Graduation

Today I had the privilege of delivering the commencement address for the College Inside graduation ceremony at the Oregon State Correctional Institution. It was a wonderful event highlighting the accomplishments of a group of men and the incredible people who have supported them on their journey toward a college degree. I'm constantly amazed at the hard work and dedication these incarcerated men put into their educational journey. Education truly transforms their lives. I'm equally amazed by the hard work of the people I work with who administer and teach in this phenomenal program. They are unsung heroes, each and every one of them.

On average, the state-wide recidivism rate is about 27% while fewer than 4% of graduates from the College Inside program ever return to prison. Talk about the power of education. Why is it that legislators around the country still ignore these powerful facts? Why is it that educational institutions end up begging for funds? Our K-20 system should be the top priority for funding - instead we in higher ed return to the steps of capital buildings across this country on bended knee each year competing for handouts, ultimately walking away with little to invest in our students, in our collective future and well-being.

Each year I return to events like this graduation and sense a renewal within me. It's the kind of thing that keeps me going. These graduations give hope to weary souls and shine light on an otherwise bleak future for the inmates who currently reside within the barbed-wire walls of this penitentiary.