Officials from the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) consortium look at one of the 52 laptops and other related technology and office equipment that Princeton University donated. (Courtesy of Princeton University)
PRINCETON, NJ — Last week, officials from Princeton University donated 53 laptops and other tech gear to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
The laptops and tech gear will be used in two state prisons as part of the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) consortium.
Around 300 incarcerated undergraduate students at the East Jersey State Prison and the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women will use the laptops each semester.
“The prison teaching initiative, PTI as we call it, is really an amazing example of the University's mission at work in the world and I’m really thrilled that through this donation of mobile laptops that we are able to match Princeton’s mission with these resources,” Jennifer Rexford, Provost, Princeton University said in a statement.
“We’re also extremely grateful for our partner institutions in higher ed who are also with us today, particularly Rutgers University and Raritan Valley Community College. It shows what a partnership across higher ed and with community colleges, both with four-year institutions, is and how forming these partnerships are critical to our communities and to the future of higher ed in the state.”
Last week’s donation represents an important milestone for incarcerated college students in New Jersey, who previously did not have access to laptops, and prepares students as they transition to campuses and the job market ready for modern technological requirements.