Beaver State News

New funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities will allow Portland State University to expand its Higher Education in Prison (HEP) program and offer additional courses focused on identity, transformation and agency. 

The $150,000 grant, announced Jan. 10, specifically funds a 6-course humanities sequence to be taught at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s only correctional facility for women. The interdisciplinary courses will be taught by six PSU faculty from Anthropology, Black Studies, Chicano and Latino Studies, English, Philosophy and Indigenous Nations Studies. 

“We are thrilled to receive this NEH grant, which will allow us to expand our course offerings in a way that will hopefully also expand BIPOC buy-in to higher education at Coffee Creek,” said Deb Arthur, a professor with PSU’s University Studies Program, who started the HEP program. “Through the grant we will be able to offer African American Literature, Indigenous Nations Literature, and Chicanx/Latinx Literature, along with three other courses. 

PSU’s Higher Education in Prison program was launched in 2019 with the intent to engage incarcerated women, including trans-identified and gender-nonconforming people, in rigorous and student-centered college-level education. With the ban on Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students lifted, students can access Pell Grant funding beginning in July 2023.

Access to Pell Grant funding for students in the prison education system was stripped away by the 1994 Crime Bill — leading to a massive reduction in the number of education programs operating nationwide. Portland State University remains among the few institutions providing access to higher education for those currently incarcerated. In February 2022, PSU was awarded $120,000 from Ascendium Education Group’s Ready for Pell initiative to prepare for future Pell Grant access. This allowed PSU to hire a Pell Readiness Counselor to further facilitate the Higher Education in Prison program’s expansion, which serves as an essential step before adding additional courses and students to the program.

“The NEH grant is a major step in affirming PSU's leadership in the Higher Education in Prison program and being ready for the restoration of Pell Grant access in July,” said Alex Sager, executive director of University Studies. "I'm very excited to work with an amazing group of colleagues on this project.”

The new humanities courses, similar to a University Studies class that students take at Portland State, are designed to provide students with more in-depth understanding of different cultures, histories and values allowing them to develop an appreciation for diverse perspectives. Students will also engage in personal reflection about identity formation and consider the interconnectedness of self as it relates to their community and the larger world.

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