TUPIT Update: July 9, 2026

Dear TUPIT faculty and students,

I know that many of you have expressed concerns about the future of the Tufts University Prison Initiative (TUPIT). I am scheduled to teach at MCI-Shirley this fall, so I share your concerns. I want to provide an update on the status of the program and our plans moving forward.

As you may be aware, on May 11, a former TUPIT/MyTERN participant was involved in a shooting on Memorial Drive. In response to concerns raised following this incident, the university has launched an independent review of the program to ensure that we are operating in a manner that provides participants access to appropriate non-academic supports and follows appropriate university-wide protocols to protect the safety and well-being of all students, faculty, and staff. Based on initial feedback from the review, I am convening a working group of faculty and staff from the School of Arts & Sciences (A&S), Tisch College, and the provost’s office to consider the feedback and make recommendations.

In consultation with university senior leadership, the following decisions have been made for the upcoming academic year, as the review continues and the working group commences its work.

• Tufts will continue to offer all of its in-prison education program courses. If you were assigned to teach or TA an in-prison education course this fall, those assignments will proceed largely as scheduled.
• Incarcerated students who have completed their AA degrees will be able to take classes over the next academic year at their facilities. Formerly incarcerated students who are already enrolled, matriculated, and currently finishing their BA degrees on the Tufts Medford-Somerville campus, will continue with their degree programs.
• Admission into the BA program for formerly incarcerated students has been and will continue to be available through the REAL program.
• On-campus classes for the MyTERN re-entry program will be paused for this academic year. While no MyTERN participants were admitted to the on-campus program for 2026-2027 academic year, we know that there are A&S students enrolled in MyTERN courses and that there were three A&S faculty members who were scheduled to teach in the program. The Civic Studies program leadership will be in touch with these students directly to discuss alternative course options.

I appreciate that this response does not address many questions about the programs. The working group will provide further information, as may be appropriate, once it becomes available. Please address any additional questions you may have to TUPITWorkingGroup@tufts.edu.

For now, I want to thank each of you for your continued commitment to the TUPIT program and to let you know that we look forward to working with all of you as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Joe Auner
Provost and Senior Vice President ad interim
Austin Fletcher Professor of Music