Grant given to MiCHEP will help educate prisoners in Michigan

IONIA, Mich. (WILX) - The Michigan College Access Network is using grant money to help prison education programs statewide.

$750,000 from the Mellon Foundation will go to the Michigan Consortium for Higher Education in Prison (MiCHEP).

The money will be used to hire an executive director for MiCHEP and start a sub-award program for the 14 colleges involved with MiCHEP.

MiCHEP schools will be able to apply for resources to support their humanities programs.

Richard Ray, the chair of the steering committee for MiCHEP knows just how important the humanities can be for both prisoners and college students.

“When you have incarcerated students who spend time in the humanities, in the liberal arts, they learn workforce-necessary skills,” said Ray. “They learn how to overcome difficult problems with grit and determination. They don’t give up after they’ve engaged the humanities.”

Education in prison is believed to benefit both inmates and the outside world.

Shawn England is a graduate of the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) in the Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia. He said getting an education changed him for the better.

“It was a chance to obtain an education that I haven’t had before in my life,” said England.

CPI is one of the 14 higher education programs in prisons across the state. MiCHEP acts as the voice for all 14 of these programs.

In 2025, 250 prisoners in Michigan graduated from programs like these.

Ray said he’s seen the benefits from these life-changing programs extend beyond the prisoners themselves.

“It’s good for the communities they rejoin, it’s good for the enterprises that they join as employees, and if they end up staying in prison, it’s good for the prison in which they reside. It helps lower the temperature in the prison,” said Ray.

England is now out of prison and working with MiCHEP.

“My experience wasn’t unique; this is kind of what education does for people in prison,” said England.

These programs are designed to help prisoners stay out of prison once they leave.

According to research done by two professors at Middle Tennessee State University, education in prisons leads to a 14.8% decrease in the likelihood of recidivism. In Michigan, the recidivism rate is at 21% as of July, 2025: the lowest rate in the state’s record.

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