Beginning the Work
The establishment of the BPI was inspired by the recognition that access to a quality college education is unusual in America today, and institutions of punishment — prisons and jails — had become the defining public institutions of our time.
In 1999, BPI launched as a pilot program with 15 students. Despite the decimation of the field in 1994, BPI knew that incarcerated students still needed ambitious college-in-prison, and investing in it was critical to address the harms of mass incarceration.
Doing this when the work was facing significant barriers required not only the fastidiousness of BPI’s staff but also the resolve and commitment of both students and peer advocates in the social justice and education spaces.
Making it Count
As of today, BPI has conferred 900+ degrees from Bard College. Our academic programs, and the advocacy of alumni and staff, have transformed the negative impacts of criminal punishment and created radical inroads of access and opportunity to higher learning.
BPI now operates in seven correctional facilities in NY State and currently enrolls over 400 incarcerated students.
BPI also works to bring tuition-free, full-time liberal arts education to spaces outside of prison through the BardBaccalaureate — a full-scholarship bachelor’s degree program on Bard’s Annandale, NY campus for adult students — and its associates degree-granting Microcolleges which bring higher education to communities often excluded from the university experience in partnership with local organizations in Holyoke, MA; Brooklyn, NY; and Harlem, NY.
Through the national Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison, BPI cultivates, supports, and establishes college-in-prison programs in partnership with colleges and universities across the country.
Beyond 25
For the last quarter century, BPI has embodied an unwavering commitment to rigorous, liberal arts education.
Celebrating 25 years of BPI isn’t just a milestone; it is a testament to the tenacity of the alumni, students, faculty, and every person who has been a part of BPI over the years. In this moment of reflection and joy, we honor what determination and fortitude have made possible.
Stay with BPI during this 25th year as we continue to forge forward with radical imagination, defying expectations of who college is for and where it might lead.
Our persistence in this work has never faltered, and every milestone, every moment of growth, has been an opportunity to pause and reflect on the accomplishments achieved and look ahead to the horizons yet to face. To explore all of BPI’s milestones over the past 25 years, visit the Timeline.
BPI’s work is made possible by a diverse community of funders and supporters like you.
Your support sustains BPI’s college-in-prison campuses, holistic Reentry & Alumni Affairs programs for people returning home, and BPI’s work in communities and institutions across the country through the Bard Microcolleges, the BardBaccalaureate, and the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison.
Will you join us in celebrating 25 years? Every gift helps BPI continue our groundbreaking work to redefine college access.
For more information about how your support helps the Bard Prison Initiative operate, please visit Your Impact, or contact bpidevelopment@bard.edu.
