Coe College students and members of the Cedar Rapids community will have more access to education on criminal justice and incarceration with support from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest.
Coe College received a $6,400 grant from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest to maintain and expand programs within the college’s Prison Learning Initiative. According to a news release from the college, the initiative is focused on teaching students and community members about the criminal justice system, reentry challenges and building a more supportive environment for formerly incarcerated people.
“Liberal arts students often crave opportunities to see how their classroom learning relates to what goes on beyond the boundaries of their campuses,” said Lisa Jasinski, the president of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, in the release. “We are proud to support worthy projects that empower students to both deepen their learning and use their knowledge to uplift their local communities.”
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The Spencer Foundation, a Chicago-based foundation that invests in education focused on improving society, provided the majority of the funds, according to the release, and the Associated College of the Midwest contributed more money to provide more proposals with grant dollars.
An Associated Colleges of the Midwest news release stated that the organization gave close to $30,000 to six initiatives through the grants.
Programs included in the prison learning initiative are Art Links, where people view a selection of art created by incarcerated people and provide written notes on their thoughts and what discussions the pieces prompted, and a reentry simulation in which participants roleplay as a formerly incarcerated person trying to return to society.
The initiative also organizes book drives and provides books to incarcerated people across the region through the Midwest Books to Prisoners program.
According to a statement from faculty leading the prison learning initiative, grant funds will be used to make the program’s Art Links and reentry simulation annual events and to continue with the Midwest Books to Prisoners volunteer trip, held each semester.
The college will also host guest speaker events in the fall and spring, and will work with the Wisconsin-based nonprofit The Community to host a screening and panel discussion called “Correcting the Narrative” in September.
“This grant funding propels our Prison Learning Initiative to deepen our engagement with the community,” said Prison Learning Initiative Director Gina Hausknecht in the Coe College release. “I eagerly anticipate the new partnerships and hands-on learning experiences it will foster on our campus.”
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