Centers and Initiatives

Across Bennington, faculty, students, and community partners lead a range of centers, initiatives, and collaborative efforts that engage pressing social, cultural, and technological questions.

As of March 10, 2026

Center for the Advancement of Public Action

The Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA) prepares students to become agents of social change. Combining rigorous liberal arts education with real-world engagement, CAPA brings together students, faculty, and community partners to examine social, political, and environmental challenges while designing and implementing meaningful solutions.

Through collaborative projects, dialogue, academic inquiry, and partnerships, CAPA works to strengthen civil society and advance more just and sustainable communities.

Prison Education Initiative

Since 2015, the Prison Education Initiative (PEI) has been guided by three core commitments: expanding access to rigorous liberal arts education to incarcerated students, supporting lifelong learning for individuals serving life sentences, and fostering meaningful dialogue about prison reform and the importance of education and access. 

As of spring 2026, the teaching component of PEI is paused as we work to restore programming. While courses are not currently active, this work reflects Bennington’s ongoing commitment to access, educational equity, and meaningful prison educational partnerships.

The Bennington Center for Artificial Intelligence

The Bennington Center for Artificial Intelligence (BCAI) is dedicated to the ethical understanding, technical literacy, and the cross-disciplinary exploration of artificial intelligence (AI). As AI reshapes many aspects of our lives, including learning, creating, playing, and working, BCAI draws on Bennington’s liberal arts educational tradition to examine who benefits from these systems, the environmental and human costs associated, and the values embedded within those systems. Members of our community have conflicting views. Some see creative potential, others see exploitation; some want to experiment, others want nothing to do with it. All these perspectives belong in the conversation.

Through interdisciplinary inquiry and open dialogue, BCAI creates a space for informed debate, for dissent, and responsible experimentation. At its core, BCAI is committed to protecting creativity, intellectual rigor, and human judgement in an increasingly automated world.