ST. GABRIEL, La. — Fifteen women prisoners earned associate degrees in New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s (NOBTS) winter commencement at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in St. Gabriel, La.
The seminary’s Leavell College issued the associate degrees in Christian ministry Jan. 14, marking a significant milestone in the development of the certificate-training program launched in 2011 as a pilot.
The program at the women’s prison is the seminary’s first effort to provide training for female inmates. Nineteen women inmates graduated with ministry certificates in 2012. Now 15 inmates are one step closer to receiving fully accredited bachelor’s degrees.
The women’s prison program followed in the footsteps of three other successful NOBTS programs for male inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La.; Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Miss.; and Philips State Prison in Buford, Ga.
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