Mount Tamalpais College’s 2022 holiday party was a wonderful celebration for everyone. Fantastic family and friends were brought together because of higher education, a warm reminder that education can be read as “the process of receiving or giving.” Gatherings like this are always a testament to how MTC is a space where students and faculty build healthy and whole communities. Check out this album with photos by MTC alumnus Eddie Herena capturing the event. Thank you to all who joined us!
MTC News
Class of ‘22 Walks the Stage
On June 24th, a bright and sunny day, Mount Tamalpais College hosted its first graduation ceremony since achieving independent accreditation. This date also marked San Quentin’s first college graduation inside its Chapel in over seven years.
Twenty MTC graduates finally got the opportunity to tout their hard work, dedication, and success, and walk across the big stage inside the walls of San Quentin.
When I graduated in 2012, my family walked across the compound, sat next to the concrete fountain, and I was able to splash water on my grandson D’Angelo.
In 2015, all family members and guests were barred from entering San Quentin.
Since then, San Quentin has been struck by legionnaires, norovirus, and just recently COVID-19. Some students passed away. Other students were paroled or transferred to other prisons while dealing with those year-long, on and off lockdowns.
And during this period, all outside family, friends, and guests were barred from prison visiting rooms and/or compounds throughout the state of California.
Since 2015, the Prison University Project, now Mount Tamalpais College, has been holding its graduation ceremonies inside San Quentin’s tightly cramped visiting room. Graduates would walk across the visit room floor, pretending to cross an auditorium’s big stage.
This year, students didn’t have to pretend to walk the stage, and visitors were allowed to attend the graduation inside the chapel at San Quentin, which was a significant event after years of COVID restrictions and distance from loved ones.
As the guests arrived and settled into the chapel, you could sense the excitement from the San Quentin guards, graduates’ families, and MTC staff and faculty members.
Sixteen of 20 graduates who completed their coursework between 2019 and 2022 were present to accept their hard-earned diplomas. Guitarist Lee Jasper played the ceremonial Pomp and Circumstance as the graduates entered the Chapel in a single file line, step by step.
When the clapping and cheering from the guests calmed down, MTC’s Chief Academic Officer, Amy Jamgochian introduced Warden Ron Broomfield for opening remarks.
Warden Broomfield looked directly at the graduates and said “I am very proud of each and every one of you.” MTC President of the Board of Trustees Theresa Roeder thanked the family, students, Warden Broomfield, and his staff, then turned to the students and said, “We could not be more proud of you, graduating during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.”
Alumnus Pat Mims and 2019 Valedictorian Tommy Shakur Ross both were allowed to return to San Quentin for graduation. They recalled how they too were sitting in those same chairs that these graduates sat in and shared their journeys of success with the crowd. “I love you,” Shakur said to the graduates. He reminded them, “we know each other, I just left you.” Shakur was pointing out to each graduate that “you too can be free like me.”
This year’s Valedictorian, John Levin, took the stage and apologized to the crowd. He explained that he misplaced his speech, however, it was a clever way to introduce his humor. “I’m really embarrassed, I misplaced my speech. But ever since I was a kid I believed in being prepared. So as a kid I proactively prepared speeches.”
He continued by reading a humorous list of speeches he predicted would happen in his future and read them to the crowd. “Here’s my acceptance speech for winning the Nobel prize in physics for solving Grand Unification. My Tony acceptance speech for what many will call my transcendent performance as Mr. Whiskers in the sequel, Cats2: Kitty Kitty Bang Bang.”
He then thanked MTC for allowing him to find “safety in prison and to be surrounded by like-minded people.”
As each graduate walked across the stage to receive their diplomas, applause echoed throughout the Chapel. They were asked to adjust their tassels from the right side of their caps to the left side.
The graduates, their family, and friends shuffled outside, eyes quenched from both the brightness of the sun and curiosity, searching out their surroundings anticipating a warm reception from their loved ones.
Graduate Michael Wilson Moore expressed his gratitude. “On graduation day I found friends in everyone present. My niece and her family traveled 1,000 miles to spend less than three hours watching me walk across the stage in a cap and gown.”
Before the ceremony concluded, Jody Lewen told the crowd as well as the students that one of our guiding goals has always been to make sure MTC provides the highest quality education, at least as good as you would get in any other college or university on the outside.
She went on to call MTC students a “gravitational pull” in support of making sure higher education is possible.
John Levin told his fellow graduates, “You and I may be here at San Quentin because of our worst decision. But we are here today because of our best decision. And I commend each of you for staying the course.”
Full recording of Reaching Higher: A benefit and community celebration
On April 22 2022, we gathered our community of supporters, alumni, faculty, and more to celebrate our recent accreditation and raise support for the future of the college. It was a truly special evening in which we heard from Mount Tamalpais College alumni and friends and celebrated 25+ years of higher education at San Quentin and our bright future as an independently accredited college. We’re grateful to all who joined us!
