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Consortium for

the Liberal Arts in Prison Goes Online

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We're excited about the launch of the Consortium's new website where you'll find links to the college-in-prison programs we've helped get off the ground at Wesleyan University, Grinnell College, and Goucher College. A fifth member will be announced before the new year. These institutions have joined together because of a shared belief that liberal arts education can transform the lives of people in prison and better prepare them for a rewarding and successful life once they return home. 

 

Take a look at the site and let us know what you think!

- http://consortium.bard.edu/ -

 

   
NEWS AND ALUMNI UPDATE
November 2012
Greetings!

Last year BPI celebrated its tenth year; this year we are celebrating our best one yet.

 

In New York, BPI's in-prison academic program continues to grow and thrive; across the country, the national Consortium and its member-partners are making the case for college-in-prison, providing extraordinary educational opportunities to hundreds of incarcerated students; we've added fabulous new colleagues to our team; and, of course, we've benefited from more help and support from friends like you than we've ever enjoyed in the past.

 

Most importantly, in New York City, BPI alumni are excelling in business and industry, in the arts and education, and in community-based organizations addressing the city's most vexing problems. In other words: they're succeeding at the same levels and in the same fields as any group of alumni from Bard or another elite liberal arts college.

 

That's an extraordinary statement about the power of a vigorous education.

 

While BPI still needs your help, there's lots to report from our busy year and many friends to thank.  As the holidays are upon us, here's a quick update on our year's work and twelve months of thank yous on behalf of all BPI students, faculty and staff.

 

With all of our best wishes for Thanksgiving,  

 

Max Kenner
Executive Director

P.S. In case you didn't catch our 10th anniversary film . . .
BARD COLLEGE | Bard Prison Initiative
 
Fall Semester Update
   
Autumn classes started in September and nearly 250 students enrolled in a diverse array of 53 courses. Students continue to surpass expectations and are eagerly engaged in serious academic work.

For this year's incoming students, from the women at Bayview to the men upstate, First-Year Seminar was incorporated into the required curriculum. Bard alumni will recognize First-Year Seminar as a pillar of the Bard education.  We are pleased to have experienced faculty bring this foundational program to BPI campuses, where students will read Plato, Shakespeare, Darwin, and other significant works.  

 

Continuing students are enrolled in a diverse array of courses ranging from intermediate Mandarin or reading collections of short stories by Emine Sevgi Özdamar in German, to producing Senior Projects in mathematics, to studying in the fields of public health or computer science, to the literary history of Latin America or the politics of Europe or Africa.

 

On January 26, over sixty students will graduate with AA or BA degrees within Eastern NY Correctional facility, bringing the total number of BPI alumni to 250.  Sadly, our upcoming graduation at Bayview Correctional Facility has had to be canceled as that institution was evacuated following Hurricane Sandy and subsequent flooding. We will keep you updated on those students' progress and on the fate of our program at Bayview, which we hope will reopen in time for the spring semester.

BPI Grad Recognized As New Voice in Playwrighting

 

 

Manny Borras '08 has been noted by the Public Theater as one of the country's up-and-coming playwrights.  An alumnus of both BPI's associate and bachelor's degree programs, Manny studied anthropology with Bard, and his senior project was a study on the impact of art education within prisons.

 

Selected from a pool of over five hundred applicants to win a coveted spot in The Public Theater's 2012 Emerging Writers Group, Borras has spent the year studying and writing at the Theater. The program, which offers a stipend along with biweekly workshops and master classes with such playwrights as Suzan Lori-Parks and Craig Lucas, gives talented writers an artistic home and acts as a springboard for their future careers. "Part of the goal," says Elizabeth Frankel, the Public's Literary Manager, "is to not only get the writer in the door of the Public and make us aware of them, but to put them on a national stage."

 

Borras, a Bronx native, enrolled with Bard as part of the first incoming class at Woodbourne Correctional Facility in 2003.  There, he quickly developed a passion for writing and theater.  In addition to earning his B.A. in 2008, he staged two of his own plays, The State Shop and The Hustler's Opera, and in 2009, his play Song to a Child Like Me was commissioned by The Working Theater and given a public reading.  These days he's living in Brooklyn, writing a new play about coming home from prison, and making the most of his experience at The Public. 

