Jim Verhoye, PhD

Jim Verhoye, Ph.D., grew up in San Diego, CA, where he completed a BA and MA in Communication Studies at San Diego State University. He then completed a PhD in Communication Stud­ies at the University of Minnesota, during which time he worked as a Research Assistant in the Medical School training fourth year medical students in smoking cessation counseling skills. During the course of his career Jim has taught as an adjunct college instruc­tor at both two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Early in his teaching career he taught his first college class in a prison, which was his introduction to the field of Correctional Education. Over the course of twenty years Jim worked in five Minnesota state prisons as a college teacher and Education Director, and served as the president of the Minnesota chapter of the Correctional Education Association for two years during that time.

Most recently Jim worked as a consultant for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Office. In this role he provided consultation on three projects—providing technical assistance for the Minnesota Correctional Higher Education Partnership (HEP), working with college and university campus liaisons, Minnesota Department of Corrections Education leadership, and Minnesota State System Office leadership to ensure the successful transition to full Pell Grant restoration for incarcerated students in Minnesota State prisons; providing technical assistance to the Partners for Reentry Opportunities in Workforce Development (PROWD) grant, which is designed to help incarcerated individuals prepare for and find employment during reentry. PROWD is a cooperative program overseen by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Labor; and, providing technical assistance to the Ability to Benefit project, which is a dual enrollment program offered through a provision of U.S. Department of Education federal financial aid policy.