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The associate professor of religion helps shape the perspectives of his undergraduates not only at the University, but also at area prisons.

鈥檚 commitment to social justice stems from a deeply personal experience. His father, John T. Downey, was a CIA operative who was shot down over Manchuria in 1952, during the Korean War, presumed dead for years, and held in prison for more than 20 years鈥�.

After his release, Downey went on to marry a Chinese woman he met at Yale University. Jack, their only child, was born in 1980.

鈥淕rowing up with a father who had been incarcerated gave me an appreciation for what incarceration can do to a person,鈥� the younger Downey says. 鈥淗e was in solitary confinement for half of those 20 years. His withdrawal of liberty has been a constant in my mind.鈥�

It鈥檚 a major reason Downey, the John Henry Newman Professor of Roman Catholic Studies at the University of Rochester, has taught at correctional facilities as well as in college classrooms for more than a decade. He鈥檚 part of the University鈥檚 (REJI), which supports incarcerated students through a rigorous college degree-granting program that includes coursework in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Downey teaches at Groveland Correctional Facility during the spring semester and at Attica Correctional Facility in the fall.

Although Downey only joined the University in 2019, his impact has already been felt on and off the River Campus. As Amina N鈥橤ambwa 鈥�21 says, 鈥淧rofessor Downey鈥檚 class transformed the way I think about my own relationship with the world around me.鈥�

A reluctant teacher finds his niche

Downey didn鈥檛 catch the teaching bug until the latter part of his doctoral program at Fordham University, when he was, in his words, 鈥渇orced鈥� to teach some classes. 鈥淚 have a healthy amount of social anxiety when it comes to public speaking,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 seem like it would fit my personality. But then I really took to it.鈥�

Because he looked younger than his years, Downey was often mistaken for being an undergraduate. 鈥淚 felt compelled to present myself in a way that was more authoritative,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut I never could pull it off. It鈥檚 not me.鈥�

In 2012, Downey landed at LaSalle University in Philadelphia; he had his first experience teaching at a prison soon after. That鈥檚 how he met , an associate professor of religion with Rochester鈥檚 and the founder and director of REJI.

鈥淲e asked him to come to LaSalle to give a talk about his first book, which was about a chapel in a state prison outside of Philadelphia,鈥� Downey says, referring to Dubler鈥檚 book, Down in the Chapel: Religious Life in an American Prison (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013). 鈥淚t turns out the people he profiled were people I knew from my work in prison. We became fast friends.鈥�

Dubler eventually told Downey about an opening on the faculty at Rochester in 2019. The position appealed to him for two main reasons: it was an endowed chair in Catholic studies, and because Rochester had a program teaching incarcerated people. The results have been impactful.

鈥淛ack is a life-changing teacher, both for our traditional students on the River Campus and our incarcerated students at Attica and Groveland,鈥� Dubler says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 truly an exceptional teacher.鈥�

When classes on the River Campus moved online in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Downey adjusted to Zoom instruction as other faculty did. That fall, police body-camera video was released of Daniel Prude, a Black man who experienced a mental health crisis and died earlier that year. Protests grew in the city of Rochester amid a national reckoning with racial inequalities in the US criminal justice system.

That fall semester, Downey was teaching RELC 284: Civil Disobedience via Zoom. 鈥淭he only time I would see my students in person was at night, at the protests,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was a very compelling time. Students were Zooming in to class outside a protest in front of the mayor鈥檚 office.鈥�

The power of higher education in prisons

Downey says the classes he teaches at area prisons are among his favorites.

鈥淭he students are so driven and motivated,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ome are looking at double-digit years in prison, and they鈥檝e decided they want a bachelor鈥檚 degree. People say I should give them bite-sized homework because they haven鈥檛 been in school in a long time. But often if I tell them to read three chapters, they鈥檒l read the whole book.鈥�

No greater compliment comes from the many incarcerated persons at Attica, a maximum-security facility about an hour鈥檚 drive from the city of 糖心logo who have told him, 鈥淚 had a chance to go to a medium-security prison, but I turned it down to stay in your class.鈥� Downey says 鈥渋t鈥檚 overwhelming鈥� when he hears such feedback.

It was after a class at Attica that a new course idea was hatched. Downey was waiting for clearance from security guards to leave and was chatting with his students. He asked what they wanted to talk about, and many said 鈥渁liens.鈥� They had recently watched the show Ancient Aliens on the History Channel.

鈥淭here was something moving about these men who spend so much time in really austere conditions, unable to move much physically, and yet they鈥檙e spending considerable time imagining intergalactic travel,鈥� Downey says.

He started a course called Beam Me Up! Aliens and the American Imagination, which he teaches at the River Campus and at Attica. He hopes to one day integrate classes between Rochester students and those incarcerated, something he accomplished at LaSalle.

There is perhaps no greater testament to Downey鈥檚 abilities as a teacher that those expressed in a thank-you letter written by the students in his spring 2022 class at Groveland titled Theories of Religion:

鈥淓ach of us could tell you something that we are thankful for, including the education and the higher understanding of religions. But there is something of more value that you havegiven us鈥攕omething that most of us haven鈥檛 had or felt in many years. You have given us a connection to the outside world, a connection to freedom!鈥�

What students say about Jack Downey

鈥淲hat truly sets Jack apart is his transformative teaching style driven by a genuine passion. He engages students in deep discussions, fueling curiosity, and encouraging critical thinking. Jack鈥檚 willingness to challenge our perspectives creates a safe and inclusive space for intellectual exploration. Moreover, his dedication to educating incarcerated students at Attica and Groveland is extraordinary, demonstrating the transformative power of education and fostering inclusivity within the UR community.鈥�
鈥擬ohammed Bah 鈥�23

鈥淗is unique classroom environment and extraordinary selection of literature created one of my most valuable, memorable, and favorite classes in my college career thus far (Civil Disobedience). Jack has an incredible, yet effortless, teaching style that defies the normal student-teacher power dynamic.鈥�
鈥擥race Galati 鈥�25

鈥淧rofessor Downey understands that a part of grooming young scholars is supporting them as people. He creates a productive and comfortable space for people to learn and grow by honoring them as full people.鈥�
鈥擸aa Baker 鈥�22