Bennington College Prison Education Initiative
Since 2015, the Prison Education Initiative (PEI) has brought 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
In July 2024, the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) announced plans to close Great Meadow in November 2024. In coordination with DOCCS and college-in-prison partners around the state, PEI staff helped facilitate the transfer of all PEI students to other college programs in New York facilities.
In spring 2025, PEI will begin offering courses at Washington Correctional Facility, a medium-security men's prison in Comstock, New York.
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
Think Tank: More Than a DegreeOn May 17 and 18, Bennington's Prison Education Initiative (PEI) gathered together a small group to engage in conversation around access and opportunities to higher education for people serving life or virtual life sentences in America.
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.
Contact
pei@bennington.edu
802-440-4727