Close to 400 people applied to the program — the most applications the program has ever received.
(STATEVILLE CORRECTIONAL CENTER) — More than 20 students were recently accepted into the Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP) — the only bachelor’s degree-granting program for incarcerated students offered by a top 10 university in the United States.
“NPEP is the gateway, the entrance, into a world of scholars, freedom educators, and amazing, beautiful people,” said Demetrius Cunningham, one of the students recently accepted into NPEP. “It’s a dream come true.”
Donnell Green, another recently admitted NPEP student, shared similar feelings. “When an incarcerated individual says they want to make the best of their situation — being an NPEP student is what they mean.”
This new addition will make up NPEP’s third cohort of students at Stateville. These students will join the first and second cohorts of NPEP students who are currently working on their bachelor’s degrees at Stateville Correctional Center.
“Cohorts 1 and 2 have welcomed me like family,” said Shawn Thigpen, a Cohort 3 student.
“I finally found a family who loves and truly has care for me,” said Jacob Currey, another Cohort 3 student, of the existing NPEP students. “They connect, assess, respond and encourage.”
(From left to right): NPEP students Champ Moore, Shawn Thigpen and Joel E. Davis go over classwork during study hall at Stateville.
For this most recent round of admissions, NPEP’s Admissions Committee — made up of Northwestern administrators and faculty members— received close to 400 applications from individuals at facilities across the state of Illinois. In addition to the 20 students accepted into NPEP earlier this year, 20 more students from the applicant pool will join NPEP this summer as members of the program’s fourth cohort.
Jennifer Lackey, the Director of the Northwestern Prison Education Program and the Wayne and Elizabeth Jones Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Law (courtesy) at Northwestern University, said that the new students passed several rounds of rigorous review, including interviews conducted at facilities throughout Illinois.
“We are delighted to be welcoming them to Stateville, where they will participate in a program dedicated to the highest standards in academic excellence,” Lackey said. “Even more importantly, they are joining a community of scholars who lift up each other’s voices and work every day to create a better world for themselves, for their loved ones and for society as a whole.”
NPEP launched in 2018 as the first program in the state to offer a comprehensive, degree-granting liberal arts curriculum to incarcerated students in Illinois. In partnership with Oakton College and the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), NPEP offers an associate degree in general studies and a bachelor’s degree with a major in social sciences. Courses are taught by Northwestern and Oakton faculty and the program is cost-free for all admitted students.
NPEP Cohort 3 students pose with Jennifer Lackey, the Director of the Northwestern Prison Education Program, at Stateville Correctional Center.
Latoya Hughes, Acting Director of the IDOC, said, “The Department is committed to expanding post-secondary partnerships to increase access to higher education in our facilities. IDOC is grateful to Northwestern University for its collaboration in opening up this life-changing opportunity, previously only offered to those already at Stateville Correctional Center, to individuals in facilities across the state for the first time.
“Congratulations to the new cohort of students who completed a competitive and rigorous application process to gain acceptance into the program and have a chance to transform themselves through the power of education.”
In 2022, the first cohort of NPEP students earned their associate degrees from Oakton. In the fall of 2023, that same cohort will make history as the first incarcerated students in the U.S. to receive their bachelor’s degrees from a top 10 university.
In addition to joining fellow students at Stateville, NPEP has ushered in newfound hope and direction for its most recent community members.
One of the new Cohort 3 students, Brandon Perkins, described how many of his family members have been incarcerated. NPEP has given him “the opportunity to be the first person on his paternal side to graduate from university.”
Likewise, Taki Peacock, a Cohort 3 student, believes that participating in NPEP means that his “value has been recognized and someone else sees that I am so much more than my mistakes!”
For those interested in applying for NPEP, applications for admission to the fifth cohort at Stateville will open in the spring of 2024.
For media inquiries, please contact Colin Hanner, media relations contact for NPEP.