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Lansing Prison Program featured in NC Register
Sen. Sam Brownback to speak at commencement
Donnelly joins both Facebook and Twitter
Donnelly's Lansing Prison Program featured in National Catholic Register
Education Behind Bars
Catholic College Contributes to Reducing Recidivism
BY ANTHONY FLOTT, National Catholic Register
KANSAS CITY, Kan., June 24, 2009 — Like other college students, James Shehan and Tuan Huynh have dreams of making a difference. Shehan hopes to mentor troubled youth and keep them off the streets. Huynh wants to become a biblical counselor.
Unlike other college students, Shehan and Huynh are convicted murderers.
Both are serving life sentences at Lansing Correctional Facility in Kansas. But thanks to Donnelly College, a small Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas City, Kan., Shehan, Huynh and other inmates are getting a shot at redemption through education.
“There are some of us trying to make changes in our lives,” says Shehan, serving his 24th year. “We know we’ve done wrong. We’re trying to rectify the situation.
“For all my life I’d just been a quitter, only did things halfway. This was my chance to knuckle down and complete something for once in my life.”
Donnelly began the associate degree program in Lansing in 2001. And now it has help. In February, Donnelly announced that the U.S. Department of Justice provided it a $223,000 grant to help with its education of 50-plus inmates each year. The grant, spearheaded by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., is tied to a congressional effort to cut recidivism rates in half within five years.
“Donnelly’s Lansing program can serve as a model for other prisons,” Brownback said in a release. “People in prison need to do time for their crime, but they are not without redemption.”
Mission of Service
Postsecondary correctional education once was commonplace. That changed radically in 1994, notes a January report by the Correctional Association of New York, when President Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Among other things, it prohibited awarding Pell Grants to federal or state inmates. Nearly all of the nation’s 350 postsecondary correctional education programs closed — despite the various benefits of its programs. Donnelly points to federal analyses indicating that higher education in prisons yields at least $2 in public savings for every dollar spent. Recidivism also is reduced.
Yet, Donnelly estimates, today it is one of less than a dozen U.S. colleges with a prison presence.
Ken Gibson, Donnelly president emeritus, founder and coordinator of the Lansing program, said funding was the greatest obstacle to initiating the program. Costs are kept minimal in part due to the partnership with and in-kind contributions provided by the Lansing facility. Initially, other expenses were covered in thirds, split among inmates who work (or their families), participating employers and Donnelly. But employers later discontinued reimbursements, leaving Donnelly to cover two-thirds of the expenses.
“One miracle was getting the prison accredited as a college campus,” said Gibson. “The second miracle was keeping the doors open. When employers backed out, we thought we were finished. But we were able to talk to some more people and get some more help.”
The grant will support program operations for the next three years. Gibson said that will allow the college to raise funds for a sustaining endowment.
Donnelly offers Lansing inmates one of three associate degrees with an emphasis on business courses. There’s a range of other classes, too.
Shehan, a 2005 Donnelly alumnus, has taken music appreciation, Greek and Roman mythology and American history. Huynh, a 31-year-old inmate serving a life sentence for murder committed when he was 18, has taken 12 classes, including income tax and physical science this past semester. He is eligible for parole in May 2011.
About 20 faculty members have taught at the prison. Most classes are held in medium security and can be broadcast to prisoners in the maximum and minimum facilities.
“The inmates know that education is a way for them to get out of prison. It’s always a help with the parole board,” said Gibson. “If they get the degree, it gives them the opportunity once they get out to get a decent job to stay out of prison.”
Shehan is working toward a bachelor’s degree in child or adolescent psychology, taking distance classes through Louisiana State University — a challenge, given the prison’s lack of a modern library and Internet connectivity. If he gets out, he hopes to turn others from their errant ways.
Does the program work? Donnelly points out that of the more than 325 inmates who have taken classes, 14 have earned associate degrees. Of the 155 former students who have been released from prison, just three have been reconvicted of another crime and returned to prison. According to a 2002 Bureau of Justice Statistics report that Donnelly cites, 25% of inmates nationally are resentenced to prison for a new crime within three years of release.
One criminal justice researcher, though, says reducing recidivism takes more than just education.
T. Hank Robinson is a professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Juvenile Justice Institute, which conducted the “Recidivism Reduction Treatment Center Study” that identified five different factors affecting recidivism: education/employment, substance abuse, mental health, housing and support of social networks.
“The more stable a person is the less likely it is that they’re going to commit crimes or get in trouble,” said Robinson.
Huynh agrees. “A guy can earn a master’s, a bachelor’s, a low-level associate’s, but if he doesn’t apply what he learned,” he said, “education is irrelevant. If he prides himself with what he has learned, then it’s effective.”
Then why is Donnelly’s program so successful?
“It really may not be their increased ability to read or write or to do plumbing,” said Robinson. “It may be all the life skills and all the life organizational techniques and tools that people pick up when they go through the program.”
