The Center for Prison Education and Research (PEAR) emerged from two decades of prison-related work in the English Department and the Appalachian Prison Book Project. The Center’s mission is to improve educational access for people imprisoned in the Appalachian region and to generate experiential learning and research opportunities for WVU students and faculty. The Center also organizes campus and community events that explore solutions to the crisis of mass incarceration. See the PEAR website for more information.