By Sarah Best
TIPTONVILLE, TN — Six inmates at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville received their Bachelor’s degrees in business administration thanks to a partnership between Lane College and the Tennessee Higher Education in Prison Initiative.
At graduation day on Nov. 2, the six men made history as both the first in the prison’s history to earn a bachelor’s degree, and the first incarcerated class in the state to earn a degree from a Historically Black College and University.
THEI is a nonprofit agency serving as the catalyst in connecting the Tennessee Department of Corrections with colleges and universities across the state since 2012. Prioritizing adept reentry, THEI launched a number of associate degree programs for inmates beginning in 2014 and two bachelor’s degree programs in 2021.
Lane’s partnership with NCC began in June of 2021 while Turney Center Industrial Complex’s program with Belmont University commenced in August 2021.
In a press release, Lane President Dr. Logan Hampton shared that the college and its faculty were confident in their ability to provide inmates with the “behind-the-wall” academic program, noting that the partnership was “an overwhelming success.”
“Lane College and THEI have been a natural fit. Lane is deeply committed to the transformative liberal arts education, and Lane College has a history of helping students excel despite challenging environments and backgrounds,” he said.
Formerly incarcerated individuals face challenges upon release with societally reintegrating, but educational programs aid in deterring incarceration relapses. THEI Executive Director Laura Ferguson-Mims added that post-secondary educational options aid in reducing the cycle of recidivism.
“When we introduce post-secondary educational options while the individual is incarcerated, we reduce the risk of recidivism by nearly half,” Ferguson-Mims said.
Data from the Tennessee Office of Reentry (TOOR) states that 46% of released individuals will return to prison within three years.
“I will always remember the first day of classes at NCC. The lecture was supposed to be online, but the president came to speak to the students in person. He talked about the history of Lane College and the legacy of HBCUs as a tool for Black liberation. The students were absolutely mesmerized,” Ferguson-Mims said.