OUR Clemson

Emeritus College to host second symposium on higher education for incarcerated persons

Share:

On August 9, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Clemson Emeritus College is hosting its second bi-annual symposium on higher education for incarcerated persons titled, “Connecting the Dots: The Status of Higher Education in SC Prisons and Understanding the Landscape and Needs of Prison Education.” Registration is required by August 1.

Elaine Richardson stands at a lectern.
Elaine Richardson, 2022 Symposium on Higher Education in SC Prisons / Clemson University Emeritus College

The SC Prison Education Interest Group, chaired by Elaine Richardson, Ph.D., Clemson University Professor Emerita and former Director, Academic Success Center, Chair, South Carolina Prison Education Interest Group, and Emeritus College IDE Fellow, seeks to fulfill two objectives with their second symposium:

  1. Identify program development and expanding opportunities for prisons and for incarcerated persons.
  2. Outline systems of support for faculty and students involved in prison-based college and university programs.

Richardson and her team of Emeritus and Clemson faculty and graduate students have worked together to develop the upcoming symposium, featuring a dynamic line-up of speakers and topics. Clemson University faculty members participating include Nancy Paxton-Wilson (English), Otis Pickett (University Historian), John Leininger (Emeritus from Graphics Communication), and Elaine Richardson (Emeritus from AVS and Academic Success Center). Attendees include participants enrolled from higher education institutions across South Carolina, representatives from the Department of Corrections, and national representatives and experts in student success.

The Advisory Board of the Clemson Emeritus College established a task force in January 2022 to study ways to support higher education for incarcerated persons in South Carolina. After hosting their initial symposium in June of that same year, the Advisory Board established the SC Prison Education Interest Group, dissolving the task force. The Mission statement of the SC Prison Education Group is: Exploring ways for the Emeritus College to support higher education for incarcerated persons in South Carolina. With the goal of providing support to ongoing South Carolina programs for higher education for incarnated persons.