Panel Discussion: BPI and the Values of a Liberal Education

The Bard Prison Initiative and the Values of a Liberal Education

Come join the discussion of developing a college prison program at Washington University in Busch Hall, Room 18. Open to the Public.

Speakers:

Daniel Karpowitz, Director of Policy and Academics, Bard Prison Initiative

Max Kenner, Founder and Executive Director, Bard Prison Initiative

Daniel Karpowitz has served as a faculty member, director, and leader of BPI since 2001. He has been responsible for major curricular and academic design and decision-making. Karpowitz was the co-founder of the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison, an organization dedicated to supporting college-in-prison programs throughout the country. He also works as a higher education and criminal justice policy consultant to develop governmental reform proposals. Karpowitz has written and spoken extensively on criminal justice and the benefits of higher education in prison. He was a Soros Justice Fellow at the Open Society Institute, a Fellow at the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a Fulbright Fellow in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Max Kenner conceived of and created BPI as a student volunteer organization when he was an undergraduate in 1999. After gaining support of the College and cooperation of New York State Department of Correctional Services, he has overseen the growth of the program into a credit bearing and, subsequently, degree-granting program in 2001. In addition to organization management and program design for BPI, Kenner is responsible for fundraising and management of relations with New York State and the Department of Correctional Services.

Kenner has led the expansion of BPI from a pilot program with 15 students to a nationally recognized education initiative enrolling 300 students within six campuses in correctional facilities throughout New York State. Kenner has become a leading advocate for the national restoration of college-in-prison and frequently speaks publicly in a wide variety of forums about the BPI model in education and criminal justice policy.

Kenner is co-founder of the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison, which supports colleges and universities in establishing college-in-prison programs in more than 10 states. Partners include Washington University in St. Louis.