Fall 2026 Newsletter
A letter to our community
Justice Pathways @ Union represents Union Theological Seminary's commitment to the MPS program and to broader educational opportunities, reentry support, and deeper engagement with policy advocacy and reform. We hope this newsletter will be the start of a three-times-a-year rhythm, a way to keep our community connected to the stories, people, and movements unfolding through this work.
We welcome all MPS graduates from NYTS, the courageous and pioneering founding home of this program, and from Union. Together we honor the MPS legacy and Union's larger commitments to justice, and we give thanks for the many alumni who found their calling at NYTS and now continue it as colleagues, faculty, staff, and friends within the Union community.
As we launch a new academic year, we mark that the MPS program has now graduated two classes of alumni since moving to Union. We are doing our work through deep engagement with our Union community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends in Manhattan, online and beyond, and through allies and strategic partners who are with organizations already doing great work. We are not about duplicating efforts but achieving collective impact through collaborative leadership. We are committed to engaging all alumni from the program's 44-year history and expanding the impact and reach of their work and Union's work.
We say goodbye, for now, until she returns to the faculty, to President Serene Jones, who worked tirelessly to ensure the MPS program would live on and thrive. And we welcome President Lisa Thompson, who returns to Union where she taught early in her career, including a course at Bedford Hills. We also give heartfelt thanks to Dr. Nancy Fields and Dr. Wanda Lundy, who are stepping down from their roles as site coordinators. Dr. Fields will continue to teach at Sing Sing, and we hope to find ways for Dr. Lundy to stay engaged with the program after she relocates.
With gratitude,
David N., David G, and Willie
David Nieves, Assistant Director, Justice Pathways @ Union and MPS Program
David Gastwirth, Associate Dean, Online & Extended Campuses
Rev. Dr. Willie Dwayne Francois III, Associate Professor of Theology · Faculty Director, MPS
Save the date
Friday, October 9, 2026 · come be with us
Union
An opportunity for MPS alumni to gather and for the Union community to learn and reflect — celebrating the enduring legacy of the MPS program and Union's larger commitments to justice. The evening will also feature the opening of the new MPS History Exhibit and a panel discussion about Rev. Dr. Willie Francois's new book, culminating with the Edwin "The Rev" Muller Distinguished Lecture.
4:00–5:30 p.m.
Opening Reception for MPS History Exhibit in Burke Library of Columbia University
5:30–6:00 p.m.
MPS Alumni Book Fair
6:00–7:00 p.m.
Dinner
7:00–7:10 p.m.
Invocation — Dr. John Ducksworth
7:10–8:00 p.m.
Book Panel — Rev. Dr. Willie Francois with Dr. Mark Chapman and Eric Waters, Outing Blue Privilege: A Call for Public Love Because Public Safety Is Not Enough
8:00–8:15 p.m.
Remarks on Legacy of “The Rev” — Rev. Canon Petero A. N. Sabune
8:15–8:45 p.m.
Edwin “The Rev” Muller Distinguished Lecture — Dr. Kaia Stern, Cofounder of the Prison Studies Project and Faculty, Harvard Graduate School of Education
More speakers to be announced soon.
Top Story
from longtime clerk to Assistant Director
MPS alumnus David Nieves has been a longtime leader of the MPS on the inside and since coming home. He brings experience from clinician, programming, and executive leadership roles at Exodus Transitional Community, and his appointment as the program's first Assistant Director is a major development for Justice Pathways @ Union. His role will be instrumental in helping the MPS program and Union more broadly promote transformational leadership development and systemic change.
Contact David Nieves: dnieves@uts.columbia.edu
MPS alumna Deb Pretlow — the first graduate of the MPS program at Bedford Hills to serve as main preacher — led the 31st annual Rye Presbyterian Church & Justice Service, a milestone for her and a reminder of how far MPS voices are carrying.
Listen to the sermonHistoric Sermon
first MPS at Bedford Hills graduate to be main preacher at Rye
Now an Official Host Site
an official host site since fall 2025
Coming Home, a signature program of Communities for Healing and Justice led by MPS faculty member Dr. Dawn Ravella, has been a longtime reentry support organization for MPS alums — and is led by MPS alums. Coming Home came to Union in fall 2025 and is now an official host site for the program, deepening our commitment to accompanying people returning from incarceration.
