Max Kenner speaks at Smithsonian’s American Ingenuity Awards in October.
On Oct. 16, Smithsonian magazine announced the winners of the third annual American Ingenuity Awards. Among the 10 honorees was Max Kenner of the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), a leading advocate for the national restoration of college-in-prison programs.
In his speech, he told the audience that by providing incarcerated men and women with educations comparable to any college student, they become inspired and, perhaps for the first time, see their place in the world.
Many have felt marginalized, heard that higher education wasn’t for them or felt disconnected from society. Engaging in intellectual pursuit and finding purpose changes not only the individual, but his or her relationships with family and the world, according to Kenner.
“The punishment of being incarcerated, obviously there are bars and a lot of physical stuff, but in many ways it centers around the idea that a portion of someone’s life can be made irrelevant,” says Kenner, who founded BPI in 1999 when he was a student at Bard, to Diverse. “The most fundamental thing that happens doesn’t relate directly to the curriculum. It’s about convincing people that this period of time in their lives matters and it’s up to them to make it as fulfilling and meaningful as possible,” says Kenner.
“If they do that, not only will they be more fulfilled as people, but they’ll be better prepared for release, be better neighbors, better citizens, better at any role they seek to fill later in life.”
History of college-in-prison
