Prison University Project Reimagined as
Mount Tamalpais College
For nearly 25 years, the Prison University Project – founded by HM alumna Dr. Jody Lewen ’82 – has provided a general education Associate of Arts degree and intensive college preparatory courses to thousands of incarcerated people at San Quentin State Prison. The program – now known as Mount Tamalpais College – gained full accreditation as an independent college by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in March 2022.
Jody Lewen '82 and her colleagues were awarded the 2015 National Humanities Medal by President Obama, in recognition of their impact on the lives of incarcerated people.
Mount Tamalpais College will continue to provide a high-quality education to students serving prison terms while broadening its impact. As the organization’s strategic plan reads, “Our primary goal is to promote the intellectual, creative, professional, and economic flourishing of our students and their communities. We also seek to amplify the voices of currently and formerly incarcerated people, and, in the process, transform public conversations about higher education and criminal justice, among others.”
Jody, as president of the college, explains that the motivation behind her work to transform the lives of the incarcerated has been to “[help] the general public understand that people in prison are fully human.” Mount Tamalpais College is entirely free to its students and is funded through individual gifts and foundation support.
To learn more about Mount Tamalpais College, please visit: https://www.mttamcollege.org/