The Institute for Restorative Educational Engagement is housed in the Steans Center for Community-Based Service Learning on the Lincoln Park campus, with plans for an office at the School for Continuing and Professional Studies on the Loop campus. IREE is built upon three pillars; these pillars are also designed to connect with key DePaul resources to provide an academic support network for students and instructors in DePaul’s prison and jail educational programming.
Pillar 1: Curricular and Instructor Development
Pillar 2: Incarcerated and Re-Entering Student Success - Provide incarcerated DePaul students with access to library resources
- Establish a student services hub (including admissions, financial aid, academic advising, and other key resources) to assist incarcerated DePaul students in the college application and matriculation process
- Provide a campus support hub for traditional students with incarcerated loved ones
Pillar 3: Civic Education and Engagement- Expand DePaul’s involvement in voter education and civic engagement in the Illinois Department of Corrections, Cook County jail, and in communities with high rates of incarceration .
- Promote the recognition of system-impacted individuals as constituents, and the importance of their participation in voting, policy-making, and problem-solving.
- Establish a research hub at DePaul to study the impacts of criminal legal system on civic engagement, representation, and re-entry.