In Utah, Major Educational Gaps Exist for Incarcerated People. Here's What's Being Done
Of the 2.3 million people currently incarcerated in the United States, only 5% have access to quality postsecondary education.
The Beehive State is certainly no exception to this widespread issue, which is why Erin Castro, associate professor of higher education at the University of Utah and co-founder of the University of Utah Prison Education Project, applied and was selected for a $750,000 grant from Ascendium Education Group to support planning for the launch of a university research center focused on postsecondary education in prisons.
"Among research-intensive, public flagship institutions, I can count on one hand the number of them that provide degree pathways to incarcerated people," Castro said.
Castro — whose research for the last 10 years has focused on prison higher education and the pathways incarcerated people take to postsecondary education after incarceration — said that she believes both the timing and the location make the U. and the state the right home for the center.
