Pathways to Reentry and Transformation in California Higher Education

Jarrod Brown

California is home to the largest carceral system, the largest higher education system, and the most elaborate reentry to higher education program for formerly incarcerated (FI) and system impacted (SI) students in the United States. This research proposal, grounded in the theoretical framework of racialized organizations, investigates higher education reentry programs, their organizational make-up, resources, and effects on formerly incarcerated students. I examine the organizational make-up of three reentry higher education programs that are part of the same original program at three public R1 universities, leveraging organizational differences to understand variation in FI student outcomes. To do so I utilize a mixed methods approach including quantitative analysis of student outcomes in the program; qualitative interviews with the reentry organization's leadership, institutional stakeholders, and students in the program; content analysis of historical documents and multimedia of the programs; and campus observations.

About Jarrod Brown

Jarrod Levell Brown Jr. is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of California, Merced. His research, grounded in the theoretical framework of racialized organizations, explores higher education reentry programs, their organizational make-up, resources, and effects on formerly incarcerated and system impacted students. Jarrod explores the socio-historical background of how reentry programs came into existence in higher education, how staff within these organizations shape their programs in relation to the university, and the effect these organizations have on the students they serve. As a formerly incarcerated student himself, Jarrod has navigated higher education shortly before policy changes in California higher education led to the wide expansion of support programs for formerly incarcerated and system impacted students which shapes his research questions and scope of inquiry. Outside of his academic research, Jarrod has worked with multiple organizations for policy change and funding for formerly incarcerated and system impacted students within California's public college and university system. He has also served as a consultant for community based organizations that support marginalized K-12 youth in the Merced County area. He holds an A.A. in psychology from Merced College, a B.A. in psychology from California State University, Stanislaus, and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Merced. Lastly, Jarrod has a love for reptiles and amphibians and creates vivarium enclosures that mimic the natural environments of the species he has.