Prison Education Project

From helping formerly incarcerated students find housing and employment to guiding them through the everyday challenges of returning home, Denis Shine has spent the past five years helping people build new lives beyond prison walls as the reentry advocate for the WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) Prison Education Project (PEP).  Now, the Missouri Department […]

After more than three decades in federal prison, West reflects on how education, mentorship and perseverance helped her find purpose behind bars and imagine a future beyond them. “Freedom begins with a book.” That was the message Michelle West brought to the annual WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) Prison Education Project (PEP) Maggie Garb […]

The end of the Fall 2023 semester marked a significant milestone for PEP’s campus at the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center in Vandalia, MO – the program’s first graduates! Five PEP students – Sandra Dallas, Theresa Fortner, Teri Morrison, Patty Prewitt, and Riana Sanders – earned their associate in arts degrees, becoming the […]

On March 27th, PEP was proud to host the 2023 Maggie Garb Memorial Lecture, “Working at the Intersection of Art, Activism, and Anti-Carcerality,” a discussion featuring playwright, trauma-informed journalist, and activist Sarah Shourd alongside Shubra Ohri, an attorney with the MacArthur Justice Center. The discussion was moderated by PEP Director Kevin Windhauser. The wide-ranging discussion […]

Thanks to the generous support of the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis in 2022, the Prison Education Project completed a series of reentry workshops on a variety of topics, from technology and digital literacy to health literacy. In 2023, PEP has been able to expand the reach of these workshops by partnering with Criminal Justice Ministry, a St. […]

June 23, 2022—St. Louis, MO—The Washington University Prison Education Project is one of 62 organizations nationwide selected to receive a 2022-2023 NEA Big Read grant. A grant of $12,700 will support a community reading program focusing on Circe by Madeline Miller from September 2022 – February 2023. An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in […]

On May 25th, 2022 the Prison Education Project was proud to celebrate its second ever graduation ceremony at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center. PEP awarded 18 degrees to MECC students. PEP’s graduation ceremony was featured in the June 8, 2022 edition of The Source, including a video featuring remarks from Chancellor Andrew D. Martin, guest speaker Mitchell S. […]

The Prison Education Project Reentry Program has received a $32,000 grant from the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis to support justice-involved individuals and their families. To ensure the full impact of its educational offerings, the Prison Education Project (PEP) provides free education-centered reentry planning and support for currently incarcerated and recently released students. With support from the Lutheran Foundation, PEP […]

On May 22, 2019, PEP students, their friends and family, and members of the WashU PEP community came together to celebrate the inaugural graduation of 10 students graduating with their Associate in Arts degrees from the School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) at Washington University in St. Louis. All 10 graduates received Associate of […]

The Prison Education Project is excited to announce that the WashU School of Continuing & Professional Studies Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies degree is now accredited for PEP students. The Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies is designed for learners who want to build on their existing education and tailor their degree to match their personal […]