New co-director named for Hope-Western Prison Education Program
HOLLAND — After a nationwide search for a new co-director of the Hope-Western Prison Education Program, the organization has selected a leader with experience in West Michigan.
Kary Bosma will join HWPEP after eight years with the Calvin Prison Initiative, where she's currently the director of operations. Bosma will take over for R. Richard Ray, a kinesiology professor at Hope College who is retiring this year. She begins her role at HWPEP July 1.
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HWPEP is a collaboration between Hope College and Western Theological Seminary to provide a Christian liberal arts education to men incarcerated in the Muskegon Correctional Facility.
Ray and David Stubbs, professor of theology and ethics at WTS, have led the program since its inception as a pilot in March 2019. Stubbs will continue as co-director with Bosma.
In a press release, Bosma said she looks forward to contributing to the program’s “continued flourishing.”
“HWPEP has built a strong foundation under the leadership of co-directors Richard Ray and David Stubbs,” she wrote. “I am eager to help lead the program through its next stage of growth and development."
Bosma added HWPEP will need to work with the Michigan Department of Corrections to develop post-graduation plans for students ahead of the first graduating class in 2025.
Bosma has worked with the Calvin Prison Initiative for eight years and has supported other prison education programs in that time. In 2021, she convened a monthly gathering of state colleges and universities involved in PEPs alongside MDOC leaders to share best practices. The group formally organized as the Michigan Consortium for Higher Education in Prison in 2023.
Bosma holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Calvin University. Prior to working on the Calvin Prison Initiative, she worked in Calvin’s student life and academic departments.
As he prepares to leave HWPEP, Ray said Bosma will be a great fit for the program.
“We are thrilled to have a person of Kary’s experience and character join HWPEP’s leadership team in this critical role,” Ray wrote. “Few people have a deeper or more impactful history with college-in-prison than she does. ... She and David Stubbs will be a winning combination.”
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HWPEP received formal approval from the Higher Learning Commission in 2021, and 20 students were enrolled in for-credit courses. Twenty additional students are added each fall to build toward a total enrollment of 80 students.
Participants pursue a bachelor's degree from Hope, taking classes at the prison taught by faculty from both Hope and WTS. Prisoners at any of the 26 MDOC facilities can apply and, if accepted, are moved to Muskegon Correctional Facility.
For more information, visit hope.edu/hwpep.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: New co-director named for Hope-Western Prison Education Program
