From the Terre Haute (IN) TribStar. To read the entire article, click here.
CARLISLE — In October 1994, the very first Wabash Valley Correctional Facility college semester was under way. Twelve students made up the entire class.
On Thursday, 154 graduates graced the stage at the facility near Carlisle. The Indiana Department of Correction-funded program has now graduated a total of nearly 2,000 people from Grace College, Indiana State University and Ivy Tech.
Each school offered different degrees Thursday. Grace gave associate’s and bachelor’s of science, ISU gave an associate’s of arts and a bachelor’s of science, while Ivy Tech awarded vocational and GED diplomas.
A bachelor’s degree cuts two years off a prisoner’s sentence, an associate’s cuts a year and all other degrees cut three to six months.
At the ceremony, comments were made by several correctional officials and the inmate band The Anointed played before keynote speaker Jeff Pittman, Ivy Tech chancellor, took the stage.