Profile | College Behind Bars

College Behind Bars Making an Impact on the Field of College in Prison

When College Behind Bars premiered four years ago on PBS and later moved to Netflix, it served as an introduction for many people to learn about college-in-prison. Since the film’s airing, there have been many policy wins for the field of college education in… Read More 

Profile | Alumni News

Alumni Voices: From BPI to MBA – A Bard Graduate Degree First

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 

Profile | College

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 

Communications | Alumni Affairs

Education Programs: Using Restorative Justice to Transform The Educational Space

The Bard Prison Initiative Education Fellowship is in full swing. This year we have four dedicated and creative cohorts. They are working at various junctures in the educational space, but their mission to foster more equity, more social and emotional awareness in the public… Read More 

Profile | Advocacy / Policy

TAP Fellow Opinion: In Pursuit of Educational Equity & Justice

I have never felt utter despair and failure more than when I began my incarceration. That was the most difficult, seemingly hopeless point of my life—rock bottom, so to speak. I ultimately served a decade in prison. My life took yet another unexpected turn from… Read More 

Profile | Alumni Affairs

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 

Profile | Alumni Advocacy

Alumni Reflection Essay: The Fight Beyond the Wall

Alumnus Shawn Young '19 was invited to participate in BPI's Community Engagement in Public Health & Public Education Internship stipend program on March 13, 2020 - the day that COVID shut everything down. His original proposal to run a reentry support group through Citizen Action… Read More 

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