On Wednesday, our program was pleased to attend the monthly meeting for the OSP Latino Club. Juan Carlos Gonzalez Zacarias, a UO alum and current member of staff presented his research on the Aztec culture and Nahuatl language to over 140 members of the club. Among...
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The Prison Education Program at the University of Oregon
The Prison Education Program was established in 2016, founded in response to an expansion from the Inside-Out classes that began at the UO in 2007. We are now active in offering classes, not-for-credit opportunities, and in working to advance educational opportunities for people who are incarcerated statewide.
In addition to offering for-credit classes inside the prisons, we also have a variety of not-for-credit activities, including:
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Book discussions, including bilingual discussions conducted in Spanish and English
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Academic workshops, including academic writing and communication skills
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A UO student internship and “alumni” program – students are involved in assisting with classes, running a discussion group at a juvenile facility, holding outreach events with at-risk youth, and running book drives to support prison education.
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Educational TV programming sent to all Oregon institutions through PEP TV
- Learning, Engagement, and Activities Packets (LEAP) and correspondence for people in special housing units
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Lectures by UO faculty on a wide variety of subjects
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Coordinated engagement between clubs at OSP and corresponding clubs at the UO
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On-campus an inside exhibitions of artwork by insiders donated to the program
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Book donations to multiple prisons, including special requests from staff at the prisons for particular subject areas and Spanish language materials
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.
Guest Talk on the Nahuatl Language for the OSP Latino Club
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Classes Inside, Summer 2023
Summer schedules mean that we aren’t able to offer Inside-Out classes, but we continue to be present in the prisons through in-person and packet/correspondence classes. This summer we have 102 students in four prisons taking six classes. As usual, we are...
Remarks from Jamie Bufalino for Kevin’s GSS Graduation
Remarks by Jamie Bufalino, Department Head for General Social Sciences 6/22/2023 It is my great privilege to be here today to celebrate Kevin’s achievement of the bachelor’s degree in General Social Sciences from the University of Oregon. The general social sciences...
Sister Helen’s Virtual UO Visit
On May 11th, our program had the honor of virtually welcoming Sister Helen Prejean to the University of Oregon. Sister Helen joined students, faculty, and community members in Lillis Hall via Zoom, as she had just arrived back to Louisiana after sharing time with...
Ducks Give Day
Today is Ducks Give – a day when alumni and friends of the UO come together to raise funds to support programs across campus – and the UO Prison Education Program is participating for the third year! What have we done this year? Held 6 Inside-Out classes and 19...
Internship Application for 23/24 Open Through May 17th
Announcing: Prison Education Program internship applications open for our internship for the upcoming year! Applications are due May 17th by 11:59pm University of Oregon’s Prison Education Program is opening applications for our 2023-2024 Internship. Our interns help...
The University of Oregon’s Prison Education Program stands against racism in all its forms – overt, unconscious, and systemic. We are committed to combating inequality and violence through conversations in our classes, our projects, and among ourselves.
We stand in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, recognizing the unequal violence and structural hardships faced by our Black students, neighbors, colleagues, and leaders.
We hope that in this moment greater equality can be achieved for all those who suffer discrimination and prejudice. We commit to being present in that fight.
One of the inspirations for Inside-Out’s pedagogy, Paolo Freire, uses the analogy that “we make the road by walking.” We as a society are making that way forward now – through protests in the streets, independent study, tough conversations, and interruption of violence and discrimination. We commit to continuing in that work – to use another quote that frequently appears in our programmatic conversations, “once you know, you owe.” The existence and impact of systemic racism is not new news to us, and we recommit ourselves to the ongoing work of social justice through education and dialogue.
