Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project Commencement Ceremony

Northeastern Illinois University and the Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project (P+NAP) held a Commencement ceremony at Stateville Correctional Center on Oct. 15 for their cohort of five students who graduated through the University Without Walls (UWW) program. 

Highlights of the ceremony for Darnell Maurice Lane, Michael James Bell, Juan A. Luna, Reginald Terrell BoClair and Daniel Edward Perkins included an address by poet and scholar Fred Moten and a performance by Chance the Rapper. 

Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Educational Inquiry and Curriculum Studies and P+NAP Director of University Curriculum Erica Meiners said each of the graduates worked incredibly hard to earn their degrees. 

“Nothing is ever done alone,  and this celebration reflects the strength of our community,” Meiners said. “Getting an education, let alone earning a degree while incarcerated during a pandemic, is no easy feat. I am thrilled to celebrate these students who overcame the odds and to showcase the excellence of the wider P+NAP community.”

For more information about the event and the program, click here.