History of Project Rebound

PROJECT REBOUND (established 1967)

Project Rebound was created in 1967, by the late Professor John Irwin. Dr. John Irwin, formerly incarcerated himself, earned his Doctorate and taught at San Francisco State. He created Project Rebound to assist students from the juvenile or adult justice system with the enrollment process. 

In 1952, John Irwin (1929-2010) robbed a gas station and served a five-year prison term for armed robbery in Soledad Prison. During his time in prison, he earned 24 college credits through a university extension program. After his release from prison, Irwin earned a B.A. from UCLA, a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, and then served as a Professor of Sociology and Criminology at San Francisco State University for 27 years, during which he became known internationally as an expert on the U.S. prison system.

In 1967, Dr. Irwin created Project Rebound as a way to matriculate people into San Francisco State University directly from the criminal justice system. Since the program’s inception, hundreds of formerly incarcerated people have obtained bachelor’s degrees and beyond.

Starting 2016, with the support of the Opportunity Institute and the CSU Chancellor Timothy White, Project Rebound expanded beyond San Francisco State into a consortium of eventually fourteen CSU campus programs.

 CAL STATE EAST BAY PROJECT REBOUND (established 2022)

In 2022, Cal State East Bay joined the Project Rebound Consortium as the fifteenth campus program. This faculty-led initiative was spearheaded by Drs. Eileen Barrett, Juleen Lam, Julie Beck, and Meiling Wu, with strong support from administration led by Interim Provost Kimberly Greer and President Cathy Sandeen. Under the leadership of Executive Director Eileen Barrett, Project Rebound celebrated a strong first year and the program grew quickly. Following Dr. Barrett's retirement from the university in 2023, Dr. Juleen Lam was hired as the incoming Executive Director and has led the program since August.