Funding for a post-prison scholarship program at Bowie State University (BSU) quickly reached an endowment-level investment of $25,000.
BSU has offered courses for incarcerated individuals during their detainment at the Jessup Correctional Institute since early 2022. They were the first Maryland based historically black college or university to do so. Now, in a recent announcement, they have launched a scholarship program to support returning citizens attend their programs even after release.
Ensuring individuals have access to resources that make them feel like they are instantly a part of a community when they leave incarceration is vital to successful reentry. These funds will help make sure that opportunity is available.
According to a recent Capital Gazette article, what started as a $10,000 donation from the former Maryland Democratic Party Chair, Yvette Lewis, quickly grew to $25,000 during a reception held at BSU in March of this year. BSU is currently amongst a number of universities in the area offering degrees for actively incarcerated individuals, alongside Goucher, Georgetown, and, as of recently, the entire University System of Maryland. This scholarship marks an expansion of those efforts by BSU, fulfilling needs for both the currently incarcerated and returning citizens.