HOLLAND — After a national search for a new co-director for the Hope Western Prison Education Program, the organization has selected a leader with experience in West Michigan.
Carrie Bosma joined HWPEP after eight years with the Calvin Prison Initiative, where she currently serves as Director of Operations. Bosma replaces Hope College kinesiology professor R. Richard Ray, who is retiring this year. She will begin her role with HWPEP on July 1st.
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HWPEP is a partnership between Hope College and Western Theological Seminary to provide a Christian liberal arts education to men incarcerated at the Muskegon Correctional Facility.
Ray Stubbs and WTS Professor of Theological Ethics David Stubbs have led the program since its pilot launch in March 2019. Mr. Stubbs will continue to serve as co-director with Mr. Bosma.
Bosma said in a press release that he looks forward to contributing to the program's “continued prosperity.”
“HWPEP has built a strong foundation under the leadership of co-directors Richard Ray and David Stubbs,” she wrote. “I want to help take the program to its next stage of growth and development.”
Bosma added that HWPEP must work with the Michigan Department of Corrections to develop post-graduation plans for students in advance of the first graduating class in 2025.
Bosma has worked with the Calvin Prison Initiative for eight years, supporting other prison education programs during that time. In 2021, she convened a monthly gathering of state universities involved in PEP with MDOC leaders to share best practices. The group formally organized as the Michigan Prison Higher Education Consortium in 2023.
Bosma holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Calvin College. Before she worked on the Calvin Prison Initiative, she worked in Calvin's Student Life and Academic departments.
Ray, who is preparing to leave HWPEP, said Bosma is a great fit for the program.
“We are excited to have someone of Cary’s experience and personality join the HWPEP leadership team in this important role,” Ray wrote. “Few people have had a deeper and more influential background in her college life in prison than she has. … She and David Stubbs will be her strongest duo. ”
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HWPEP received formal approval from the Higher Education Commission in 2021, with 20 students enrolled in credit-bearing courses. An additional 20 students are added each fall for a total of 80 students.
Participants will take in-prison classes taught by both Hope and WTS faculty and pursue a bachelor's degree at Hope. Inmates at any of the 26 MDOC facilities can apply and, if accepted, will be transferred to the Muskegon Correctional Facility.
For more information, visit hope.edu/hwpep.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.