Rhodes College Expands Inmate Education With New Degree Program

Rhodes College is preparing to offer a full bachelor's degree to inmates at the Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center in Henning, Tennessee.

The expansion follows a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation that will support the new program beginning this summer. The initiative will also assist in expanding educational programming to the men's facility at West Tennessee State Penitentiary. As of the spring of 2025, 92 incarcerated women at the center had accumulated 765 Rhodes credits. Of that group, 32 had earned certificates in liberal arts.

Dr. Stephen Haynes, a professor of religious studies and humanities at Rhodes, directs the Liberal Arts in Prison program. He noted that individuals involved in higher education and prison are 43% less likely to return to incarceration. The program began in the fall of 2016 as a Great Books Discussion Group with approximately 25 participants. It evolved into a certificate program after inmates expressed a desire for coursework that conferred college credit. Every week, Rhodes professors and students travel from the campus to the low-security facility in Henning to teach courses aligned with the college's curriculum.

Inmate Jameshia Davis, who is serving a 24-year sentence for drug and firearm possession, completed the certificate program and subsequently served as a tutor for other women. She plans to continue her studies toward a bachelor's degree upon her release. Davis has a parole hearing scheduled for May. She said the program encouraged her oldest son, a high school student, by showing him that she was pursuing new goals.

Dr. Lori Garner, an English professor at Rhodes, has participated in the prison program for about five years. She stated that learning the perspectives of the incarcerated women improved her teaching in regular Rhodes classes. More than 70 students have volunteered for the initiative. Seniors Sophie Stevenson and Laurel Phillips lead discussion groups and organizational activities at the facility. Phillips said the students learned about the inmates' children, pets, and parole hearings. Stevenson said the experience defined her college career and increased her interest in working in prisons after graduation.

The Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center is a low-security, rehabilitation-focused prison. The new Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies will allow inmates to enroll in a four-year degree program as part of the Liberal Arts in Prison initiative. Program sponsors are currently seeking donors to help sustain the initiative in the long term.

Dr. Haynes said the program treats participants as human beings with a future rather than defining them solely by their past actions. He noted that most participants will eventually be released and possess significant potential. The college aims to realize that potential through the expanded curriculum.