We’re pleased to share the full recording of the program, featuring remarks by Jody Lewen, Bonaru Richardson, Jesse Vasquez, Pat Mimms, and a short film by R.J. Lozada featuring Corey McNeil and JC Cavitt. You can find this and other videos from the virtual event, including special messages from Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods of Ear Hustle and Marshall Project Founder Bill Keller, on our Vimeo page.
Seeking Faculty for Fall 2022
From instructors to TAs, tutors to research assistants, it takes a remarkable and generous community to provide a world-class education to our students. We’re currently seeking volunteers to serve as faculty at Mount Tamalpais College in fall of 2022. Join us to be part of a college unlike any other in the U.S — an independent, accredited Liberal Arts college inside San Quentin state prison.
There are a variety of roles for educators at Mount Tamalpais College. For all of these roles, we seek individuals who are committed to our mission and to working with diverse communities. All faculty are required to have some teaching or tutoring experience, and credit course faculty also must have a graduate degree—ideally a PhD—in a relevant discipline. People who have been directly impacted by incarceration, or who reflect the cultural, ethnic, socio-economic, and racial diversity of our student body are especially encouraged to apply.
You can learn more about the various roles and teaching opportunities here, and submit your application at the links below. We will start reviewing applications on May 31, 2022. While we will still accept applications past the deadline, applications received by the deadline will be prioritized.
Application to teach or tutor in STEM
Application to teach or tutor in Writing, Social Sciences, and Humanities
Mount Tamalpais College Opens First On-Campus Computer Lab
In May 2021 the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, agreed to grant Mount Tamalpais College the opportunity to offer students the first computer lab for the only independently accredited liberal arts college in the nation that is located in a prison.
The lab, designed to accommodate 25 students, seats two to three students at elongated tables — socially distanced at 6 feet. In the classroom, students scurry around waiting for Dell computers to come out of the secured storage space. They then log in with their IDs and passwords. All currently enrolled students have full access to the computer lab on a drop-in basis during its open hours.
On a recent visit to the lab, students returned from the day before to access works they started the previous day. Like the library at UC Berkeley or a study hall in USC’s Doheny Library, the lab is very busy.
Informed students assisted new users and worked on essays and presentations — on topics from ecology to Sophocles, to MLK’s “I Have a Dream.” Others prepared rough drafts of poetry, songs, or works that more extensively relate to their aspiring goal of becoming published authors. The room bustled with academia.
Arthur Jackson, a Mount Tamalpais College clerk, was busy helping the lab get open. “The Lab attracts new students — people incarcerated for a long time who are excited because they now practice skills which are transferable to the real world,” said Jackson.
Jackson spoke of an older resident of San Quentin—a single letter man, people who came to prison before August of 2009. Now CDCR is using two letters for people’s identification status. They started with A00000, they are now on CZ0000. “The guy told me this is what rehabilitation should be. Expecting to return to our communities, we can now be more productive because Mount Tamalpais College equips us with new skills.”
He surveyed the classroom. “Look at them. Typing to meet deadlines just like at a real university. With all the camaraderie of the volunteer professors and teachers who provide interconnectivity with inmates, Mt Tam is as diverse as UC Berkeley,” said Jackson.
Carlos Drouaillet, a TA for the lab exclaimed, “Three months ago, we had nothing in relation to computers. During the pandemic, we had to write out our homework for correspondence courses in dark cells, usually having to re-write three or four times in our cells.”
The computers provide basic programs pre-installed on the Dells include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and MS OneNote. There is no internet access, however, there is limited intranet access to whitelisted sites, and Mount Tamalpais College is working to get more sites whitelisted so that students will be able to do research.
Ethan Annis, Anila Yadavalli, Amy Jamgochian, Kirsten Pickering, and Newton Xie all contributed to this project, which took two years to come to fruition. From deciding the model of computers, getting them inside of the facility, where to put them, what programs to put on them, etc. etc. The agreement with the warden was a simpler and more efficient process.
Annis, Librarian and Technology Specialist at Dominican College, supported Amy Jamgochian in the negotiations with CDCR and San Quentin about all the particularities of the computer lab and helped create the Letter of Understanding between the College and San Quentin. Volunteer instructor Xie designed the curriculum for the computer lab’s literacy and orientation program, offering students a five-module program before they begin to use the laptops.
Amy Brunson, the college’s new Director of Library Services and Educational Technology, looks forward to maximizing the college’s computer use and is planning the expansion of technical services at Mt. Tam College. Priya Kandaswamy, the Academic Program Director for MTC who also teaches Introduction to Ethnic Studies, said, “It’s something we’ve tried to do for a long time and we are very excited it’s happening.”
