FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BARD PRISON INITIATIVE ACCEPTS TRANSFER STUDENTS AND EXPANDS AS TWO COLLEGES CLOSE ANNANDALE-ON-HUSON, NY — This summer and fall, in response to two coinciding college-in-prison program closures, the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) at Bard College has undertaken an unprecedented transfer and enrollment project… Read More
Author:
Jessica Neptune
Commitment to Access: A Conversation about the Unconventional and College-in-Prison
This conversation between BPI alumnus Elías Beltrán ‘17 and Megan Callaghan, the program’s Dean, touches upon Elías’s upcoming transition to BPI faculty, the necessity of reframing college-in-prison, and the power and impact of creating educational opportunities for those who struggle to be recognized as… Read More
We Are Hiring a Global Research Fellow
The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) seeks applicants for the second annual BPI Global Research Fellow for the study of education in prison. The twelve-month Fellowship begins September 2023 and this year is designed to support a writer or journalist who can tell powerful stories… Read More
Desmond Meade Will Give the Commencement Address for the 21st BPI Commencement
BPI is proud to announce Desmond Meade will give the commencement address for the 21st BPI Commencement at Eastern Correctional Facility on June 3rd, 2023, and will earn an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bard College. 63 incarcerated Bard students have earned degrees… Read More
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: 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
Community Voices: Dean Ansell’s remarks at Emerson Prison Initiative’s First Commencement
On September 27th the Emerson Prison Initiative held a historic celebration: the first Emerson College BA ceremony at MCI Concord and the first BA ceremony ever held at the facility. These amended remarks were given that day by Amy Ansell, Dean of the Marlboro… Read More
BPI Completes Fourth Annual Summer Residency
The BPI Summer Residency is a professional development opportunity that provides hands-on, experiential training in the hows, whys, and whats of BPI’s approach to college-in-prison. This July, emerging college-in-prison educators and practitioners from California, Oregon, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Missouri, New York, and Hawai’i as well… Read More
BPI Summer Residency: What to Know Before You Arrive
Schedule Check here for information on the workshops and schedule for the week. A more detailed printed version will be provided at check-in. Getting Here For directions and area information, please refer to the Bard College Visitors page, here. The nearest train station is in Rhinecliff. Visit… Read More
BPI Adds a New Location at Albion Correctional Facility: Hiring New Faculty!
BPI’s newest campus at Albion Correctional Facility, a medium-security women's prison, is now open! This spring, BPI extended a warm welcome to the inaugural cohort, who began their Bardian careers this spring, immersing themselves in the traditional Language and Thinking workshop and utilizing the… Read More