Read the storyOpen enrollment
featuring MPS faculty and alumni
Union's lifelong learning programs feature MPS faculty and alumni including Eric Waters, Dr. John Ducksworth, and Mujahideen Muhammad. MPS alumni can use code MPS100 for 100% off any program.
Register now →Public Course
Friday, Sept. 25, 4–8pm & Saturday, Sept. 26, 9am–3pm · Hybrid
Federica Coppola & Mujahideen Muhammad
MPS alumni use code MPS100 for 100% off.
Register →Public Course
Sundays Sept. 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18 · 6:00–8:30pm · Online
John Ducksworth & Eric Waters
MPS alumni use code MPS100 for 100% off.
Register →Also offered in 2026–2027 · MPS alumni use MPS100 for all programs
2025–2026
tap a heading to open the story
Inside: the graduation that brought sixteen students across the stage, public witness, and the events and partnerships that carried the work from Sing Sing and Bedford Hills into the wider world.
open each story below to read more
Commencement · June 2026
sixteen graduates. two prisons. one Union.
swipe →
In June, sixteen students crossed the stage — ten at Sing Sing and six at Bedford Hills, marking the 44th Sing Sing graduation and the 4th Bedford Hills graduation. It was President Serene Jones's final official act as President of Union, and every voice in the room seemed to carry it.
the year in motion
in community, in the classroom, and in partnership
Union hosts
Union hosted Histories of Incarceration, a public conversation situating today's carceral landscape within its longer history — bringing scholars, practitioners, and directly-impacted leaders into shared inquiry together.
Event detailsBeyond · NY premiere
Union partnered with Hudson Link to co-host the New York premiere of the documentary Beyond at DOC NYC.
Film detailsBook Talk
Alumnus and professor Eric Waters hosted a public book talk this year, drawing scholars, practitioners, and community members into conversation.
Event detailspartnerships & convenings
National Advisory Board
President Serene Jones, Rev. Dr. Willie Francois, and Professor and MPS alumnus Eric Waters were named to the national advisory board for Liberatory Learning: Building Character and Community through Collaborative Education, a program of Columbia University's Center for Justice. It is part of a large-scale national grant initiative funded by the Lilly Endowment and run by Wake Forest University.
Read the announcementRehabilitation Through the Arts
Union co-sponsored RTA's Alumni Homecoming, celebrating thirty years of artistic excellence and community leadership.
Read moreColumbia Center for Justice
Union again co-sponsored the annual gathering of scholars, advocates, artists, and directly-impacted leaders from across the country.
Read moreFreedom Agenda
Union deepened its partnership with Freedom Agenda, the member-led organizing project working to close Rikers Island and build community-based alternatives to incarceration.
Learn moremedia, news, and scholarship
podcasts, op-eds, reports, and chapters
Alumni Scholarship
MPS alumni Mujahideen Muhammad, Paul V. Cortez, Raymond A. Wallace, Jr., and Michael Shane Hale co-authored a chapter in The Real Pain of Punishment (Cambridge University Press).
Cambridge University PressMedia
Union sponsored an episode of The Marshall Project's podcast, extending the program's public witness into one of the country's leading voices on criminal justice journalism.
The Marshall Project podcastsOp-Ed · January 29, 2026
Rev. Dr. Serene Jones and Rev. Fred Davie on the spiritual and civic call to end mass incarceration.
Read at amNewYorkOp-Ed · January 4, 2026
Mujahideen Muhammad and Serene Jones make the case for second chances and the Second Look Act.
Read at Times UnionPolicy Report
A major new report calling on New York to pass the Second Look Act — co-authored by MPS alumnus Mujahideen Muhammad.
Read the reportMoments from the life of the program
classrooms, convenings, and community
mark your calendar
another date to save
Columbia Center for Justice
Prison Labor, Angola, and the Long Shadow of Slavery — a conversation with Norris Henderson, Samantha Kennedy, and Joshua Sbicca. September 17, 7:00–8:30 p.m. EST, Zoom.
Register →Sing Sing Prison Museum & Carnegie Hall
A free evening of storytelling and live music on the theme of Care, presented with Carnegie Hall's Musical Connections. 7:00–8:30 p.m., Union Chapel.
Register →Communities for Healing and Justice
(Nearly all) Wednesday evenings, 6:00–7:00 p.m., at Union. A shared supper for the Coming Home community. RSVP to David Nieves in advance.
RSVP to David Nieves →