Rhodes College Professors Bring Liberal Arts Education to West Tennessee State Penitentiary Inmates
Rhodes College professors are delivering liberal arts education to inmates at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary through their "Liberal Arts in Prison" program.
Terre Haute, IN, November 2, 2026 — Rhodes College is extending its academic reach into the correctional system, with professors currently delivering liberal arts education to incarcerated individuals at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary.
The initiative, known as the “Liberal Arts in Prison” program, facilitates the transfer of college-level learning to an inmate population. The program’s core objective is to provide inmates with access to the types of academic subjects typically found within a liberal arts curriculum. This includes subjects that encourage critical thinking, analytical skills, and broader understanding of various disciplines.
Details regarding the specific faculty members involved in teaching the courses, the exact number of inmates participating, or the duration of the program were not immediately available. The curriculum’s specific focus areas within the liberal arts, such as literature, history, philosophy, or social sciences, were also not detailed.
The West Tennessee State Penitentiary serves as the location for this educational outreach. Information concerning the long-term goals or the documented outcomes of the program, such as recidivism rates or post-release educational achievements for participants, has not been publicly disclosed. Funding sources for the “Liberal Arts in Prison” program were also not provided.
Programs like this often aim to provide inmates with intellectual stimulation and skills that can contribute to personal development and potentially aid in rehabilitation efforts. However, the specific impact and operational details of the Rhodes College program at West Tennessee State Penitentiary remain limited in publicly available information.
Story summarized from the original created by Kym Clark, InvestigateTV staff on www.wthitv.com, see more information here.
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