The mission of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Prison Education Program (UPBPEP) is to provide post-secondary educational opportunities, which includes college courses, to incarcerated students at Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) FCI McKean, and to incarcerated students designated as juvenile lifers at Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) SCI Forest. UPBPEP supports facilities in creating educational initiatives that improve the intellectual development of incarcerated people, the quality of life of incarcerated people, and to inspire a holistic culture of truth, justice, balance, harmony, order, righteousness, and reciprocity.
Our Professors
Prison Facts at a Glance
- Approximately 2.2 million people are currently incarcerated in the United States.
- Nearly 700,000 people transition back to into their communities from a period of prison incarceration each year.
- Within 3-5 years of release, nearly three-quarters (72.2 percent) of formerly incarcerated people are rearrested.
- Incarcerated students have a 43 percent lower chance of being rearrested.
- The average annual cost of incarceration for a State of Pennsylvania offender: $42,339 ($115.99 per day).
- The average annual cost of incarceration for a BOP Federal offender: $29,291.25 ($80.25 per day).
- The average annual cost of educating a University of Pittsburgh-Bradford student: $22,264 ($60.99 per day).
Get Involved
If you would like to teach a college course, provide a seminar, or volunteer in any manner that supports the UPBPEP mission, please contact the founding director, Tony Gaskew, PhD and complete the following information survey: