NEW YORK - Bard Prison Initiative (BPI)

Daniel Karpowitz, Director of Policy & Academics

Max Kenner, Executive Director
kenner@bard.edu, 845-758-7308
Bard College
PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson
NY 12504-5000

Population Served: Women and men who are incarcerated at the Eastern Correctional Facility, Woodbourne Correctional Facility Elmira Correctional Facility, Green Haven Correctional Facility, ot Bayview Correctional Facility; students must have a GED or high school diploma and program administrators cap admission at 15 spots each year.

Program Description: BPI offers college inside three long-term, maximum-security prisons and two transitional medium-security prisons. Founded in 1999 by former Bard student Max Kenner, BPI gives men and women the opportunity to earn a degree from Bard College, a highly regarded private liberal arts university. Providing curriculum in line with a traditional liberal arts program, BPI offers Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees and holds classes identical to those taught at Bard College at Annandale-on- Hudson. The admissions office on Bard’s traditional campus makes decisions about acceptance into the Bachelor’s program based on an incarcerated student’s perceived preparedness and regardless of class size at the correctional facility. Incarcerated students are required to have a Bard Associate’s degree before they can apply to the Bachelor’s degree program. BPI now enrolls nearly 200 women and men fulltime in a rigorous and diverse liberal arts curriculum, offering both associate and bachelor degrees.