Who has time for conversing about old books and abstract ideas such as truth, the good life, or justice? One clear answer to this question would be: individuals confined in prison seeking a path toward rehabilitation, as well as corrections officials who want to protect the public while simultaneously providing prisoners with an opportunity for growth. When the Michigan Department of Corrections allowed the opportunity for prisoners to participate in a faith-based education, the liberal arts were liberated – freed from their confinement to schools, they broke through prison walls. This program has created a space for kindness, civility, and love to flourish at our campus. Students and staff have become better-integrated human beings.

A formerly incarcerated student says studying the liberal arts in prison can play a role in a prisoner’s restoration to society.