Bennington College Prison Education Initiative
The Prison Education Initiative (PEI) brings Bennington College faculty to Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security men's prison in Comstock, New York. Our mission is threefold:
- to provide a quality liberal arts undergraduate education to incarcerated students
- to support lifelong learning in men and women serving life sentences
- to foster transformative conversations around prison reform in America
Since PEI’s inception in 2015, the program has served more than 100 students at Great Meadow Correctional Facility, offering courses in literature, philosophy, social research, history of thought, architecture, political theory, social psychology, math, computer programming, drawing, Latin, and U.S. and world history.
Interviews with Class of '22 Graduates
PEI celebrated its first graduation at Great Meadow eight years after the program launched; eleven students were awarded their Bennington College Associate of Arts degrees. Here are a few of their stories:
Recent News
Bennington College Prison Education Initiative Accredited to Add a Bachelor’s DegreeBennington College’s Prison Education Initiative (PEI), which serves Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security men’s prison in Comstock, NY, is poised to become the tenth in New York State to offer incarcerated people the opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Bennington College celebrates first graduating class from the Prison Education InitiativeOn February 4, 2023, Bennington College's Prison Education Initiative (PEI) held its first college graduation inside Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, NY.
Prison Education Initiative Celebrates $100,000 Grant from Mother Cabrini Health FoundationBennington College’s Prison Education Initiative (PEI) has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to continue and expand a program bringing quality liberal arts education to incarcerated students at Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security men’s prison in Comstock, NY.
Bennington College Awarded 2022 ACLS Sustaining Public Engagement GrantThis grant was made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities Supports Outstanding Publicly Engaged Humanities Programs.
Prison Education Initiative Awarded $60,000 from Mother Cabrini Health FoundationBennington College’s Prison Education Initiative (PEI) has been awarded a grant of $60,000 from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
Contact
pei@bennington.edu
802-440-4727