Tufts, as an academic institution, prides itself on promoting the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. This past summer, the university took a huge step closer to these embodying values when the Tufts University Prison Initiative of the Tisch College of Civic Life hired its new Education and Reentry Director, David Delvalle. Delvalle is the first person hired by Tufts known to have been formerly incarcerated.
TUPIT is an on-campus organization that involves professors, students and staff in providing educational resources to currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. Hilary Binda, the executive director of TUPIT, provided a description of the organization in a statement to the Daily.
“In partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Correction, TUPIT provides college courses accredited by Tufts University and Bunker Hill Community College toward an associate degree in the liberal arts from [Bunker Hill Community College],” Binda wrote, “and a bachelor’s degree in Civic Studies from Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences, the very same degree earned by traditional Tufts students on the main campus.”
TUPIT also runs a program called MyTERN, in which each year, 15 formerly incarcerated students, both from the TUPIT program and outside of it, are selected and given access to “high quality education at no cost with reentry support in technology, personal finance, and restorative justice,” Binda wrote.
In 2016, Binda, along with the Massachusetts Department of Correction, founded the TUPIT organization with financial assistance of the Tisch College of Civic Life. David Delvalle was a student in one of the first classes in prison that Binda taught. The creation of TUPIT’s degree program surrounded Delvalle’s cohort of students, as they are the first cohort to gain a pathway to a bachelor’s degree at Tufts.
Through hard work and dedication, Delvalle was able to make his way from incarceration to being both accepted as an undergraduate student and hired as a Tufts employee. Delvalle’s path to success did not come without hardship.
“My upbringing was a little rough, to say the least. I had a lot of adverse childhood experiences,” Delvalle said. “I grew up in low-income housing my whole life. My mother was sick with cancer, my father was fighting a 15-year prison sentence for most of my life in the federal prison system and I had a daughter at 18 years old [which led me to] dropout of high school my senior year to get a job.”
Delvalle was able to get his GED but in 2016 was sentenced to 9 ½ to 10 ½ years in prison. He discovered TUPIT about a third of the way into his sentence.
“I was three years into my sentence, a little lost, just playing basketball and trying to pass the time, and I saw a flyer go up for a college in prison program,” Delvalle said. “I was nervous at first and super unsure of whether I was even able to go to college, but I figured I would take a chance on myself.”
Individuals are rarely able to pinpoint the moment the trajectory of their life changed. Had Delvalle not come across that flyer, this article may have never been written.
“My life changed the day I met Dr. Hilary Binda. She’s my educational fairy godmother,” Delvalle said. “She helped inspire me and give me the tools needed to become a change-maker in this world, and just instilled this confidence in me that has never wavered.”
Binda responded to Delvalle’s kind words in her statement to the Daily.
“I think ‘fairy godmother’ is an interesting term because it reflects the fact that my relationship to David and to many behind the wall is different from that of professor; there is so much more happening in that space than in a traditional classroom … it has required a deep partnership, a recognition of differences coupled with a shared commitment to hopes and goals.”
Upon Delvalle’s release in 2022, he was admitted to the MyTERN program. Louise Bond, a senior at Tufts majoring in sociology and Civic Studies, is a TUPIT student coordinator and worked with Delvalle in the program.
“I met him through [the MyTERN program] and we immediately became friends,” Bond said. “Anyone will tell you he’s a wonderful person who is also an incredible community leader and has dedicated himself fully to educational justice and believes in the transformational power of education.”
Having successfully completed the MyTERN program, Delvalle was accepted to Tufts as an undergraduate student and is currently taking classes towards a degree in Civic Studies; he is set to graduate in May 2026. He says his major “aligns beautifully” with his TUPIT position and the other work he does in the community.
As a student, Delvalle was welcomed by the Tufts community with open arms. “People, from staff to students, have embraced [me] because it’s weird, I’m younger than a lot of staff, but I’m older than a lot of students, so I’m in this middle ground where I get to kick it with everybody,” he said.
Upon his hiring, Delvalle was embraced by the people around him.
“When I found out that he had been officially hired, it was a huge celebratory moment for him, for me, for the program, for the community [and] for everyone who loves him,” Bond said.
Delvalle briefly described his role as education and reentry director of TUPIT. “I make sure that all students are getting the reentry services that they need with community partners,” he said.
Binda wrote to the Daily that she watched Delvalle transform from someone who listened quietly to now being a leader himself. “It’s especially moving to see the respect those early peers afford him,” Binda wrote.
Delvalle spoke of the pressure that comes along with setting new precedents at Tufts.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m representing my entire community and people from my walk of life, because if I succeed, then Tufts is more likely to open the door for somebody else, and if I fail, then they’re more likely to want to shut the door on the next individual who has a criminal record,” Delvalle said.
While Delvalle has occasional doubts and feelings of “imposter syndrome,” he reminds himself that he is qualified for his position and deserves his place at Tufts. Those who work with him agree, including Bond, who expressed her belief that Delvalle was a great fit for his position in TUPIT.
“Formerly incarcerated people who had their lives changed by their involvement in college [and] higher education in prison should be the ones leading these programs,” Bond said.
Delvalle’s hiring has the potential to spark new dialogue about academic institutions employing formerly incarcerated people — and not just in programs such as TUPIT.
“Having a criminal record shouldn’t be looked at as … something that would give them less value, when ultimately, in some spaces, it adds value,” Delvalle said. “A lot of people who are incarcerated have high levels of socio-emotional learning, have high levels of empathy, and are great individuals to be around … because when you’re incarcerated, all you have to represent yourself is your character and your integrity and your honor.”
Bond agreed with this sentiment and commented on hiring formerly incarcerated people. “It’s not just about eliminating the discrimination and … evening the playing field, but also recognizing that lived experience with incarceration can make you uniquely positioned to create change,” she said.
While DEIJ is at the forefront of academic institutions’ discourse, their actions don’t always reflect this focus.
“A lot of institutions talk about DEIJ and embracing people from other walks of life, but Tufts is actually doing it, so that puts them in a whole other category of inclusivity,” Delvalle said.
Originally, it was uncertain whether or not Delvalle would be hired to Tufts, despite his overwhelming qualifications, which begs the question: Will Tufts hire formerly incarcerated people in the future?
“I really hope that they see David not just as a one-time special exception, but as a first of many formerly incarcerated people to join Tufts and enrich the experience for everyone,” Bond said.
Binda wrote that TUPIT plans to hire more people that were formerly incarcerated as long as it receives enough money to do so.
“I’m grateful and I’m honored that Tufts is willing to take a chance on me. I will never disrespect that blessing,” Delvalle said. “I will do the best I can to represent everybody from my walk of life and understand that this is an opportunity to prove that anybody can come here and anybody can belong in this place. … And I’m hoping that I will not be the last.”
