Cal State LA degree expands at California prisons
Prison reimagined at Cal State LA
Sports and gender equality icon Billie Jean King was at the graduation ceremony to congratulate the students.
LOS ANGELES - Prison re-imagined. The Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI) is expanding its bachelor’s degree program in prisons, with reform in mind. For the first time, PGI marked a graduation in a women's prison.
PGI bills itself as "the state’s first in-person bachelor’s degree completion program for incarcerated students." It was founded by Cal State LA.
With a turn of the tassel, PGI marked a milestone in October for the first time for incarcerated women. The university's president, Berenecea Johnson Eanes, has said, "Cal State LA is in it for the long run, this is what we do."
FOX 11 has followed the PGI program extensively. Last year, we met up with Dr. Amy Bippus (Ph.D.), Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Bippus says it started with faculty just teaching individual classes at the men's prison in Lancaster, California State Prison, Los Angeles County.
At the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, 23 incarcerated students received their diplomas. To mark history at the women's facility, a VIP was tapped as keynote speaker: tennis and sports icon Billie Jean King, who is also a Cal State LA alum.
PGI was founded in 2016 under the leadership of Cal State LA professor Dr. Bidhan Roy. He says it’s about the development of the person, noting many will be released from prison one day. "The question becomes, what happens to the person while they're incarcerated. Who do you want returning to your communities? Someone who could be a good neighbor, has transformed, can contribute, can pay taxes?" Dr. Roy calls this his life’s work.
Earlier this year, a new mobile classroom went up at the California Institution for Men in Chino, which now also offers the Cal State LA bachelor’s degree program. Dr. Roy says, "we're at our best at Cal State LA by doing these kinds of programs."
PGI's firsts will continue, including at California's notorious San Quentin prison. Governor Gavin Newsom said, "we are literally tearing down walls to reimagine our prison system, incentivize true rehabilitation, and end cycles of violence and crime."
An announcement last year said demolition done on a warehouse will lead to a quote "cutting edge educational complex." With construction underway, PGI was named to form the bachelor’s degree program there.