Join us tomorrow, Sept. 17 for BPI'S 4TH ANNUAL DAY OF GIVING!Changing the soundtrack of our lives, by Jule Hall
Jail has a way of warping time. Changes on the outside world are locked away from those inside. Upon his release after serving 17 locked-up years, Jule recounts the moment he first sets eyes on a smartphone. The prison noises he is escaping — the yelling, the constant blaring of the radio, metal-on-metal echoing of cell bars — are replaced by the incessant pings and notifications of his new iPhone. His novice observations about the technology we wrap our lives around reveal a truth that perhaps we can no longer see ourselves.
Students Talk About the BardBac Program
The BardBac is a community of adult scholars pursuing BA degrees at Bard College.
A project of the Bard Prison Initiative — Bard’s response to the crisis of mass incarceration — the BardBac was launched in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The BardBac seeks adult learners whose educations have been interrupted or deterred, who are hungry for robust intellectual inquiry, and who are eager to make new, extraordinary contributions to their communities.
22nd Commencement
In spring 2024, BPI convened its 22nd Commencement across four ceremonies — on Bard’s main campus, at two prisons for men, as well as BPI’s first bachelor’s graduation at a prison for women — conferring more than 100 degrees. Graduates of the class of 2024 had the honor of hearing from multiple commencement speakers— Earth Scientist Naomi Oreskes on Bard’s main campus, Lieutenant Governor of New York Antonio Delgado at Woodbourne Correctional Facility and at Albion Correctional Facility for women Susan Burton, founder and executive director of A New Way of Life Reentry Project delivered the commencement address and also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
Inside a completely free program at Bard Microcollege
Bard at BPL was featured on a CBS New York story, highlighting the tuition-free Bard Microcollege model. Alumni Anastasia Neree ’24 and Delano Burrowes ’21s peak about their journeys as Microcollege students. BPI’s Director of Admission, Madeleine George, was also on hand to describe the unique admissions process BPI deploys across campuses in prison and in the community to engage adult students in this full scholarship Bard AA opportunity.
WMHT Public Media Features Bard Prison Initiative in New Series: Work in Progress
New York capital region’s public media network WMHT recently featured the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) in its new video series, Work in Progress, which shares stories of people navigating a rapidly changing economy and how they respond to the evolving needs and conditions of work.
70: College Behind Bars
Josh interviews Lynn Novick, Sarah Botstein, and Salih Israil about the PBS Documentary Series “College Behind Bars.”
“I remember sitting in class and thinking [that all of these ideas were] new to us. And I begin to reflect on my own actions ... Ironically, through these discussions, I began to truly feel free.”
Jamal Armstead ’23
Episode 29: Schools in Prison
Josie Duffy Rice and co-host Derecka Purnell are joined by Dyjuan Tatro and Wesley Caines to talk about education in prisons.
11th BPI Commencement
May 31, 2014, Woodbourne: Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney is honored at BPI’s eleventh commencement ceremony. One student returns after release to graduate.
12th BPI Commencement
January 24, 2015, Eastern: Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, receives an honorary degree from Bard College at BPI’s 12th commencement ceremony.
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