A college education transformed [formerly incarcerated people's] lives. But some critics fear low-quality programs will rush in. Every time Vivian D. Nixon has publicly testified about the power of a college education to transform the lives of those behind bars, she’s drawn attention to one… Read More
BPI Blog
Tag: BPI
Five Years Since Harvard Win
This month marks the five year anniversary of the BPI Debate Union's win against Harvard in September 2015. While the team had been racking up wins since well before the Harvard match, the meet up with Harvard brought international attention to their efforts and… Read More
BPI Gardens in September
Since the spring when faculty first stopped going into the prisons in person, BPI students have received a weekly newsletter from the college informing them of important news, academic updates, writing prompts and math problems, messages from the community, and instructions on how to… Read More
BPI’s Work Continues Despite COVID-19
In March, BPI shifted our in-person work in the prisons to a distance model and in June students successfully completed the spring semester of more than 85 courses across six prisons. Although we were unable to hold commencement ceremonies in June, every student who… Read More
Faculty Opinion: Grading During a Pandemic
This reflection on teaching in the pandemic by Bard Microcollege Holyoke faculty Susanna Kohn is part of the Community Voices op-ed series. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, BPI alumni, staff, and faculty and Bard Microcollege students will be posting reflections about their work, studies, and response… Read More
Summer Residency 2020
Today we closed out our second annual BPI summer residency. This year's gathering was all virtual with members of BPI's Consortium For the Liberal Arts in Prison joining BPI staff on Zoom for two rich weeks packed with workshops on the nuts and bolts… Read More
Remembering David Kaiser
After a prolonged battle with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain cancer, we lost our friend David Kaiser last week. Only fifty years old, David leaves behind his wife, two daughters and a challenge to all of us. At BPI, we are proud that David counted… Read More
BPI 20th Anniversary Commencement Retrospective
While COVID forced us to postpone two in-prison commencements this spring, we’re proud to share this film looking back at past graduations and honoring the 58 BPI & micrcocollege graduates of 2020. This film celebrates twenty extraordinary years — and the completion of one… Read More
Alumni Chronicles: Vanessa Fields ’17
As we close out the end of our academic and fiscal year, we are sharing short films of Bard Prison Initiative Public Health Fellows, each of whom have come to the fore as voices of experience and leadership in public health across New York… Read More
Alumni Chronicles: Hancy Maxis ’15
As we close out our academic and fiscal year, we are sharing short films of Bard Prison Initiative Public Health Fellows, each of whom have come to the fore as voices of experience and leadership in public health across New York City. Hancy Maxis ‘15… Read More