Cornell Prison Education Program

09/17/2026

Congratulations to Joseph Margulies, civil rights attorney and Professor of Practice of Government at Cornell University, on the release of his new book, Cast Out: A Call for a Forgiving Society in an Age of Incarceration.

You can read the Cornell Chronicle’s interview with Margulies here and meet him in person at our upcoming CPEP Fall Gathering at the Cornell Club in New York City on November 11.

For more details and to RSVP, check out our website.

In his new book, “Cast Out: A Call for a Forgiving Society in an Age of Incarceration,” Joseph Margulies from the College of Arts and Sciences explores compassion and empathy, and the idea that “there is no them, there is only us.”

09/11/2026

Check out this amazing news story about CPEP graduate Jodi Anderson and our plans to expand our program to offer a Bachelor of Professional Studies in prison next fall!

08/25/2026

CPEP’s fall 2026 semester kicked off this Monday at Cayuga Correctional Facility with our first class, Better Decisions for Life, Love and Money, an Applied Economics and Management course taught by Cornell Professor Emeritus William Schulze.

Over the next week, classes will also begin at Auburn and Five Points Correctional Facilities, bringing the fall semester into full swing across all three facilities.

We are extremely grateful to our instructors, long-time volunteers, and student volunteers whose contributions make this work possible. We look forward to another great semester!

08/24/2026

Books and school supplies have been packed and delivered to our students for the start of the fall 2026 semester! All last week, we physically carried these materials into our facilities to ensure they would reach our students in time for the first day of classes.

Each semester, CPEP purchases all the books and supplies our students need to complete their coursework. The process is expensive and time-consuming, but it is an integral part of providing higher education in prison.

This semester, many of these books are for advanced coursework being taken by students who have already completed their associate’s degrees and are continuing their studies in preparation for enrolling in a bachelor’s degree program.

08/20/2026

Earlier this month, the Cornell Prison Education Program held its most joyous event of the year: our annual CPEP Alumni Reunion. This year’s event, held on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, brought together CPEP and Cornell alumni, along with current and former instructors, volunteers, and other supporters.

This year, we honored Julia Mizutani, Cornell University’s Law Research, Instruction and Liaison Librarian and Adjunct Professor, with the Jan Zeserson Community Service Award in recognition of her years of volunteer work creating programming for our students. We also honored David Bendezu of the Fortune Society with the CPEP Alumni Community Service Award for his ongoing support of fellow alumni and others as they navigate reentry.

Congratulations, Julia and David!

07/14/2026

CPEP is hiring!
Ithaca-based Temporary Administrative Coordinator

The Cornell Prison Education Program is seeking a reliable, organized, and detail-oriented Temporary Administrative Coordinator to support our team for approximately four months but could be extended.

This position is ideal for someone who enjoys administrative work, can work well with and across different departments, and can manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment. The work you will be doing will be to provide critical office support as we deliver on our mission of providing higher education opportunities to incarcerated students.

For applicants who are currently Cornell employees: https://lnkd.in/gYRhuZUX
For external applicants: https://lnkd.in/gRE4Sv9S

Applications will be accepted until July 27.

You can learn more about CPEP at cpep.cornell.edu

06/15/2026

CPEP student-authors at Cayuga Correctional Facility recently had the opportunity to publicly share their work at a reading celebrating the publication of The Human Side of Us, an anthology of writing by CPEP students at Auburn, Cayuga, and Five Points Correctional Facilities. The book represents more than two years of writing, reflection, and editing through our ongoing Writer’s Workshop program and showcases the talent, insight, and creativity of its contributors.

06/08/2026

CPEP @ Cornell Reunion!!

Last Friday, the Cornell Prison Education Program in partnership with the Cornell Library hosted a Cornell Reunion event in Uris Library. The panel discussion: "A Cornell Degree in Prison: Leveraging Library Access and Technology to Level the Playing Field for Incarcerated Learners", was introduced by Elaine Westbrooks - Carl A. Kroch University Librarian and Vice Provost at Cornell University and moderated by Groos Family Director Rob Scott, panelists included: Maddie Reynolds PhD '21, Associate Librarian, Cornell University Library and Cornell Prison Education Program, Jodi Anderson, CPEP '16, Stanford '21, M'22, Sara Garner '06, former CPEP teaching assistant, Whitney Bernstein '06, former CPEP teaching assistant.

We are so grateful for our strong partnership with the Cornell Library and to our community of supporters. We could not do what we do without you.

05/26/2026

New award announced for the Cornell Prison Education Program

The Cornell Prison Education Program has launched two national initiatives to address the data and research challenges facing programs that provide higher education in prisons.