UVA and VDOC partner to prepare incarcerated learners for post-release

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The University of Virginia is partnering with the Virginia Department of Corrections to give incarcerated Virginians a second chance after release.

The university is expanding its existing partnership with Resilience Education, which was founded by a Darden professor to teach inmates across Virginia. Now, the program will provide UVA college credit to learners in the resilience program.

“The course credit will also provide them with the opportunity to continue their education post-release, add to their college completion, and also expand their employment opportunities and help them to flourish in their communities post-release,” Co-Founder and Executive Director of Resilience Education Tierney Fairchild said.

The program has expanded to involve different universities and more inmates.

“They wanted not just entrepreneurship, but business foundational skills and personal finance skills, so we created a set of courses that have certificates coming from the Darden School of Business and Resilience Education,” Fairchild said.

Right now, almost 50 Darden MBA students are involved in the partnership as teachers. There are 90 current students across three state facilities.

“If you take all three courses, they take two full academic years to complete,” Fairchild said. “The course credit is something that we are really grateful that Department of Corrections is providing through our school.”

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