 

When he's not busy in the theater, Manny spends his time as an advocate for homeless New Yorkers.

Collaborating with Leaders in Public Health Education

We are pleased that renowned public health expert, Robert Fullilove, Associate Dean, Community and Minority Affairs and Professor of Clinical
Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, has joined the BPI faculty as a senior advisor for 2012-13. Professor Fullilove is collaborating with the BPI administration to design an academic program preparing our alumni for careers in Public Health. 

BPI's ambitions for its students does not end when they complete their studies or are released from prison.  Graduate-level, professionalized preparation in public health will build on those students' academic accomplishments and prepare them to pursue careers in the field ranging from community health work to research, project design, implementation, and advocacy in the communities to which they return.

MIT Historian Craig Wilder Joins BPI

Back in 2009, Craig Wilder gave a powerful commencement address at Eastern NY Correctional Facility. The students never forgot it, and Wilder, a Professor of History at MIT, joined BPI for the spring semester as a Senior Fellow, teaching three courses at Eastern: a lecture course on Early American History, a B.A. seminar on the history of Harlem in the 20th Century, and an advanced seminar on Native Americans and Africans in the Atlantic World. 

 

Wilder says that the collaboration has been a hugely rewarding one: "I have a tremendous respect for...the students' desire and enthusiasm for education. I was also drawn to the fact that a lot of these men -- black, Latino, Asian American, and white -- are from neighborhoods like the one I grew up in and where much of my family lives. They don't owe me a thing. I don't owe them a thing. But we all have an obligation to make the places we come from better." Wilder is the author of A Covenant with Color: Race and Social Power in Brooklyn and In the Company of Black Men: The African Influence on African American Culture in New York City.

Introducing New Members of Our Leadership Team


Megan Callaghan has joined our team as Director of College Operations, after serving as a member of the faculty and as Site Director for the Coxsackie Correctional Facility campus. Megan works on faculty recruitment and curricular development, as well as managing academic and administrative operations across the five campuses. Before joining us, she was Visiting Assistant Professor at Bard for six years. She holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from Princeton University.

 

Laura Liebman has become BPI's first Director of Development, 

responsible for overseeing all fundraising initiatives, strategies, and stewardship, including annual and major gifts, and corporate and foundation grants and relations. Liebman also provides strategic development support to the Consortium members and Reentry Program.  Laura was previously the Major Gifts Officer at Albany Law School and formerly practiced labor and employment, and litigation law at Tonkon Torp in Portland, Oregon.  She is a graduate of Northwestern Law School of Lewis & Clark College, and holds an M.A. and B.A. from Brandeis University.
 

Robert Tynes is the Site Director for Eastern NY Correctional Facility and a member of the Bard Prison Initiative faculty. He is also a Faculty Associate at the Bard College Institute for Writing & Thinking, and teaches political science at Bard College.  Robert's research focuses on child soldiers, political violence, African politics, the political economy of oil in Africa and American foreign policy. Before coming to BPI, Tynes served as the Research Director for the Project on Violent Conflict in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at SUNY-Albany.
He holds a Ph.D. in political science from SUNY-Albany, an M.A. from the University of Washington and a B.F.A. from New York University. 

BPI Selected For DesigNYC's 2012 "Recharging Communities" Project


DesigNYC has awarded BPI the pro-bono design services of PS New York, a firm that has worked with clients ranging from Condé Nast to Princeton University to The Museum of the City of New York. Jed Tucker, BPI's Assistant Director for Reentry Programs, and Penny Hardy, founder of PS New York, are working together to create compelling new print and online materials for reentry components of BPI's work.  We're grateful to Jed and our friend Sarah Towers for submitting our portfolio for the competition. 

 

DesigNYC, the brain child of Edwin Schlossberg, President of ESI and Paula Antonelli, a senior curator at MoMA, is an organization that seeks to improve the lives of New Yorkers through design by pairing worthy non-profits with the city's top-tier design firms.  

 

DesigNYC will sponsor various exhibitions and workshops celebrating their "Recharging Communities" Project throughout the year in the city. 

