Rhodes College Launches Full BA Degree for Inmates

Higher education usually takes place on a campus, but a group of professors from Rhodes College in Memphis has spent the past decade teaching inside a Tennessee prison. The initiative, known as Liberal Arts in Prison, began in the fall of 2016 as a small discussion group. It has since evolved into a formal academic program that grants college credit and leads to full degrees.

The program operates out of the Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center in Henning, Tennessee. This facility is a low-security, rehabilitation-focused prison. According to Dr. Stephen Haynes, the program’s director, the academic approach is backed by data. He noted that individuals involved in higher education and prison settings are 43% less likely to return to incarceration. This statistic drives the college’s commitment to bringing its curriculum to the facility.

Dr. Haynes, a 30-year professor of religious studies and humanities at Rhodes, started the effort during the final decade of his career. He described the move as a challenge. The program began with approximately 25 women who wanted more than casual reading. They sought college credit. That demand led to the creation of a certificate program in liberal arts. By May, roughly 45 women had graduated with those certificates.

One of those graduates is Jameshia Davis, who is serving a 24-year sentence for drug and firearm possession. Davis initially doubted the prestige of the program, associating the name Rhodes College with institutions like Harvard. She has since completed the program and now serves as a tutor for other inmates. Davis plans to continue her education toward a bachelor’s degree after her release.

The instruction involves more than just the director. Dr. Lori Garner, an English professor at Rhodes, has participated for about five years. She stated that the inmates' diverse life perspectives improve her teaching on campus. Additionally, more than 70 Rhodes students have volunteered for the program. Seniors Sophie Stevenson and Laurel Phillips are among them. They lead discussion groups and report that the work has shaped their college experience. Stevenson said the opportunity defined her entire career at the school.

The numbers reflect a growing commitment. As of spring 2025, 92 incarcerated women at the center had accumulated 765 Rhodes credits. Of that group, 32 had earned certificates. This academic progress is now expanding in scope. A $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation will support the launch of a new Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. This degree will be offered at the women’s center and will also support the expansion of educational programming in the men’s facility at West Tennessee State Penitentiary.

The new degree program will allow inmates to enroll in a full four-year track starting this summer. Davis, who has a parole hearing in May, sees the education as a way to influence her family. She noted that her high school son looks up to her academic efforts. Dr. Haynes said the program sponsors are now seeking donors to help sustain the initiative into the future. The goal is to ensure that the potential of the inmates is realized as they prepare to reenter society.