad range of students, campus organizations, community groups, and national organizations working to improve educational opportunities in prisons.

Timeline at the University of Oregon

Our Team

Shaul Cohen

Shaul Cohen is the Director of the Prison Education Program. He is a professor of Geography at the UO, with research interests in conflict resolution, Northern Ireland, the Middle East, and broad ideas of social theories and place and identity.

In addition to his work with the PEP, Shaul is the Academic Director of the Carnegie Global Oregon Ethics Program, an Inside-Out instructor and member of Inside-Out’s National Executive Team.

Josh Cain, PEP TV Curator

Josh Cain is the content curator for the Prison Education Program’s PEP TV Project. He utilizes his lived experience as a formerly incarcerated person and his extensive educational involvement to bring a well-rounded perspective to this position.

In addition to his work as a PEP Associate, Josh contributes regularly for colleges, and volunteers for Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE), a non-profit focused on prisoner advocacy and criminal justice reform.

TC*, LEAP Program Consultant

TC is a college instructor whose research and teaching areas include carceral education, restorative justice, critical race theory, and anti-racist education. TC is the content creator and project lead for the LEAP (Learning, Engagement, and Activities Packets) project, which engages with people in special housing units. This involves selecting content, designing packets that are both beautiful and useful, and responding to written work by participants. Outside of UO PEP work, TC is a leader and innovator in organizing opportunities for incarcerated folks and in working in film and other artistic spaces.

*Note: because of the nature of this project, TC is anonymous in written comments and online.

PROGRAM INTERNS

Interns assist in class and workshop facilitation, administrative support, innovating new projects, and taking care of a myriad of other necessary roles. Interns have been trained by the Prison Education Program, and most are also trained DOC volunteers and have completed the national Inside-Out training.

Aishiki

Majors: Global studies & Political Science

Alex

Major: Economic Globalization

Beatrice

Majors: English & History

Daisy

Major: Political Science

Gabe

Majors: Human Physiology & Sociology

Jaiden

Major: Global (Development) Studies

JJ

Major: General Social Science

Kat

Majors: Neuroscience

Lauren

Majors: Sociology & Planning, Public Policy, and Management

Paolo

Majors: Russian, Political Science

Ron

Major: Psychology

Rory

Major: Psychology

Sadie

Majors: Economics & Planning, Public Policy, and Management

Will

PEP TV

Major: Philosophy

ANOTHER CHANCE AT EDUCATION (ACE)

This OSP Education Group has been meeting regularly since 2010. In that time, the group has conducted instructor trainings, has co-authored academic writing, has invited visitors from a variety of academic and community groups, and has supported multiple educational efforts at the Oregon State Penitentiary and elsewhere in Oregon.