Todd Cioffi on Transformative Prison Education

In 2005, Calvin Seminary began taking students to visit Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison. Once the bloodiest prison in the United States, this became the site of groundbreaking prison education. These trips inspired some professors at Calvin Seminary to start teaching classes at Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan. In 2015, Calvin Seminary and Calvin University joined together to launch the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI). Last year CPI conferred its first Bachelor’s degrees to 18 students at Handlon. In a presentation to the 2020 virtual Loving Your Neighbor conference, Todd Cioffi, director of the Calvin Prison Initiative, reflected on this timeless gospel story of innovation, hope, and transformation.

Todd Cioffi is Director of the Calvin Prison Initiative and Professor of Congregational and Ministry Studies at Calvin University. Learn more.

Related Resources

• Learn more about the Calvin Prison Initiative
• Learn more about the 2020 Loving Your Neighbor conference
• Read Gary Burge’s reflections on participating in the Calvin Prison Initiative