ABOUT THE JIE INITIATIVE.

Transforming the lives of those impacted by incarceration

Established at Columbia University with the generous support of the Mellon Foundation, the Justice-in-Education Initiative works with other university and community-based organizations to run courses, workshops, and creative projects on campus, in local prisons, and at the Rikers Island jail complex.

Our programs open channels of communication and collaboration between Columbia faculty and students, communities affected by incarceration, and the public at large for a more just and socially conscious system of higher education.

“In this environment people are labeled, treated suspiciously and thought of as criminals. In order to believe in rehabilitation, there has to be a belief that change is possible.”

Former JIE Student
Our Mission

Supporting the Incarcerated

The Justice-in-Education Initiative is a collaboration between The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities and the Center for Justice at Columbia University. Thanks to the generosity of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, we are developing Columbia’s capacity to:

Provide Opportunities

Provide opportunities for education and leadership development to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women, and youth from communities at the heart of the incarceration crisis. The programs begin with high-school-aged youth and continue through graduate degrees.

To date, more than 620 students have completed courses for college credit.

JIE & Columbia

Integrate the study of justice more fully into the Columbia curriculum. This prepares students to foster a system that embodies the goals of justice and equality, and to learn how to translate their passion for social change into effective action. We are doing this by working to enhance justice-related components of existing courses, developing new courses and areas of concentration, infusing service learning opportunities into the curriculum, and providing possibilities for engagement in justice research and advocacy.

Change Thinking

Change public and political thinking about the importance of access to higher education for the incarcerated and the formerly incarcerated. In partnership with other colleges and community organizations, we support evidence-based advocacy for higher education in prisons and jails and for people returning home.

Keep up with what we’re doing

Newsletter

sign up now
How we follow through

Our Programs

about our work