Emergency and disaster planning professionals commonly recognize the necessity of community participation in research, policy implementation, and practices promoting effective disaster preparedness. This is particularly essential for institutions serving society’s most vulnerable populations: those in precarious housing situations. And though institutions that provide housing… Read More
Health and Safety Resources for the BPI Community (updated)
This post first appeared March 16th, 2020 and has been continually updated since then. For nearly a decade, BPI has been committed to engaging public health as a rewarding area of academic study and a promising career field, ripe for the contributions our alumni are… Read More
Still Behind Bars: Education and the Meaning of Freedom – A Passover Haggadah Supplement
Dear Friends, In 2014, BPI created a Haggadah supplement in partnership with Rev. Vivian Nixon, Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts II, Bard President Leon Botstein, and author Anya Kamenetz. Over the years, we have been delighted by the response and, following many requests, are pleased… Read More
Faculty Opinion: Pandemics, Prisons, and Public Health
Dr. Bob Fullilove has been Senior Advisor, Public Health Program at BPI for 10 years. He also is the Associate Dean, Community and Minority Affairs at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. He will be reflecting on the COVID-19 crisis in this space… Read More
Weathering the Storm
Dear Friend, Two weeks ago today was the last day BPI was physically in the prisons — our longest hiatus in 20 years. Immediately, there was more work to do than ever. Facing a crisis, we rallied quickly. With colleagues around the state, we began advocating… Read More
Alumni Opinion: Immediate Action Needed for people in NY Jails and Prisons
Through the COVID-19 crisis BPI alumni will be posting reflections about their work and response to the virus here. This is the first in a series. By Darren Mack, '13 Jails and prisons are hotbeds for the spread of coronavirus. Social distancing and self-isolation for the… Read More
Appeal to Governor Cuomo
On March 20th, our executive director joined leaders of a dozen other criminal justice agencies in New York -- all members of the Governor's Reentry Council -- urging Governor Cuomo to use his power and preempt a COVID crisis within the state prison system.… Read More
COVID-19 Glossary of Terms
Coronavirus A family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The novel coronavirus recently discovered has been named SARS-CoV-2 and it causes COVID-19. COVID-19 The name of… Read More
Sticking Together
Dear Friends, At BPI, our team takes pride in describing this work with language like proximity, community, and human touch. Yesterday, however, we made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend BPI operations within the prisons. The demand to ‘isolate’ contradicts every impulse. However, there is now an imperative to… Read More
Apply to Bard Microcollege at Brooklyn Public Library!
Admissions is now open for the Bard at Brooklyn Public Library Microcollege. Program Director Christopher Perez wrote this revised letter below encouraging interested future students to apply and explaining how the admissions process has been adjusted because of COVID-19. Check it out below and… Read More