Donald Roden of Hillsborough spearheaded an effort to save young offenders escape a cycle of crime and incarceration by helping them obtain an education. Building upon an existing program at Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility, Roden helped create a pilot partnership between the facility and Rutgers University, where he is an associate professor of history. By helping with applications for admission and financial aid, Roden is paving the way for the successful re-entry into society. To date, there are five former Mountainview residents enrolled at Rutgers University College; two have maintained B-averages and one received straight A’s last fall. Eight more have applied for admission in the fall of 2007.

Update 11/9/2022 ” Since its inception, Mountainview has enrolled 110 former inmates. Twenty-five have earned bachelor’s degrees, five have received master’s degrees, and 49 are current students. The program’s graduates have an overall 3.1 grade point average, with one former inmate having attained a perfect 4.0.

Most important, only 5.3 percent of those admitted to Rutgers through the Mountainview program have been convicted again, a recidivism rate significantly below that of nonparticipants.”