Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti is set to launch its first bachelor’s program at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility. Meghan Lechner has been hired as the director of the College in Prison Program. Since, 2021, she has been serving as a residential community director at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Eastern Michigan University has a long history of engagement with the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, offering uncredited courses to incarcerated people since 2008 before the federal government restored Pell eligibility for people who are incarcerated. EMU was granted Second Chance Pell Grant access in 2022. In July 2023, the Michigan legislature approved $250,000 in funding for Eastern Michigan University to launch the bachelor’s degree program at the facility.
Through the program, students can obtain a bachelor’s in general studies with financial aid support, tutoring, and technology. Soon, two additional programs will be offered, including a bachelor’s degree in business and a bachelor’s degree designed particularly for students at the correctional facility.
“According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there is a 43 percent reduction in recidivism rates for individuals who participate in prison education programs”, said Decky Alexander, a professor of communications, media and theatre arts at Eastern Michigan University.
“Completing a degree boosts self-esteem for incarcerated students and provides them with fulfilling activities during incarceration,” added Lechner.
Lechner is a graduate of Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where she majored in political science and communication. She holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.