{"id":13003,"date":"2026-03-10T17:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T21:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/?p=13003"},"modified":"2026-03-10T17:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T21:06:14","slug":"fr-tom-curran-of-the-jesuit-prison-education-network-visits-saint-peters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/10\/fr-tom-curran-of-the-jesuit-prison-education-network-visits-saint-peters\/","title":{"rendered":"Fr. Tom Curran of the Jesuit Prison Education Network Visits Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

JERSEY CITY, N.J.<\/strong> \u2013 Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University today welcomed Fr. Tom Curran, SJ to campus. Fr. Curran is the current Coordinator of the Jesuit Prison Education Network (JPEN). JPEN is a consortium of Jesuit higher education institutions in the U.S. Central and Southern Province dedicated to offering college courses and degree programs to incarcerated individuals. Launched in 2023, JPEN aims to reduce recidivism, foster reconciliation and provide high-quality education, with over 300 students participating as of late 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fr. Curran met with leadership and faculty members across Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s, most notably touring the LINDA facilities on campus. LINDA is a non-profit organization that collects and distributes new and gently used cosmetics, toiletries, and other necessary items that may be financially out of reach for women whose lives have been temporarily disrupted by some aspect of criminal justice. The organization was founded by Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University Criminal Justice Professor Dr. Beth Adubato and primarily serves women fleeing domestic violence as well as those coming out of incarceration at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fr. Curran and Dr. Adubato were joined by Kari Larsen, Criminal Justice Department Chair and WeiDong Zhu, Interim Assistant Vice President\u00a0 for Academic Affairs. As Fr. Curran so eloquently put it, LINDA\u2019s focus on women in needs truly reflects <\/span>cura personalis <\/span><\/i>and help to serve a community is often the \u201cforgotten of the forgotten\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fr. Curran also had a tour of the Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s Campus Kitchen and Clothes Closet after his meeting with Campus Ministry staff (Fr. Jim Miracky and Erich Sekel). Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s staff greatly impressed Fr. Curran with the work they do to serve the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In addition, Fr. Curran spent time and discussed prison education with Andrew Skotnicki, Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies and former lead of the <\/span>Prison Education Program<\/span> at Manhattan University, and Chris Agans, Executive Director of New Jersey\u2019s Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons consortium (NJ-STEP). This session focused on <\/span>laying out a clear blueprint for the Prison Education program at Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University President Hubert Benitez also met personally with Fr. Curran to discuss collaborative support between the University and JPEN.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University is proud to join the Jesuit Prison Education Network in launching a Prison Education Program, an initiative that reflects our deep commitment to access, opportunity, and the transformative power of education.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

As a Jesuit institution, our mission calls us to accompany those on the margins and to open pathways for individuals whose aspirations deserve the chance to flourish. Through this partnership with JPEN, we are expanding our ability to provide educational opportunities that honor human dignity, promote hope, and embody the Jesuit values of solidarity\u201d<\/span><\/i>, said President Benitez.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are especially grateful to Fr. Curran for his leadership and vision in advancing this effort and for helping to bring this important program to Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University<\/span><\/i>.\u201d, concluded Benitez.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fr. Tom\u2019s visit ended with a virtual meeting with Lt. Rene Felix and Chanel McClary \u201817 from Hudson Correctional Center, a facility with whom Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s intends to start a program.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JERSEY CITY, N.J. \u2013 Â鶹´«Ã½AVPeter\u2019s University today welcomed Fr. Tom Curran, SJ to campus. Fr. Curran is the current Coordinator of the Jesuit Prison Education Network (JPEN). JPEN is a consortium of Jesuit higher education institutions in the U.S. Central and Southern Province dedicated to offering college courses and degree programs to incarcerated individuals. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1293,"featured_media":13005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5,2,6],"tags":[34],"class_list":["post-13003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-current-students","category-faculty-staff","category-future-students","category-press-release","tag-press"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFr. 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