In May Stacy Burnett became the first BPI alum to earn a Bard graduate degree. In this quarter’s newsletter to BPI students inside, Stacy described her educational journey. It is replicated here. I earned my first degree—an MBA in Sustainability—in May 2023 from Bard's Graduate Programs… Read More
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Black History Month Alumni Voices: The Sentimental Student
For BPI, every month is a month to study and celebrate Black History. As Bard College students, BPI students become scholars in their own right, not just absorbing course material but producing vital contributions to the literature. This February we asked BPI alumni what… Read More
Alumni Voices: Jose Pérez ’13
On the onset of the pandemic, BPI developed a newsletter that was sent to incarcerated students weekly to retain communication between students and the college. The newsletter contained news and updates from across BPI’s 7 in-prison campuses; the Bard Microcolleges in Holyoke, Brooklyn, and… Read More
Alumni Voices: Patrick Stephens ’19
On the onset of the pandemic, BPI developed a newsletter that was sent to incarcerated students weekly to retain communication between students and the college. The newsletter contained news and updates from across BPI’s 7 in-prison campuses; the Bard Microcolleges in Holyoke, Brooklyn, and… Read More
Alumni Opinion: The Importance of TAP Restoration
The restoration of access to New York’s need-based Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for college-in-prison is monumental. Receiving an education behind bars permanently changed my life in many ways. A year into receiving my associate degree through the Bard Prison Initiative, there was no doubt… Read More
Alumni Voices: #TurnOnTheTAPNY
Following the 1994 federal Pell ban, New York banned incarcerated people from accessing the state's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) in 1995. As a result, the number of college-in-prison programs in New York fell from over 70 to 4. In her January 5, 2022 State of… Read More
Alumni Opinion: The trouble with the correction union: It’s a cheerleader for mass incarceration
BPI Alumnus Darren Mack ’13 writes about the Correction Officers Benevolent Association and its role in opposing recent efforts to close Rikers Island. His op-ed was first published in the New York Daily News and is reproduced below. For the past few months, the tragedy… Read More
Learning to Code: Alumni Reflect on Their Experience in BPI’s Restart Program
BPI launched Restart in 2018 through the generous support of the National Science Foundation to build bridges between computer science training in prison and computer science entrepreneurialism after prison. Through the Restart program, BPI explored the question: "does informal learning offer an under-utilized pathway for… Read More
BPI Alumni Weigh in on Significance of Newly Passed Less Is More Act
Yesterday saw a major legislative feat as the Less Is More Act passed out of the Senate 39-24 and then passed out of the Assembly at 89-60. This legislation has been driven by our allies in the field of criminal justice and especially by… Read More
Alumni Reflection Essay: Urban Vitality: The Affordable Housing Discourse in the City of Yonkers
Alumnus Jonathan Alvarez '19 participated in BPI's Community Engagement in Public Health & Public Education Internship stipend program, holding an internship with Community Governance & Development Council (CGDCNY). Below is his reflection on the experience of his internship. The new surge of high-rise developments in… Read More