Campus Within Walls Program Holds Historic First Commencement
“Today is a mountaintop experience”, said Malcolm Taylor, Department of Corrections Regional Director, at the beginning of Lunenburg Correctional Center’s Commencement Ceremony, the first in the history of the Campus Within Walls program. A mountain top experience is defined as anything that is uplifting, inspiring, life-changing, exhilarating or illuminating. Certainly this day was all that and more.
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| A historic graduation was held recently at the Lunenburg Correctional Center. |
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“This has given me hope, a new beginning, a chance to start over,” said Fred Ramsey after the graduation at which he received an Information Systems Technology Certification. Ramsey, released from prison three weeks ago, returned to attend his commencement ceremony. He noted that he is also thankful for the help from Goodwill Industries Network for a temporary job he has obtained.
Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC), in cooperation with the Department of Corrections (DOC), the Department of Correctional Education (DCE), and Goodwill Industries Network (Lunenburg only) has created unique prison education programs within its service region known as the Campus Within Walls (CWW). The goal of these programs is to educate college-ready inmates, providing them with the opportunity to attain college credentials while incarcerated. The result of this education is preparation for reentry into society which improves their chances for success upon release.
Both programs include “dorm” style housing so participants are housed in a single unit allowing for addition privileges not granted to the general population. The funding source for LCC is the Federal Second Chance Grant-U.S. Department of Justice and for Greensville Correctional Center CWW the Funding Source is the Sunshine Lady Foundation Award, DCE funding, and private donors. The creation of these programs coincides with Governor McDonnell’s Executive Order Number Eleven which established the Virginia Prisoner and Juvenile Offender Re-entry Council.
On Friday, Lunenburg Correctional Center Warden Layton Lester welcomed those assembled for the historic event. SVCC awarded an Associate degree of Arts and Science to Joshua Jennings along with General Education Certificates, IST Certification, Comp TIA A+ Certification, and Masonry Certification to more than 40 other participants. During the ceremony, Dr. John J. Cavan, SVCC President, thanked the graduates for being a member of his team and making him a winner.
Commencement speaker Freddie Reekes, SVCC Christanna Campus Recruitment and Apprenticeship Coordinator, told the group that they had proven they “have the ability to do something you thought you never would.”
He urged the graduates to see this day as a beginning and a way to equip themselves to be successful in the future.
“Failure is not an option, you have had your detour, now it is time to pick yourself up. Today you started getting ready to get out tomorrow, the key to your success is respect for yourself and others,” he said.
Michael Stith, who received an Information Systems Technology Certification, said, “I feel like a success. [Getting this certification] has changed my life and made me become a better person.”
Toby Hawley said, “The program was a great asset to me. It was an opportunity to learn and recapture knowledge I missed out on.”
Friday’s ceremony was attended by SVCC faculty who teach within the prison setting as well as family members proud of the positive accomplishment achieved in a less than perfect setting. Others representing the Department of Corrections, Correctional Education, Goodwill Industries, the college administration and local board attended as well. The graduates, sporting caps and gowns, marched in to the theme song from Chariots of Fire.
The CWW program recently won the finalist trophy for the Bellwether Award, an integral part of the Community College Futures Assembly, established in 1995. The Assembly is sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida and focuses on cutting-edge, trendsetting programs that other colleges might find worthy of replicating. The Bellwether Awards are given annually in three categories to colleges with outstanding and innovative programs or practices.
The Bellwether Award has been compared to football's Heisman Award because it is competitively judged and is an award given by your peers in community colleges, with no cash award. It has also been called "the award of awards" because many institutions with programs that have won other awards apply for the Bellwether Award.
Cavan said, “This is just another example of Southside Virginia Community College truly living the mission of a Democracy’s college. The graduation of students from the Campus Within Walls and receiving the Bellwether Award symbolizes the great commitment of Governor McDonnell in creating a winning team of SVCC, Department of Correctional Education and the Department of Corrections to forward the Governor’s re-entry initiative.”
The CWW program demonstrates the Governor’s dedication to reducing recidivism in Virginia. The SVCC program is strategically placed to support the new direction within corrections. This is just another example of SVCC’s willingness to partner with local and state agencies for the betterment of all.
The CWW program does not only benefit the inmates. Both research conducted across the nation and in Virginia has demonstrated that inmates who attain a degree or certificate while in prison are much less likely to be rearrested and contribute to the Commonwealth’s recidivism rate. In fact, such educational successes reduce the likelihood of being re-incarcerated by 50%. Each inmate costs Virginia $24,600 annually to keep behind bars. If this holds true for the graduates, Virginia will realize a savings in correctional costs of nearly one million dollars over the next five years from this group alone.
(c) 2012. Southside Virginia Community College. All rights reserved.
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