Development Matters

We could not have achieved the work of the past decade without the support of our private donors and foundations, particularly given that we receive virtually no funding from the government. We are proud that we have a budget of over $2 million this year -- which means we are able to offer an unparalleled liberal arts education, reentry support, and launch a national consortium. As we develop a public health certification program, we hope that you - our closest friend and allies - will support our vision to create meaningful public health academic and professional opportunities that will impact not only our students, but their families and communities. 
This past year marked our greatest fundraising success to date, with more new donors than ever.  To share but a few of the highlights:
  • We celebrated our 10th anniversary with a gala hosted by Bard Trustee Roland Augustine, with music by noted jazz musician Jason Moran, and remarks provided by President Leon Botstein and BPI Executive Director Max Kenner.
  • The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded BPI a year-long grant to create a seminar for our faculty to explore questions that arise out of our academic programs, such as what are the implications of the BPI model on college and liberal arts education, what are BPI's core principles and how are they similar or different from other liberal arts college, and more. We intend to publish the outcomes of this seminar.
  • BPI was honored as one of 4 national finalists in human rights for a CLASSY Award, out of 2400 nonprofits nominated.  The CLASSY Awards is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, celebrating the greatest charitable achievements by nonprofit organizations, socially conscious businesses, and individuals worldwide.
  • Friends of BPI hosted a series of house parties during which we premiered BPI's anniversary movie. 

BPI's work is possible because of your support. Our students, faculty and staff thank you for your generous gifts to BPI in our fiscal year 2012.

 

