Ahnen teaches courses on human rights and prison reform, such as “Ending Sentences: Life Behind and Beyond Bars,” "International Relations" and "Just and Unjust Wars." A prisoner’s rights advocate, Ahnen is also president of California Prison Focus - a human rights advocacy group working to abolish the state’s prison system in its present condition. 

Ahnen can address many issues related to incarceration, including the California prison overcrowding crisis, recidivism and the recent hunger strike by inmates in the state's solidarity confinement units.

Ahnen also speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese. He can be reached by e-mail at rahnen@stmarys-ca.edu or by phone at 925-631-4584.  For assistance in reaching the professor, or with another news topic, please contact Director of Media Relations Mike McAlpin at 925-631-4222 (office), 925-878-9535 (cell) or by email at mdm5@stmarys-ca.edu.