FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 27, 2021 CONTACT Tim Ward tward@collegeandcommunity.org 304-654-6397 ADVOCATES CALL ON NEW YORK STATE TO RESTORE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR INCARCERATED STUDENTS AFTER PELL VICTORY IN CONGRESS ALBANY, N.Y. - Following the Federal Government’s reinstatement of Pell Grant access to incarcerated people, New York’s Turn on the TAP campaign is… Read More
BPI Blog
Category: Advocacy / Policy
Their Stories Helped Lift a 26-Year Ban on Pell Grants for Prisoners
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
On the win, at last
Dear Friend, Last night the President, at last, signed the omnibus spending and COVID relief bill into law. The insidious provision of the ’94 Crime Bill — that revoked modest student aid from incarcerated people and eviscerated college-in-prison instantly — has been reversed. Since the ‘94… Read More
Alumni Resources: Voting Rights For New Yorkers With Felony Convictions
Learn the facts from the myths and check your eligibility In New York, the general rule is that you can vote after incarceration for a felony conviction while you are on probation, or once you have completed parole. In these cases, your voting rights are… Read More
Faculty Opinion: Understanding Police Violence through Public Health
This reflection by Dr. Bob Fullilove is part of the Community Voices op-ed series for the BPI Public Health Journal. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, BPI alumni, staff, and faculty and Bard Microcollege students will be posting reflections about their work, studies, and response to the… 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
Alumni Chronicles: Ato Williams ’12
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. Ato Williams ‘12,… Read More
Alumni Opinion: Who Understands “Lockdown” and Isolation? The Formerly Incarcerated are the Experts We Need Now
BPI Alumna Stacy Burnett ’20 challenges legislators to listen to the voices and expertise of formerly incarcerated people in the COVID crisis in this opinion piece that was published in Salon and is reproduced below. You don't see us in press conferences, but we have much… Read More
Justice in America Episode 30: A Conversation with Rodney Spivey-Jones and Max Kenner
In this episode, Josie Duffy Rice and her producer, Florence Barrau-Adams, travel to Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, New York, to interview Rodney Spivey-Jones and Max Kenner about the Bard Prison Initiative and Bard College.
In January 2020, Josie Duffy Rice and her producer, Florence Barrau-Adams, traveled to Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, New York, to interview Rodney Spivey-Jones and Max Kenner. Max is the founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative, and Rodney received his bachelor’s degree from Bard College in 2017 through the Bard Prison Initiative. Rodney has been incarcerated for 17 years and is currently incarcerated at Fishkill. Both are featured in the PBS documentary series College Behind Bars. They joined Josie to discuss why Max started BPI 20 years ago, Rodney’s experience as part of BPI, and what he hopes to do upon his release.
Listen to podcast below:
Read the full transcript here.
Justice in America is available on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Sticher, GooglePlay Music, Spotify, and LibSyn RSS. You can also check us out on Facebook and Twitter.
Faculty Opinion: Pandemics, Prisons, and Public Health
This reflection by Dr. Bob Fullilove, Senior Advisor to the Public Health Program, is part of the Community Voices op-ed series for the BPI Public Health Journal. Through the COVID-19 crisis, BPI alumni, staff, and faculty will be posting reflections about their work and… Read More