Amid Calls for Massachusetts to Prioritize Prison Education, MET Head Outlines Obstacles
For over 50 years, BU MET has given incarcerated individuals in the Massachusetts prison system the opportunity to pursue personal growth via higher education through its Prison Education Program. Now, a diverse cohort of nonprofit leaders and correctional specialists have called on the incoming administration of Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healey to commit to expanding and prioritizing programs of this kind.
First Episode of MET Makes Conversation Podcast Tackles ‘Meaningful Change’ in Police Reform
Boston University’s Metropolitan College has entered the world of podcasting. The new show, MET Makes Conversation, is a resource for listeners to hear valuable perspectives on matters of the day via substantive discussions by BU MET faculty and thought leaders. The Movement for Black Lives has in recent years brought greater public attention to calls […]
Criminal Justice Faculty Examine BU Prison Education Program’s Legacy of Social Justice
This past November, MET professors of criminal justice Dr. Mary Ellen Mastrorilli and Dr. Danielle Rousseau were invited to join BU’s Slone Epidemiology Center to lead a midday Brown Bag Seminar focused on MET’s Prison Education Program (PEP), underscoring its legacy as a purposeful effort by BU to champion greater social justice. When activist Elizabeth […]
Patriots Defenders Put Reforming Power of Prison Education in Focus
Any good football defender knows that with each setback must come a step forward, to recover. Super Bowl-winning, twin New England Patriots defensive backs Devin and Jason McCourty recognize the importance of providing education options for individuals striving to recover and reform during their time in the penal system. The McCourtys are outspoken champions of […]
Professional Benefits of Criminal Justice Master’s Put in Focus
Dr. Mary Ellen Mastrorilli, chair ad interim of the Department of Applied Social Sciences, explained the career benefits of a Master of Criminal Justice degree in a recent article in U.S. News & World Report. “We think of it as a professional education,” she said of the MET program. “What we try to do is not […]
Prisoner Safety a Human Rights Issue, Says MET Corrections Authority
According to Dr. Mary Ellen Mastrorilli—MET professor, recognized incarceration authority, and faculty coordinator for MET’s online Master of Criminal Justice program—prisoner’s rights issues as they relate to sexual assault must be treated as human rights issues, and protecting them is a key tenet to ethical leadership. In an essay featured in the March/April issue of […]
Facing the Holidays in Prison
Dr. Mary Ellen Mastrorilli, associate professor of the practice and associate chair of Applied Social Sciences, was quoted in a Chicago Tribune article on families that face the holidays while a loved one is in prison. Dr. Mastrorilli, who spent two decades working in correctional facilities, and who is faculty coordinator for the online Master […]
Incarceration Specialist and Criminal Justice Professor Debunks Solitary Myths
Solitary confinement for inmates may be a controversial practice, as the phrase can conjure images of borderline cruel and unusual isolation, but according to MET professor and incarceration authority Dr. Mary Ellen Mastrorilli, the way prisons actually utilize “solitary” is essential, and greatly misunderstood. “Restrictive housing is a necessity in correctional facilities,” she wrote in […]
Building Positive Relationships to Help Women in Prison
“How to Help the Growing Prison Population,” an article by Assistant Professor and Associate Chair of Applied Social Sciences Mary Ellen Mastrorilli, was featured in the Scientific American MIND Guest Blog on April 7, 2015. In the article, Dr. Mastrorilli—a former corrections officer—discusses the phenomenon of Orange is the New Black, noting how the Netflix […]
Mastrorilli cited on what sets an online criminal justice education apart
Mary Ellen Mastrorilli, faculty coordinator for MET’s online Master of Criminal Justice Program (MCJ), was recently quoted by U.S. News and World Report on “What to Expect Out of an Online Program in Criminal Justice.” She mentions BU’s weekly posting requirement as one powerful way to keep students engaged. “You see a lot of learning […]