By Max Kenner Mr. Kenner is the founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative at Bard College. A change taking place right now has the potential to do more good within U.S. prisons than any policy in a generation — good that will extend… Read More
Program: The College
Bard Prison Initiative expands to accept transfers as Medaille, Alliance programs close
By Jesse King A college-in-prison program put on by Bard College is picking up the slack following the collapse of two private university programs earlier this year. The Bard Prison Initiative has been enrolling incarcerated students in degree programs at prisons across New York for… Read More
Press Release: BARD PRISON INITIATIVE ACCEPTS TRANSFER STUDENTS AND EXPANDS AS TWO COLLEGES CLOSE
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
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
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
Prison vs. Harvard: The Debate Rematch
The Bard Prison Initiative team has built an impressive record—and international reputation—since its unlikely 2015 victory By Corinne Ramey NAPANOCH, N.Y.—The Harvard College Debating Union wanted a rematch. The team had suffered a hard loss in 2015 to a group of talented debaters, drawing international attention. So… Read More
BPI Reads: Scenes From My Life
BPI’s community reading event brings together students, faculty, and staff in and out of prison. At the start of each new year, BPI hosts its annual community reading event, BPI Reads. Through this event, BPI students, faculty, and staff reflect and engage in conversation around… Read More
Community Updates: Gardening Across BPI’s Campuses
The gardens at Fishkill, Taconic, and Woodbourne are all put to bed for the winter. We had a challenging season, with little water and a lot of heat, but students at all three facilities worked in solidarity with the plants they were growing, all… Read More
BPI Debate Union
Since 2014, almost 100 students have been members of the BPI Debate Union, building a successful record against debaters from internationally respected programs including teams such as Harvard, Cambridge, and Morehouse. Read More
Looking Back: JSTOR’s origins in prison
Recently ITHAKA S+R has made a major push to expand access to JSTOR inside prisons not just for incarcerated college students but to increase access to academic journals for all incarcerated people. This development comes more than a decade after BPI pioneered the idea… Read More