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
BPI Blog
Tag: Alumni
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
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… Read More
Bard MBA Student, BPI Alum wins Mid-Hudson Business Plan Competition, Three Other Bard Teams Compete
This first appeared in Lead The Change: A Resource for Aspiring Leaders in Sustainability Stacy Burnett has a powerful idea to shake up the big-business of prison re-entry: hire formerly incarcerated people to mentor folks who are newly released. Stacy, a current Bard MBA student,… 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
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
Black History Month Alumni Voices: The Sentimental Student
For BPI, every month is a month to study and celebrate Black History. As Bard College students, BPI students become scholars in their own right, not just absorbing course material but producing vital contributions to the literature. This February we asked BPI alumni what… Read More
Alumni Voices: Jose Pérez ’13
On the onset of the pandemic, BPI developed a newsletter that was sent to incarcerated students weekly to retain communication between students and the college. The newsletter contained news and updates from across BPI’s 7 in-prison campuses; the Bard Microcolleges in Holyoke, Brooklyn, and… Read More
Celebrating the launch of The Lilac House
The program, part of A New Way of Life's SAFE Housing Network, will bring needed resources to formerly incarcerated women in Westchester, NY. I founded The Lilac House project in April of 2022. The organization will address the lack of transitional housing for formerly incarcerated… Read More
Alumni Voices: Patrick Stephens ’19
On the onset of the pandemic, BPI developed a newsletter that was sent to incarcerated students weekly to retain communication between students and the college. The newsletter contained news and updates from across BPI’s 7 in-prison campuses; the Bard Microcolleges in Holyoke, Brooklyn, and… Read More