Observations of the lab do not happen without hearing the name Kirsten Pickering. Pickering, who is the Research and Program Fellow at Mount Tamalpais College, instructs the classroom, “Anyone who needs to pick up printing can come with me to the printing station.”
Two men follow her out of classroom B-4 to the administrative hub where print requests are delivered. She also notes there will be a final pick-up of printed materials at 7:30 p.m., approximately 15 minutes before all students must return to their cells.
As the sunset bounces off the actual Mount Tamalpais located outside of San Quentin and radiates into the roof-lined windows, Rudy Moralez tries to improve his academic experience. “The lab helps with my grammar and spelling and corrects my writing fragments,” he says. “I believe it will help my grades improve.”
Pickering says San Quentin’s administration, especially Warden Ron Broomfield, were supportive in coordinating the concerns of CDCR and the college. Broomfield said he envisions the day when a large proportion of prisoners, those dedicated to reformative education and rehabilitation will possess their own laptop computers.
“This ‘child’ has many parents; for years Jody Lewen wanted technology for our students because that’s how college works on the outside,” said Pickering.
Pickering believes challenges operating the lab include expediting the current replacement time for broken computers and the synchronization of laptops to San Quentin’s intranet. “We could easily have more computers from donations, but turnaround time for licensing through CDCR is lengthy,” said Pickering.
Mount Tamalpais College plans to implement the same learning management system that the University of California education system uses.
This system, called Canvas, allows remote lecturers and programs that could increase availability to all students while protecting against future lockdowns.
Pickering spoke of the Canvas system, “Where our vision is to get every student a laptop for equal access, Canvas gives us the same quality as the UC system. CDCR has worked to modify the Canvas program to fit within their specifications…We should incorporate Canvas shortly.”
Pickering spoke of the Peer-to-Peer Computer Lab Assistants who trained with her and STEM Coordinator Anila Yadavalli prior to the installation of the lab. “Quincy, Carlos, Daniel, Ron, Rob, Rufael, C.J. and Rodney were an instrumental part of getting this off the ground.” She added the assistants had to complete rigorous interviews and an orientation that ensured consistency and equal access to all Mount Tamalpais College students.
James Jenkins, who has been incarcerated for 31 years said, “The computer lab is God sent to the extent it enhances our computer and typing skills. It allows me to learn Excel and other apps.
Because of the lab, I am able to do all of my papers, mid-terms and homework here in our classroom. Without this place, I would not be around other motivated peers who share the same hopes and dreams. I would most likely be in my 4 x 8 cell, instead of gaining a whole new outlook on society. Mt Tam has enlightened my behavior towards others.”
Currently 300 other Mt. Tam. students share Jenkins’ vision. Now they can print their visions instead of writing them three to four times. (Read more about MTC computer lab.)
Photo Courtesy of San Quentin News
Spring 2022 Course Offerings
We’re excited to have the semester in full swing after a delay due to covid restrictions earlier this year. Our Spring classes resumed in March, and we’re grateful to welcome our students back into the classrooms. Below is a complete list of our Spring 2022 courses and their instructors. To our faculty and tutors, we are incredibly thankful for your dedication to our students and for sticking it out through these unprecedented times! Inspired to join us? Click here to learn more about how to teach or tutor at Mount Tamalpais College.
AST 217: Astronomy
Taught by Brian Lenardo and Andrew Westphal
COM 146: Communications
Taught by Theresa Roeder, Alex Naeve, Will Bondurant and Mick Laugs
ENG 101A: Reading and Composition
Taught by Marcia Klotz and John Fielding
ENG 101B: Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
Taught by Douglas Arnwine
ENG 102: Introduction to Literature
Taught by Susan Hirsch and David Buuck
ENG 204: Interdisciplinary Reading, Writing, and Research
Taught by Tavi Steinhardt, Max Kaisler, Jeff Manglin (TA & replacing Tavi as of May 12)
ENG 99A: Developmental English I
Taught by Matt Culler, Leasa Graves and Natasha Haugnes
ENG 99A: Developmental English I
Taught by Bridget Gelms, Lisa Star and Maddie Alvendia
ENG 99B: Developmental English II
Taught by Jim Bowsher
ENG 99B: Developmental English II
Taught by Alex Naeve and Cherie McNaulty
ENG WKSP: Workshop: Creative Writing
Taught by Amy Shea
GS 99: Introduction to College
Courtney Torres
GS 99: Introduction to College
Taught by Amy Lee
MTH 115: Intermediate Algebra
Taught by Maureen Lahiff, Jamie Sullivan and Drew Behnke
MTH 220: Precalculus I
Taught by Theo McKenzie, Steve Martin and Clarke Hardy
MTH 50A: Developmental Math I
Taught by Billy Morrison, Alex Broekhof and Sahil Shah
MTH 50A: Developmental Math I
Taught by Cordelia Radin, Madeline Adee and Andrew Tricker
MTH 50B: Developmental Math II
Taught by Judy King, Esme Bajo and Mauricio Cespedes
MTH 99: Elementary Algebra
Taught by Jean Chadbourne and Brian Knight
MTH WKSP: Workshop: Math Circle: Recreational Math
Taught by Jordan Davis
POL 241: American Government