Maria Luisa Achino-Loeb, Fadi and Yasmine Agha, Joseph Ahern and Leland Midgette, Dorothy C. Albertini '02, Jane Alexander and Ronald Bayer, Heather Aman, Myra Young Armstead, Charles Atlas, Roland Augustine, E. R. Nash Balinton, Clayton Banks, Daniel Bauer, Rosalyn Baxandall, Douglas Beaty '06, Brenden Beck '07, Charles and Gina Bell, Christine and Michael Benenati, Sally and Laurence Berg, Hugo W. Berkeley, Elizabeth Bernstein, Daniel Berthold, Fred Berthold, Sasha Boak-Kelly, Susan Bokan, Sofia Bonami, Sarah Botstein and Bryan Doerries, Harlan Bratcher, Shirley and Martin I. Bresler, Jane Andromache Brien '89, Carole Brown, William Eric Brown, John Carroll Jr. '85, Claudia Carson, Connie Casey and Harold Varmus, Gail and Tony Cashen, Sharad Chaudhary, Kathy Christman and Mark Matlock, Erin Clune, Richard D. Cohen, Cynthia Conti-Cook '03, John Corcoran and Liza MacRae, Francis Cox, Mark V. Cox, Paul Cox, Joseph Deegan Day, Lisa De Guzman, Anne Delaney, Carolyn Dewald, Nancy J. Dier and Lee Rassnick, Emily Dische-Becker '04, Leon Joshua Dische-Becker '09, Patricia C. Donnelly, Catherine Doubler, Christine Downton, Nancy and Joseph Drago, John and Denise Dunne, Rachel Edelson '65, Elizabeth W. Ely '65 and Jonathan K. Greenburg, Mitch Epstein, Selma Ertegun, Sameh Fakhouri, Stefan Falke, Catherine Freedberg, Andrew and Monica Gaines, Georgene Gardiner and TungChi Lee, Felice and Yorman Gelman, Jenny George, Madeleine George, Mirene Ghossein, John and Ann Gifford, Joel Ginzberg '56, Jeffrey E. Glen and Rosina Abramson, Robert Gober, Arthur and Merle Goldberg, Elyse Goldberg, Neil Goldberg, Sascha Goldhor '06, Blake Gopnik, Nat and Kelly Graham, Stephen Graham, Ralph Green, Richard H. Greenberg, Tamsen Greene, Katherine J. Grosscup, Barbara Grossman, Roberta Guerette, Catherine Gund, Jessica Hahn, Frederick K. Hammond, Nancy C. Hass and Bob Roe, Natalia Hayeem-Ladani, Helen Hecht, Betsy Hegeman, Janine and James Tomilson Hill III, Diana Hirsch Friedman, Joseph O. Iannacone '93, William Jett '08, China Jorrin, Karen Kaczmar, David W. Kaiser and Rosemary Hicks, Joern Karhausen, Martin Kenner and Camilla Smith, Zachary Kenner '06, Robert and Marguerite Kenner, Joshua Klainberg, Beth Kobliner Shaw, Cynthia Koch and Eliot Werner, Douglas A. Koop, Jay L. Kriegal, Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, Gara LaMarche and Lisa Mueller, Robert Bodhi Landa '10, Stephen and Sara Landon, Alison and John Lankenau, Joyce and James Lapenn, Carolyn Lazard '10, Nancy S. Leonard and Lawrence Kramer, Raphael Levy-Lesko, Mimi and Charles Lieber, Laura Liebman, David Loeb, Luhring Augustine Gallery, Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Mark Lytle, Casey Mack, Frances Mallery, Susannah W. Marks, Cameron Martin, Sarah Martino '07, David Meikle, Mollie Meikle '03, Isak Mendes, Bart Meyers, William Mitchell, David Moser '07, Diana J. Moser '85, Linda Rowe Mulrean, Marion Nestle, Hugh and Marilyn Nissenson, Vivian Nixon, Karen and Eric Nodiff, Wendy and Sandy Noyes, Margaux Higby Ogden '05, Amanda Parmer, Alix Pearlstein, James Perlstein, Chris Pettker and Hesse Metcalf, Tam Phan '04, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Phillips, Lola Bowler Pierson '05, Arlene H. Pollack, Joanna Pousette-Dart, Michael and Reita Powell, Abhay Puskoor '08, Carmi and Lynn Rapport, Lee Rassnick, Michael Ratner and Karen Ranucci, Elaine Reichek Engel, Elizabeth Rexrode, Robert Riggs '10, Joanne Robinson, Oren Root, Carlos Rosado Jr. '10, Amy Routman, Joan D. Rueckert, Timothy M. Russell, Philip Russotti, Sundiati Sadiq, Lisa Sanditz and Timothy Davis, Douglas Schwarz,Sandra Sedacca and Sherwood Ives, Elisabeth Semel '72 and James Thomson, Vasily Shakhnovsky, Michael D. Sharp, Jeanne and David Shub, Amy Denison Sillman '95, James and Marilyn Simons, Alexander Smith and Mary Blakemore, Olivia Smith, St. John Smith and Kay Barned-Smith, Adam Snyder '89, Nina Soberman, Scott Spencer, Abby Stein, Kristen Stevens, Patricia Sullivan, Stephen and Carol Tappis, Marlene Tejada, Alice J. Tenney, Karina Thomas Pietrowski, Robert M. Thompson, Felicitas Thorne, Jonathan Tilles '09, Anne Frances Vachon '10, Vanguard Charitable, Adriana Waterston, Alisse Waterston and Howard Horowitz, David Waterston, Frida Weisman, Jerusha Elizabeth Westbury '02, Amy K. White, Douglas Widmann, Gordon Wilcox, Virginia Wilcox '08, Arlene and Milton Wittles, Lauren Wittels, Amiel Wohl, Lauren Wolf, David Woolner, Christopher Zoukis, Matthew Zuckerman, Sally and Anthony Zunino, Tracy Zwick.

 

*****

 

Albert W. & Katharine E. Merck Charitable Fund, Alice J. Tenney Philanthropic Fund of the JCF, Chase Family Foundation, Foundation to Promote Open Society, Fred & Jane Herzner Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Goldstone Family Foundation, Hamel Family Foundation, Kenner-Smith Family Fund of the New York Community Trust, Ralph E. Ogden Foundation, Inc., Starry Night Fund, Stronach-Buschel Fund of the NY Community Trust, The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Brad Foundation, The David R. and Patricia D. Atkinson Foundation, The John & Wendy Neu Family Foundation, The Lourie Foundation, Inc., The Marks Family Foundation, The Richard Salomon Family Foundation, Inc., and The Willametta K. Day Foundation.