Cornell University is set to become the first Ivy League school to offer bachelor’s degrees to incarcerated students.
The Cornell Prison Education Program plans to launch a three-year Bachelor of Professional Studies program at Cayuga Correctional Facility in August 2027.
The medium-security men’s prison in Moravia, New York, has housed notorious inmates, including transgender serial killer Harvey Marcelin, who spent 50 years behind bars before being released on parole in 2019 at age 88.
Marcelin was imprisoned again last June after being accused of dismembering his latest victim. He is now held at a maximum-security prison east of Buffalo.
Cayuga Correctional Facility is located about 20 miles from Cornell’s Ithaca campus, which has recently faced allegations of drug-fueled gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house.
The program’s first approved major will be “Organizations, Markets and Society,” combining coursework in business, public policy and the social sciences.
The inaugural cohort will include 12 to 18 inmates. Courses are expected to cover economics, statistics, data analytics, entrepreneurship, marketing and finance through self-paced study and in-person sessions led by Cornell professors at the prison for discussion and networking.
Applicants must have an associate’s degree or the equivalent of two years of undergraduate education. The opportunity will be open to inmates already at Cayuga as well as those seeking transfers to the facility.
READ MORE: Heartbreaking Nigerian Scam Leads to Disabled Woman Capturing Disturbing Photos
Asked whether people convicted of violent crimes would be excluded, Cornell University said that participants’ prior records and conduct while in the program would be subject to strict standards.
“We do this work in the pursuit of breaking the cycles of crime and incarceration — making a safer and more just society for all,” a Cornell Prison Education Program spokesperson told The Post.
Since its founding in 2001, the Ivy League program has taught more than 1,000 inmates at Cayuga, Auburn and Five Points correctional facilities. About 200 have completed associate’s degrees, with tuition and fees waived.
Cornell also received $750,000 over five years from the Manhattan district attorney’s office through its Criminal Justice Investment Initiative.
Last year’s offerings included poetry, astronomy, creative writing, social psychology, world civilization, microeconomics, infectious diseases, introductory math and meditation.
“We work to create something that feels much closer to a true college experience,” the Cornell Prison Education Program says on its website. The program highlights extracurricular activities such as a debate club at Cayuga, which it describes as fostering a “thoughtful and nonjudgmental atmosphere” focused on “liberating the mind.”
Separately, New York Attorney General Letitia James has been appointed special prosecutor to investigate whether criminal charges should be filed against seven Cornell fraternity brothers accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a female student.
Two defendants have filed motions seeking James’ removal, arguing that she demonstrated prejudice after referring to Jane Doe as a “survivor” in a social media post.
