Get Involved

There are many ways to get involved in Department and campus programs related to incarceration!

Volunteer with the UB College in Prison Program

Peer tutors

For undergraduate and graduate students: Peer tutors should submit an application stating their interest and which subjects they could tutor. Peer tutors would potentially be asked to visit Wende in person. (application coming soon!)

Research Assistants

For undergraduate and graduate students: Students at Wende will have access to an offline JSTOR database, but will not have access to full text or the UB Libraries databases like other students do. Research Assistants will be connected with students at Wende and help facilitate their research and fill in gaps of sources. Research Assistants can be fully remote.

Teach at Wende

Some faculty may be able to teach at Wende as part of their regular teaching load, and some doctoral students may be able to teach to fulfil departmental teaching requirements. Submit an application (coming soon) to propose a course you would be interested in offering at Wende. Courses are offered in a wide variety of disciplines, including both broad survey courses and courses focused on a specific area of research or study. Classes meet in person once per week for fifteen weeks. 

Join You Belong

If you are a student, faculty, or staff member at UB who has experienced incarceration, who has a family member who has experienced incarceration, or who is passionate about expanding the accessibility of campus to those who are system-impacted, You Belong wants you! Please join our working group by emailing Dr. Mary Nell Trautner at trautner@buffalo.edu. 

Attend Campus Events

Upcoming events

  • PAIR (The Interdisciplinary Prison and Incarceration Research WIP Speaker Series). This is a monthly workshop where authors present their works-in-progress and receive thoughtful feedback. All students, faculty, and staff are invited! Meetings are held the first Monday of each month in 511 O’Brian (The Baldy Center). Lunch is provided at 12:00, the workshop begins at 12:30. Fall 2025 meeting dates are September 8, October 6, November 3, and December 1.
  • Trans Rights in Prison panel discussion (details TBA)
  • Banned Books in Prison library exhibit and panel discussion (details TBA)
  • Beyond the Block screening with film director Michael Kleiman and event organizer Sean Pica (details TBA)
  • March 2026 Alternative Spring Break Trip: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration. Undergraduate students may applyto join (application and details TBA)

Past events