OPPORTUNITY CORNER
Project Rebound Offers a Path to a Degree for Justice-Impacted Students
By Julia Halprin Jackson
OPPORTUNITY CORNER
Project Rebound Offers a Path to a Degree for Justice-Impacted Students
By Julia Halprin Jackson
This spring, San José State officially launched its chapter of Project Rebound, a program that supports the higher education and successful social reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals wishing to enroll in the California State University (CSU) system. Founded in 1967 at San Francisco State University, Project Rebound supports students from admissions through graduation and into career readiness by collaborating with campus entities and external organizations to offer peer mentorship, student support, and strategies for long-term growth.
Who
Helmed by Program Director Rudolph “Rudy” Howell and executive director and Associate Professor of Communication Studies Oona Hatton, Project Rebound is supported by staff familiar with the justice system who are invested in the transformative power of higher education.
Services offered
Project Rebound provides holistic, wraparound services for justice-impacted Spartans, including short-term assistance for crises; basic needs support in terms of food, housing, mental health support and emergency funds; help with admissions and financial aid, including tuition and books assistance, tutoring and transportation resources; and support with digital literacy, community networking and record expungement through SJSU’s Record Clearance Project, led by Margaret “Peggy” Stevenson, who teaches in the Department of Justice Studies.
Participants
Participation in the program is open to any incoming or current Spartans who are formerly incarcerated, on or off parole or probation and committed to performing college-level work.
Facts and figures
Hatton explains that they hope to build on Project Rebound successes from around the state, including the more than 1,500 students enrolled across 20 CSU campuses. She shares that more than 40% of Project Rebound students pursue graduate study. While the statewide average for recidivism, or the tendency for convicted people to reoffend and return to prison, is 42%, and the national rate is 70%, recidivism among Project Rebound alumni is only 0.59%.
Howell describes Project Rebound as an “alternative to the business model of the revolving door of prison” by focusing on social, political and economic inclusion through self-efficacy and independence, and by providing tools to help students navigate life after incarceration. In partnership with Hatton and Clifton Oyamot, associate dean for academic programs in the College of Social Sciences, Howell hopes to create a supportive environment for formerly incarcerated Spartans focused on pursuing their degrees.
“Students who have past involvement with the justice system frequently have overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers and trauma, and see higher education as a path to brighter futures. Project Rebound opens doors to greater opportunities.”
— Margaret "Peggy" Stevenson
Speaking from experience
A Project Rebound alumnus himself, Rudy Howell shares that his path to a bachelor’s degree was lengthy. Over the first 17 years of his incarceration, he completed his associate’s degree (AA). While in custody, Howell applied to several universities nationwide, and received one response: a letter from the San Francisco State chapter of Project Rebound.
“Project Rebound offered a structure of support when I got home,” Howell said at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library on March 20. “I was released from prison in January 2013 with my AA in hand and my acceptance to San Francisco State. I called the director Jason Bell and said, ‘I’m home.’ I got out on a Wednesday. He had me enrolled in class the following Monday.”
Three years later, Howell graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice — and a determination to help others succeed through higher education.
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