Fifteen Inmates Receive Calvin College Diplomas

Fifteen inmates from Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia, Mich., received an associate’s degree from Calvin College in a ceremony on Monday, May 21, at the prison.

The students are the first in the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) program to earn a degree behind bars. Besides offering a bachelor of arts degree, inmates also have the chance to earn a certificate or an associate degree in ministry leadership.

Before receiving his diploma, one inmate named Dustin said: “This program has changed my life. It’s given me an opportunity to be the person I feel like I was always meant to be. College in prison is something that’s becoming almost nonexistent. For an institution to come in here and offer a fully accredited bachelor’s degree is unbelievable.”

Another inmate, Michael, added: “Everyone wants their humanity affirmed; nobody wants to be judged for the worst of life. We have Ph.D. profs coming in, and they’re tutoring us. Only in God’s kingdom” could this happen.

The program, launched in 2015, provides up to 20 inmates each year with an opportunity to begin pursuing a bachelor’s degree in ministry leadership. The partnership between Calvin College, Calvin Theological Seminary, and the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) provides inmates with their only bachelor’s-degree option behind bars in the state.

The program, funded entirely by private donations and grants, seeks to improve prison culture and curb recidivism rates by equipping prisoners with an education.

Collaborating for success

“When I did my master’s degree, I did thesis work on how education reduces recidivism. That’s what made me actually pursue trying to get Calvin to be here at the Handlon facility,” said DeWayne Burton, warden at the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility.

The class has a cumulative GPA above 3.6, has created an award-winning prison reform conference (with another one in the works), and has started a community garden—their efforts resulting in a $2,500 donation to Safe Haven Ministries.

While the practical examples of success are significant, leaders of the program see the impact being far greater, and in missional alignment with both the college and seminary.

Restoring hope, human dignity

“It fits with the mission. Like every square inch, a prison is certainly a space where God’s light needs to shine,” said Chris DeGroot, codirector of CPI.

“We take with us the understanding that everyone is created in the image of God. He wants all people to flourish and wants justice to happen. So making education possible for the least of these absolutely fits with our Christian calling.”

“There aren’t parts of creation we give up on. That’s not the God we serve,” said David Rylaarsdam, professor of historical theology at Calvin Theological Seminary. “We believe all people are made in the image of God. We believe when God’s light shines in the darkest places of life, renewal is possible.”

The Calvin Prison Initiative currently enrolls 55 students. Inmates from any of the 30 men's prisons in the Michigan Department of Corrections system can apply to the program, and each August about 20 admitted students are transferred to Handlon.

To date, more than 30 faculty members and dozens of students from Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary have served in the CPI program. A few professors from other area colleges and universities have also taught courses in the program.