Liberty University program promotes learning at Chatham prison

A full-time distance learning student at Liberty University, Eric Snow pursues a degree in psychology — from prison.

As one of 29 students in a pilot LU program, he uses a combination of books, printouts and computer access to complete assignments ranging from reading to research papers.

The inmates have classes four times a week, for three hours at a time.

From laptop computers at Green Rock Correctional Center near Chatham, they connect directly to coursework on secure LU servers in Lynchburg.

“I feel really blessed that the college is investing time and money in us when most people won’t,” said Snow, who is 35 and slated for release in 2013. According to the Virginia courts system database, the Smyth County resident is serving time on drug and firearm charges.

The pilot program, OK’d by the General Assembly in the spring, is the state’s first to allow a private college to extend education into a state prison. Delegate Kathy Bryon, R-Campbell County, sponsored the legislation as a way to reduce the number of repeat offenders.

It is open to all inmates, of any religion, who are on good behavior and maintain good grades, said Gwynne Cunningham, director of specialized programs with the Department of Correctional Education.

“There have been studies galore that say that participation in higher education tends to lead to a better post-release outcome,” such as a higher-paying job, she said.

Shaun Redgate, LU lead project coordinator for the initiative, said that inmates must go through the standard application process for admission.

“I just think it’s something within the prison where these inmates can be recognized for something,” he said.

The school plans to report back to the General Assembly regarding results of the program in June 2010, he said.

Chonece Coleman, a 24-year-old inmate up for release in 2010, said that he hopes to first earn an associate’s degree, then work toward a bachelor’s degree.

Coleman, who is from Danville, is serving a sentence for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, according to the court database.

“It’s something that I always wanted to do, going to college,” he said. “So this opportunity came, and I took it. I think they’re giving us an opportunity to prepare ourselves for the outside world.”

Principal Jeffrey Millner, who oversees educational programs at Green Rock, said that the higher the degree of education, the better a felon’s chance at finding work upon release.

He started Liberty’s program in late September with 40 students. Some decided the program wasn’t for them, and now 29 full-time students remain, he said.

Green Rock opened in May 2007, and this is the first higher-education program at the all-male, medium-security prison, said Warden Jeffrey Dillman. The facility is near its capacity of about 1,000 inmates, with an average sentence of 35 years.

“Anything to get them to stop and think,” he said. “We need more cognitive programs. It’s hard to find bachelor’s-level courses.”

Most inmates in the LU program are between two and 10 years from release, said Gary Phillips, LU’s director of prison outreach, who serves as a classroom facilitator and liason between the school and prison.

The program’s first semester focused on four introductory courses in study strategies, business communications, philosophy and psychology, he said.

Next year, the college plans to allow students to choose from a broader range of standard distance learning courses and degree programs that are being modified to work in the prison environment, Phillips said.

Online courses regularly include a chat feature that allows students to type messages to other students and professors, he said. But inmates are not allowed to chat with others outside of prison, so that feature must be removed from each course.

The initial cohort of students has expressed the most interest in business- and psychology-related courses, Phillips said.

Most degree programs at Liberty also require some religion courses, he said, which students were told before enrolling.

About half of those in the program already have some college credit, and four are on track to receive their associate’s degree in an August graduation ceremony.

Before incarceration, Kerry McPherson was a residential student at Liberty majoring in psychology with a minor in business, he said.

In 2005, he was convicted in Radford Circuit Court on charges of unlawful wounding and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to the courts database.

Slated for release next year, McPherson said he thought he’d never get the chance to attend LU again, much less start right where he left off.

“I just wanted to go ahead and finish my degree — I was so close,” he said. “I’m just thankful they’re giving inmates a chance to get an education, and giving them a better chance when they get out.”

• Christa Desrets is a staff writer for The News & Advance in Lynchburg.