Gibson indicates that Donnelly’s program does go beyond academics. As a faith-based college, he notes, Donnelly talks “to them about the importance of faith. It’s the same kind of position they take in a 12-step program. You have to have a higher being that helps you out, and you can’t do it by yourself.”
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DONNELLY COLLEGE ANNOUNCES SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK AS COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
KANSAS CITY, Kan., May 14, 2009 — Donnelly College is pleased to announce Senator Sam Brownback as the keynote speaker for this year’s commencement ceremony scheduled for 4:00 p.m., Saturday, May 16, at the Jack Reardon Convention Center in Kansas City, Kan.
Senator Brownback has supported Donnelly through many endeavors, recently helping the College secure a Department of Justice grant for its college degree program at Lansing Correctional Facility.
“We are honored to have Senator Brownback share in this year’s celebration with our Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students, and families and friends of our graduates,” said Donnelly’s president, Steve LaNasa. “Graduations are always a momentous occasion, but Donnelly’s are especially moving. Each year, nearly 90 percent of our graduates tend to be first-generation students, making our commencement exercises a tremendous celebration for students and family alike, as well as for our entire community.”
Donnelly expects 34 graduates to be earning a mix of associate and bachelor’s degrees, marking the second graduating class for the College’s bachelor’s degree program.
In addition to Senator Brownback, George Breidenthal, a Donnelly alumnus, will be speaking as the College’s Board of Trustees President.
“As a Donnelly graduate myself, I am looking forward to speaking to the Class of 2009 and, hopefully, giving them some words of inspiration,” said Breidenthal. “Graduation is a truly transforming moment in the lives of our students particularly because many of them never thought they could obtain a college degree. I was one of them earlier in my life, and have Donnelly to thank for many of the successes I’ve experienced.”
Two representatives from this year’s graduating class will also be speaking – Rachel Leonard and David Stanley. Leonard is graduating with her Associate of Arts degree and is currently enrolled in summer courses leading to a bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri Kansas City. From there, she plans to attend Harvard Law School and, eventually, hopes to become a judge.
“As a student who is determined to make an impact on my instructors and fellow classmates, I am truly honored to have been selected as one of this year’s commencement speakers,” said Leonard. “My mother, husband and four children are all so proud of me and plan to be in attendance on Saturday.”
David Stanley will be graduating from Donnelly with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership. Stanley is already putting his degree to work as a founder of Joshua Tent, an urban ministry church that reaches out to underprivileged youth in the urban core of Kansas City, Kan.
"I am proud to speak at this year’s graduation ceremony, not just because I am the only one in my family to receive a college degree, but also because I have received it from such a wonderful institution,” said Stanley. “My experiences at Donnelly were life-changing and I am forever grateful to everyone who has compassionately invested so much in me and in all of my peers throughout the past four years."
These speakers will be joined in the graduation ceremony by Most Rev. Joseph Naumann, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, as well as Trustees of the college and key members from the Alumni Association.
The graduation event is free and open to friends and families, as well as community members interested in hearing our speakers.
DONNELLY COLLEGE JOINS BOTH FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
KANSAS CITY, Kan., May 1, 2009 — Realizing the importance of online accessibility, Donnelly College has created profiles on two of the most popular social networking sites – Facebook and Twitter. The College plans to use these sites as additional means of communication to better connect their students, faculty, staff and community.
With more than 30,000 alumni throughout the world, Facebook and Twitter help break down the communication barriers between the Alumni Association and Donnelly alumni. “Facebook has become a great way for us to reach out to alumni, particularly recent graduates,” said Roger Berg, Donnelly’s Alumni Relations Coordinator. “These sites provide an easy way for them to stay in touch with their former classmates and keep them up-to-date with campus news and events.”
The Facebook alumni group, Donnelly College Alumni Association, currently has 65 members. In addition to this group, the College also created a “fanpage.” Unlike the typical Facebook page, fanpages are visible to unregistered people and are indexed.
In addition to the efforts on Facebook, Donnelly has recognized Twitter as another communication resource.
“Twitter will give Donnelly a new platform, allowing us to both strengthen and build our network,” said Jennifer Price, Marketing Coordinator for Donnelly. “Donnelly has been serving the urban core of Kansas City, Kansas for nearly 60 years, yet many in the Kansas City metro don’t know about us. These sites will allow the College to become more visible for those wanting to learn more about us at a glance.”
Within a few weeks, Donnelly has already acquired more than 30 fans on their Facebook fanpage.
The College’s Twitter account, found at www.twitter.com/DonnellyCollege, is fairly new, with only five “followers” thus far.
To become a Donnelly College follower on Twitter, simply visit www.twitter.com/DonnellyCollege and click the “Join today!” button at the top of the page.
To join either of the Donnelly Facebook groups, simply go to the Facebook homepage, www.facebook.com, and create your own account. Once you’ve done this, simply type “Donnelly College” into the search bar and join.
If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Price at (913) 621-8707 or jprice@donnelly.edu.