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Palo Verde College Graduation Ceremonies at Ironwood and Chuckwalla State Prisons — June 7, 2007

The Palo Verde Community College Commencement Ceremony is held on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 and 71 Ironwood State Prison inmates are conferred Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees. Another 15 received vocational certificates. At the neighboring Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, 27 inmates received A.A.’s and A.S. degrees, plus 20 inmates earned their vocational certificates. This is the largest number of inmates in the United States ever to earn higher education degrees at one time. This historic achievement is the result of a unique partnership between Palo Verde College in Blythe, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

Photo/T. Thornton

Board of Governors President Kay Albiani, Valedictorian Lawrence Rago, Chancellor Mark Drummond, Chuckawalla State Prison Warden John Salazar and Palo Verde College Superintendent/President James Hottois are pictured after the Chuckawalla State Prison Commence-ment Ceremony. Friends, families, college faculty and staff plus corrections administrators celebrated their hard work and academic achievements of the incarcerated students.

Photo/D. Asuncion

Chancellor Mark Drummond is being interviewed by a National Geographic Television (NGT) camera crew. Featuring several inmate students, the NGT crew is producing a “Lockdown” documentary of the Ironwood State Prison graduation. NGT’s “Lockdown” documentaries “has consistently been one of the highest rated programs when it has aired on the National Geographic Channel in the US,” according to National Geographic Television International. This “Lockdown” documentary is scheduled to air later this year.

Photo/T. Thornton

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