Ann Duncan named GPEP's executive director

Ann W. Duncan, the Susan D. Morgan Professor of American Studies and Religion at Goucher, has been named executive director of the Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP).

“Ann is a tireless advocate and educator,” says Provost Elaine Meyer-Lee. “With her deep commitment to Goucher and our students, I am confident that her leadership will help GPEP continue excelling as a national model for student success as the partnership continues into its second decade.”

Duncan has been a Goucher faculty member since 2009 and has been increasingly involved in GPEP over the past four years as she assumed responsibility for the American Studies Program, which all GPEP students are enrolled in.

For more than a decade, GPEP has been a national leader in providing an excellent in-person education to incarcerated students. Rooted in Goucher College’s mission of access, equity, and social justice in higher education, GPEP enrolls approximately 130 students each year in two Maryland prisons, the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCIW) and the Maryland Correctional Institution-Jessup (MCIJ). These Goucher students enroll in the same classes and curriculum taught on the main Towson campus.

Building on the strong foundation established by the staff and previous leaders, Duncan will oversee the implementation of GPEP’s expansive five-year plan, which is currently in year two and is focused on increasing student academic opportunities, moving GPEP students from part-time to full-time status, decreasing the average time to degree completion from nine and a half years to five years, and building a more robust support system for GPEP students returning home.

Duncan has already begun implementation of key elements of GPEP’s five-year plan. In the past year, she was the adviser for the first two GPEP students to complete a senior honors thesis. She also introduced a community partnership and community-based learning opportunity in her course at MCIW with Sharp Street United Methodist Church, which was founded in 1787 as the first African American Methodist congregation in Baltimore.

Additionally, Meredith Conde, director of college operations, will be promoted to director of operations and prison affairs for GPEP. In this capacity, Conde will have primary authority and decision-making in all prison affairs. She will continue to oversee class planning, staff recruiting, screening, hiring, training, and evaluating, in addition to being an academic advisor to a subset of GPEP students. With her background in urban education, she brings a student-centered approach and trauma-informed care to her work. Conde has been a member of the GPEP leadership team for more than four years.

GPEP students’ success continues to grow. Over the years, students and graduates have earned Phi Beta Kappa awards and prestigious fellowships while advocating for change. Those accomplishments continue. For more information on GPEP, please visit www.goucher.edu/gpep.