The West Virginia University Higher Education in Prison Initiative (WVU HEPI), operated within Eberly College's Dept. of English, has been awarded a $30,000 subgrant from the Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education in Prisons (PA CHEP).
The central work of HEPI is to build an associate degree program at State Correctional Institution Greene (SCI Greene), a maximum-security prison in Waynesburg, PA. The program involves a partnership between WVU, Waynesburg University, and the PA Department of Corrections. The associate degree in professional studies is conferred by Waynesburg University. WVU offers classes toward the degree, creative writing workshops, book clubs, and leadership development opportunities. One student in the degree program observed, “we all seem to be on a mission of improvement of the self and by proxy an improvement of the opportunities and culture inside these walls.”
The main beneficiaries of the award will be WVU and Waynesburg students at Greene as well as recently released people who want to pursue higher education. HEPI will use grant funds to cover tuition and curriculum development for courses that can be difficult to adapt to the prison environment such as laboratory sciences. Funds will also be directed to system-impacted people who consult on the Initiative, to a reentry fund, and to facilitate the distribution of a WV and southwestern PA reentry guide.
PA CHEP fosters collaborative partnerships with higher education institutions, prisons, and community stakeholders with the goal to increase access to college courses. HEPI Founding Director Katy Ryan said, “PA CHEP is generating an effective statewide network, and we are so grateful to be part of it. We want to build a sustainable and student-centered prison education program at SCI Greene, and this funding arrived at a critical time in our development.”
Assistant Program Coordinator Destinee Harper agreed: “The students’ commitment to sharing what they are learning with others is especially inspiring. When one student participates in a course, the effects ripple throughout the prison. This was the case with the Writing Studio, a peer-led mentorship group, and now a budding end-of-life advocacy group. Some passionate students wanted to create a more caring and thoughtful environment for not only themselves but also those who are not directly involved with HEPI, and it’s working.”
For more information on WVU HEPI including ways to support the initiative, contact Katy Ryan, Director, at kohearnr@wvu.edu or Rayna Momen, Program Coordinator, at rmomen@mix.wvu.edu.
The grant was made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.
