W&L’s Office of Community-Based Learning Names Quinn Lester Inaugural Carceral Collaboration Initiative Fellow The visiting assistant professor of politics will design a Spring Term course on the politics of utopia that will bring together W&L students and incarcerated peers.

By Brian Laubscher
November 12, 2026

The Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL) at Washington and Lee University has named Quinn Lester, visiting assistant professor of politics, its inaugural Carceral Collaboration Initiative Fellow for the 2026-27 academic year.

The Carceral Collaboration Initiative aims to expand and deepen CBL’s partnerships with local and regional carceral institutions, offering diverse opportunities for W&L students to learn side-by-side with incarcerated students. The initiative is part of W&L’s larger commitment to civic and community engagement.

“Being able to partner with a carceral institution and combine students from both the outside and inside is a rare opportunity, and it shows community-based learning at its best in connecting W&L students to first-hand experiences and learning beyond the campus classroom,” Lester said.

Lester, who is a member of the CBL Faculty Collaborative, frequently researches questions of democratic justice and the function of police within liberal democracies. His teaching often focuses on how mass incarceration and the American democracy have grown together. As the Carceral Collaboration Initiative Fellow, Lester is developing a Spring Term course on the politics of utopia that will bring W&L students and incarcerated peers together at the Western Virginia Regional Jail in Salem, Virginia.

“I am very excited for this unique course to bring W&L and incarcerated students together to share with each other their perspectives and imagine together what building ‘utopia’ means for them,” Lester said.

The course will expose both groups to various aspects of each other’s lives and will be Lester’s first opportunity to work directly with the people most affected by the criminal justice system: incarcerated people themselves.

“I am thrilled that Quinn has dedicated his time and expertise to develop a course that will allow W&L students and incarcerated individuals to explore the politics of utopia from inside prison walls,” said Sascha Goluboff, director of Community-Based Learning and professor of cultural anthropology. “This course will provide a unique opportunity for both groups to expand their civic and intellectual knowledge.”

Lester returned to the W&L faculty in 2026 after two years as a postdoctoral teaching fellow at Johns Hopkins University and one year as a visiting assistant professor at George Washington University. He also served as a visiting assistant professor of politics at W&L in 2022. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in politics and religious studies from Pomona College and a Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins.

CBL supports, enhances and develops mutually beneficial, reciprocal collaborations that enrich engaged teaching and learning while advancing community interests. CBL’s educational approach integrates learning and mentorship with community engagement through reciprocal community partnerships and critical reflection.