Pitt-Bradford one of 15 founding partners for White House initiative

Pitt-Bradford announced today that it has joined with the Obama administration and colleges and universities across the United States as a founding partner for the launch of the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge.

The pledge represents a call-to-action for all members of higher education to improve their communities by eliminating barriers for those with a criminal record and create a pathway for a second chance.

Pitt-Bradford's pledge reads, “The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford community proudly supports the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge. We are fully committed to creating a mutually respectful, enterprising and intellectually curious community of students, faculty and staff who value and embrace diversity in all of its forms, manifestations and expressions. This pledge only strengthens our educational partnership with the Bureau of Prisons Federal Correctional Institution McKean.”

Dr. Tony Gaskew, director of the criminal justice program and founding director of the Prison Education Program at Pitt-Bradford, represented the university at an event this morning at the White House hosted by Education Secretary John King and Policy Council Director Cecilia Muñoz.

Gaskew said, “Having a nationally recognized Prison Education Program has provided our campus with the unique opportunity to be at the forefront of criminal justice reform and serve as a role model for fostering social justice and community engagement across the country.”

In July of last year, the president highlighted the importance of reducing barriers facing people who have been in contact with the criminal justice system and are trying to put their lives back on track, and emphasized that a smarter approach to reducing crime and enhancing public safety must begin with investing in all of our communities.

Right now, there are 2.2 million Americans behind bars, and more than 600,000 inmates are released each year. An estimated 70 million or more Americans have some sort of criminal record - almost one in five of all Americans and almost one in three Americans of working age.

Obama has said that barriers to education and employment for those who have been incarcerated are “bad for not only those individuals, (and) bad for our economy. It's bad for the communities that desperately need more role models who are gainfully employed. So we've got to make sure Americans who've paid their debt to society can earn their second chance.”

The White House said that the signatories to the pledge are demonstrating an ongoing commitment to take action to reduce barriers to a fair shot at a second chance, especially through educational opportunity; taking action in their local communities; and setting an example for their peers.

The Prison Education Program partnership between Pitt-Bradford and FCI-McKean has allowed incarcerated students to take classes at the prison alongside traditional Pitt-Bradford students. In spring of this year, a select handful of Pitt-Bradford students took a class taught by incarcerated educators at FCI-McKean.

Earlier this year, Gaskew was one of 10 educators to take part in a White House roundtable discussion on criminal justice reform.

He is the author of “Rethinking Prison Reentry: Transforming Humiliation into Humility.”

Other institutions putting forth pledges today include Arizona State University, Auburn University, Boston University, City University of New York, Columbia University, Cornell University, Howard University, New York University, Rutgers University, San Francisco State University, State University of New York, University of Puget Sound, University of Washington and the University of California system.

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