CHANGING LIVES THROUGH LITERATURE

An Alternative Sentencing Program

Changing Lives Through Literature

New England Higher Education Excellence Award—Honoring a Program or Institution

The Changing Lives Through Literature program is an alternative sentencing program, co-founded in 1991 by University of Massachusetts Dartmouth English professor Robert Waxler and a Massachusetts Trial Court judge. The unique program requires criminal offenders to read and discuss novels and short stories and to participate in seminar discussions as a way of enhancing their intellectual capabilities and moral conscience.

Under the program, criminal offenders are sentenced to a "Changing Lives through Literature" seminar on a participating college campus. Studies of the program indicate a significant decrease in recidivism rates and a notable increase in interest in education.

The CLTL program now operates in several states throughout the country including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island as well as in England. Featured in the New York Times, Parade Magazine, the Boston Globe and NEBHE's own journal Connection, the program is a strong example of collaboration between higher education institutions and the communities in which they are located. Recent funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to make the program available via the web and CD will extend the reach of this unique program worldwide.

This Changing Lives Through Literature Website was produced in cooperation with the Computing and Information Technology Systems (CITS) at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

NEH Project Team

Robert Waxler - NEH Project Director
Jean Trounstine - Project Principal
Taylor Stoehr - Project Principal
Larry Jablecki - Project Principal

Web Production Team

Donald King - Development Manager
Marc Lalosh - Graphic Designer/Flash Developer
Beth Lehr - Senior Developmental Editor
Brian Miranda - CD Production Manager
Holger Dippel - Technical Advisor
Jesse Buckley - Video Editor
Heather Tripp - Videographer
D Confrar - Photographer
Harry Bernard - Logo Design
James Terrasi - Flash Developer
Steven Splinter - Technical Assistant
Felix Banis - Technical Consultant