Prison education at Regis: Looking back on two years of the JPEN Newsletter

Since 2022, Regis University’s Inside/Out Program has brought incarcerated students together with students who attend classes in person at Regis.

With the launch of the Inside/Out Program, Regis joined the initial six Jesuit colleges and universities in the Jesuit Prison Education Network (JPEN). This network is a place to share resources, knowledge and the triumphs of prison education programs at various Jesuit universities. Formed by coordinator Rev. Tom Curran, S.J., it is an answer to the Four Universal Apostolic Preferences – ideals that the Society of Jesus is called to serve towards by the Father General.

As coordinator of JPEN, and a long-time Jesuit educator, Curran has been integral in community building and Regis's inclusion in JPEN's global efforts. In the fall of 2023, Curran approached Regis University’s Communications team to assist in distributing a biannual newsletter detailing the transformative prison education of people from across the Western Hemisphere.

The JPEN Newsletter, now with nearly 1000 recipients, keeps the network updated on the ongoing transformative work of the eleven universities and colleges that make up JPEN as of 2025.

"What is the unifying force of JPEN?" Curran continued, "JPEN is rooted in the third week of the spiritual exercises, which is seeking the hidden humanity of Christ. And not only seeking Christ, but it's allowing us to get a glimpse of our shared humanity."

This fall, Curran connected again with students in Regis College professor Tom Leininger, Ph.D.’s “Religious and Sacred Encounters” course in the Department of Religious Studies. Fr. Curran shared and discussed with the students the ongoing work of Regis’ Inside/Out Program, while introducing some of the “inside” students to the "outside" students.

"Teaching classes in the prison, one of the things that really resonated with the students in Tom Leininger’s class, when I speak to them every year, was realizing that 'wow, they are my classmates,'" said Curran. "But in a deeper level, your classmates are part of your shared humanity, seeing one another as your sister and your brother."

Through this experience, a student stated, "this presentation enabled me to see people in prisons with a new lens. They are people.” And the students discussed how easily people can "objectify" the incarcerated students as nothing more than criminals: "no one should be defined by their worst act." The small experiences of prison education are a piece in the patchwork of the larger milestones of JPEN.

"My students and I are so inspired by the transformative work of Fr. Tom Curran and JPEN." Leininger continued, "it enabled my students to see and understand the kingdom of God in a whole new way!" 

In 2024, JPEN expanded its horizons beyond Jesuit institutions in the formation of the Catholic Consortium for Higher Education in Prison with the University of Notre Dame. This two-day meeting brought together 19 Catholic colleges and universities to discuss and connect about the growing momentum of educational work in prisons, regardless of affinity.

"People say, 'oh, we got a political crisis; we have an economic crisis' ... No, our biggest crisis here is a spiritual crisis." Curran continued, "it’s a failure to see one another as sister and brother. JPEN, in my estimation, brings us back to the very fundamental that we're all in this together."

Currently, Regis’ Anderson College of Business and Computing is working with the Inside/Out Program and JPEN to begin offering Business courses to incarcerated students beginning in the spring of 2027. These new course offerings will expand the Inside/Out Program’s catalogue beyond liberal arts courses for the first time.

"How do we move this from a program or project to an embedded priority of the university?" said Curran. "It's part of our mission. This is something we're sharing and doing for ourselves. The transformation is mutual."

For more information about the Inside/Out Program at Regis, or if you are interested in teaching in the program, please contact Erin Trumble, Director of Prison Education.