Taught by Ian Sethre
PSY 121: Social Psychology
Taught by Mari Larangeira and Anoop Jain
SSC 280: Special Topic: Introduction to Ethnic Studies
Taught by Priya Kandaswamy
Join us for Reaching Higher, a benefit and community celebration
Join us in person or virtually for a special benefit to celebrate Mount Tamalpais College’s independent accreditation, and to honor over twenty years of higher education at San Quentin. The evening’s program will include:
- An award presented to Mount Tamalpais College alumnus Jesse Vasquez, Executive Director of Friends of San Quentin News
- A short documentary by filmmaker R.J. Lozada, featuring MTC alumni Corey McNeil and James Cavitt
- Refreshments, dinner, and opportunities to mingle in-person, and special guests joining us virtually
Friday, April 22
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Julia Morgan Ballroom
San Francisco
proof of vaccination required
7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. PST
Livestream for virtual attendees
Sponsor the event or purchase tickets here! Please note that there is a discount code for MTC faculty, and all former students and their families are welcome to complimentary tickets. Reach out to development@mttamcollege.org to learn more.
Announcing the Mount Tamalpais College Alumni Scholarship
We’re pleased to introduce the Mount Tamalpais College Alumni Scholarship Program!
This program will provide scholarships and other support to MTC alumni who are interested in pursuing further education. The scholarship program will be administered by 10,000 Degrees, an organization that administers scholarships and provides college advising. Their mission is to achieve educational equity and support students from low-income backgrounds to and through college to positively impact their communities and the world. We’re proud to partner with them to connect MTC alumni to valuable support.
Interested in learning more? Please see the Frequently Asked Questions and applications details here.
10,000 Degrees is currently accepting applications from eligible MTC alumni. The priority deadline to apply is March 2, 2022, however, the application will be left open until all scholarship funds are distributed. The first round of funds will be awarded for the Fall 2022 semester.
We are excited to grow this program in the years to come and to support MTC alumni throughout their education journey.
Mount Tamalpais College Achieves Accreditation
Mount Tamalpais College is proud to announce that on January 27, 2022, we were granted Initial Accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). This is a historic moment for Mount Tamalpais College, and a landmark event in a society that has persistently excluded the incarcerated from educational opportunity. San Quentin State Prison is now the site of an academic institution unlike any other in the US: an independent liberal arts college specifically dedicated to serving incarcerated students.
We could not have achieved this without our community of supporters, faculty, alumni, staff, and friends, whose belief in our mission made this possible. MTC staff, faculty, and students played an especially critical role in hosting the first ACCJC site visit, as well as in developing new program learning outcomes and systems for assessment. Their hard work and dedication over the last two decades are the foundation and inspiration for our current achievements.
Having reached this milestone, we now continue the essential work of building a world class higher education institution at San Quentin, while helping the field of higher education in prisons across the United States to flourish. This year we will continue to improve the quality of academic instruction, expand student support services, increase access to technology and library resources, and expand our work in the realm of research and evaluation, to name just a few exciting initiatives.
We extend deep thanks to many people and institutions for their hard work and support throughout the accreditation process: Past Presidents of ACCJC Richard Winn and Stephanie Droker; Interim President Cindy Miles; ACCJC Vice President Catherine Webb; Accreditation Process Director, Elizabeth Dutton. Our ACCJC Peer Review Team, led by Dr. Keith Curry, President of Compton College provided invaluable feedback and guidance that has already profoundly strengthened us as an institution. San Quentin Warden Ron Broomfield, as well as former California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Ralph Diaz, have also supported this bold initiative from its inception.
You can read more about our accreditation journey and find the press release announcing our official accreditation here.
Save the Date for Reaching Higher
Join us on April 22, 2022 for Reaching Higher, our first in-person celebration since 2018. This special evening will gather former students and their families, faculty, partners, and supporters for a celebration of our officially becoming Mount Tamalpais College, and all that we have achieved as a community along the way.
Individual tickets will go on sale in February, with special ticket options and pricing for formerly incarcerated guests and their families. To join us as an event sponsor or host, you can learn more about sponsorship levels and benefits here and purchase a sponsorship package here or by contacting us at development@mttamcollege.org.
We can’t wait to be with our community again in celebration and support of this powerful work. See you there!
