School of Restorative Arts

North Park School of Restorative Arts Stateville Graduation Ceremony 2022

June 15, 2022

On Wednesday, June 15 at Stateville Correctional Center, North Park Theological Seminary graduated 28 incarcerated and 5 outside students with Master’s Degrees.

The graduation was the first of its kind in an Illinois Department of Corrections facility and represents a profound commitment to liberative and restorative education.

“What North Park University understood with this program is that we achieve our highest calling as a community when those who have the least among us are leading the charge to get us there. They recognize that this isn’t charitable, we are only at our greatest when those who have the least among us have what we have. We are interconnected, we are one another. ”

— Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx

“We are receiving our master’s degrees because our potential is not defined by our worst mistakes. Let today’s event be an example of what happens when opportunities are created, potentials are unignored and complete restoration is always the aim of justice.”

—SRA student Jamal Bakr

Kim Foxx speaking at podium
Illinois State’s Attorney Kim Foxx delivered the keynote address for the first graduating class of the School of Restorative Arts at Stateville Correctional Center