SLU Hosts Inaugural Second Chance College Fair for Formerly Incarcerated

St. Louis, MO — Saint Louis University hosted the inaugural Second Chance College Fair for formerly incarcerated men and women interested in pursuing a college degree. The event was sponsored by SLU’s Prison Education Program and was held on Thursday, Oct. 20, at IL Monastero, 3050 Olive Blvd.  

“One of our goals this year is to enhance our community engagement,” said Julie O'Heir, program director. 

Attendees explored programs at SLU and other local colleges and universities. They include St. Louis Community College, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Harris-Stowe State University and Washington University in St. Louis. 

Prison Education Program

For nearly 15 years, the Saint Louis University Prison Education Program has contributed to creating a world where everyone has access to quality and sustainable higher educational opportunities regardless of their involvement with the criminal justice system. 

SLU’s Prison Education Program comprises three components: an on-site, fully accredited Associate of Arts degree program for incarcerated individuals and prison staff, a Prison Arts and Education Program, and a College Preparatory Program.

“Our students are more likely to be first-generation college students,” O’Heir said. “Often, this is their first opportunity to experience a high-quality education.”

SLU’s efforts to educate incarcerated individuals began in 2008 when a small group of faculty — inspired by the Jesuit mission — started holding theological studies classes with 15 incarcerated men at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri. Participating students had the opportunity to earn a certificate in theological studies from SLU.

In 2011, SLU began offering a fully accredited Associate of Arts degree to both incarcerated individuals and prison employees. At that time, SLU was the only on-site program in the U.S. serving both incarcerated individuals and prison staff.

The first cohort of students — 23 incarcerated men and prison staff — earned their associate degrees in 2015. A special graduation ceremony was held at the prison, where University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., delivered remarks. Prison staff graduates were invited to participate in SLU’s midyear commencement exercises.

Today, the program enrolls 40 students — 20 incarcerated people and 20 Department of Corrections employees — every four years. The program includes both for-credit courses through the University’s College of Arts and Sciences and not-for-credit educational experiences. The students receive the same instruction, in the same classes and from the same faculty members as students enrolled on SLU’s St. Louis campus. 

Daniel Smith, Ph.D., associate professor of theological studies, is among the numerous SLU faculty who have taught in the program. He said the nine weeks he spent teaching for the Prison Program were transformational and one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences he’s ever had as a teacher.

“As a New Testament professor, it was incredibly illuminating to read the Gospel stories through the eyes of prisoners, corrections officers, and other staff of the ERDCC,” Smith said. “Moreover, awareness of how our nation's prison system affects the lives of human beings who live and work in correctional institutions has also interested me in the growing movement toward prison reform.”

In addition to the associate degree program, SLU founded a Prison Arts and Education Program in 2011. The program provides humanities-based workshops and a speaker series. And because it’s available to the entire prison community, it reaches the greatest number of participants. 

To build upon the associate degree and the arts and education offerings, SLU launched a College Preparatory Program in 2016, offering pre-college courses for incarcerated people that help prepare them for future college experiences in prison or upon release. 

In 2016, SLU also began offering its college prep and arts and education programs at the Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Illinois, which houses approximately 1,000 adult men in a medium-security prison and 350 adult women in a minimum-security camp. The expansion made SLU one of a few college-in-prison programs in the country working in both state and federal facilities, as well as in two different states.

O’Heir says the skills developed through pre-college and college coursework create a more socially just living and working environment inside the prison, making possible employment opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable. Education also prevents recidivism, with O’Heir noting that no incarcerated person who completed the SLU program has returned to prison after release. 

Most of the 2.2 million men and women incarcerated in the United States did not have access to quality educational opportunities before their incarceration. 

“Because more than 95 percent of these men and women will return to the community, it is a benefit to everyone to offer them a chance at a high-quality education,” O’Heir said.

About Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers nearly 13,000 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.