First NYS prisoners to earn SUNY degree since elimination of Pell Grant eligibility in 1995
ByITHACA, N.Y. - Fifteen men incarcerated in the Auburn Correctional Facility will become the first prisoners in New York to earn a SUNY degree since termination of their eligibility for Pell Grants in 1995 under the Clinton administration's Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.
The men will celebrate during a commencement ceremony on Tuesday, June 5, thanks to the Cornell Prison Education Program - a unique collaboration between Cornell University and Cayuga Community College made possible through the support of the Sunshine Lady Foundation and Cornell's Office of Land Grant Affairs.
Since 2008, Cornell University and Cayuga Community College (CCC) have worked together to restore access to post-secondary education for incarcerated people in New York State. CPEP offers 120 men incarcerated at Auburn and Cayuga Correctional Facilities the opportunity to enroll in free college courses instructed by Cornell faculty and graduate students. Incarcerated students earn Cornell credits while they pursue an Associate's degree awarded by CCC.
In the past four years, the prison education program at Cornell has mushroomed to include 15 to 17 classes each term. Class offerings have included genetics, poetry, African American literature, biology and medical anthropology.
The commencement ceremony will include speeches by Cornell Provost Kent Fuchs, Sunshine Lady Foundation founder Doris Buffett, CCC President Dan Larson, and Cornell prison education student Jacob Russell.
The program manifests Cornell's mission as a land grant university dedicated to civic engagement.
Source: Cornell University
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