Rhodes College expands prison education program

A new four-year degree program is set to open for women incarcerated in Henning, Tennessee.

The initiative expands a certificate program that has already awarded credentials to more than 30 inmates. Rhodes College faculty travel weekly to the Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center to teach classes. The center is part of the West Tennessee State Penitentiary. A $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation supports the new Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. This addition allows inmates to pursue a full degree while serving their sentences. The program is designed to help reduce the likelihood that students return to prison after release.

Dr. Stephen Haynes directs the Liberal Arts in Prison program at Rhodes College. He has taught religious studies and humanities at the university for 30 years. Haynes started the initiative in the fall of 2016 as a small discussion group for 25 women. He said the group quickly decided to seek formal college credit. By May, the program expects 45 women to graduate with certificates in liberal arts. The college reports that students who complete higher education in prison are 43 percent less likely to be re-incarcerated.

Jameshia Davis is one of the women who completed the certificate program. She is serving a 24-year sentence for drug and firearm possession. Davis said she initially doubted the value of a college education from a well-known institution. She later became a tutor for other inmates. Davis has a parole hearing scheduled for May. She plans to continue her education toward a bachelor's degree after her release. She said her son found encouragement in seeing her academic progress.

Dr. Lori Garner, an English professor at Rhodes, has participated in the prison program for five years. She said the diverse life experiences of the inmates improve her teaching on campus. More than 70 Rhodes students have volunteered to assist with the program. Seniors Sophie Stevenson and Laurel Phillips lead discussion groups at the prison. They said the work has changed their views on incarceration. Stevenson said the opportunity has defined her college career.

As of the spring of 2025, 92 women at the facility had earned 765 credits from Rhodes. Thirty-two of those women received certificates. The new degree program will begin this summer. The expansion will also support educational programming at the men’s facility. Program sponsors are seeking donors to help sustain the initiative in the future.