On May 11, Duke Divinity School brought a version of the school’s traditional Closing Convocation service to the halls of the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women (NCCIW) in Raleigh, N.C. Clad in traditional regalia, Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric and other Divinity School faculty processed into the NCCIW Chapel alongside five incarcerated women to honor and celebrate their earning a Certificate of Achievement in Theological Education. 

The certificate represents two and a half years of study in Project TURN, Duke's in-prison education program. Project TURN—“Transform, Unlock, Renew”—is a Duke Divinity initiative originally co-founded by the NC Department of Adult Correction Chaplaincy Services Director Rev. Dr. Sarah Jobe in 2009. 

The program brings incarcerated students and Duke seminarians together to study theology, religion, and ethics alongside one another. Courses are offered free of charge to incarcerated students and are designed to foster mutual learning, deep reflection, and opportunities for personal and vocational growth. 

The NCCIW service included a brief history of the program by Jobe, who is also a Duke Divinity alumna (MDiv and ThD), a sermon by Dean Colón-Emeric, an award of the certificates, and a prayer of blessing and commission. (Learn about the history of Prison Studies at Duke Divinity.)

“I can't tell you how moving it was to hear the stories where God has clearly been at work and to see the full value of theological education helping these students to engage with God, to find healing, and to find their voices. Jerusha Neal's preaching course literally helped them to speak, with value, for the first time in their lives.”

Douglas Campbell, Professor of New Testament

Two of the certificate graduates—Amanda Mumford and Aamber Swann—originally received their certificates during the school’s annual Closing Convocation service, which marks the end of the academic year, in Duke Chapel on April 16. Michael Hoover, who is currently incarcerated at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex, was also honored then and watched the service remotely. Tarence Belcher, Janely Cardenas, and Kristen McNeil were unable to attend the Duke convocation and received their certificates at the NCCIW service. 

This was the first official visit by a Duke Divinity School dean to a prison. “These women have helped build one of the most important Pentecost places of the Divinity School,” said Dean Colón-Emeric. “It was an honor and joy to award their certificates in person and be part of this fiesta and blessing within the NCCIW.”

“The graduation ceremony honored the dedication, intellectual rigor, and spiritual growth of the graduates, including students from both inside and outside the prison, whose work reflects the transformative power of theological education within correctional settings," said Jobe, who is also consulting faculty at Duke Divinity and co-director of the Prison Studies program. "The dean’s visit underscored Duke Divinity School’s ongoing commitment to prison education, restorative justice, and the belief that learning communities can flourish across prison walls.”

Professors Douglas Campbell, Aaron Griffth, and Jerusha Neal—who have all taught Project TURN classes—also took part in the NCCIW service. Two alumnae of the Divinity School and its Certificate in Prison Studies, who have since become prison chaplains alongside Jobe—Chaplain Bernadine Anthony and Chaplain Camber Herrig—also attended, along with several Duke Divinity students who had participated in Project TURN with the NCCIW graduates.

“I can't tell you how moving it was to hear the stories where God has clearly been at work and to see the full value of theological education helping these students to engage with God, to find healing, and to find their voices,” said Campbell. “Jerusha Neal's preaching course literally helped them to speak, with value, for the first time in their lives.”

Learn more about Prison Studies at Duke Divinity School and the Certificate in Prison Studies.

Awarding Certificates of Achievement in Theological Education

NCCIW graduates pose in gowns with Divinity faculty and others.

Certificate graduates pose with the dean; Divinity School faculty; Melissa Culbreth, Project TURN’s site coordinator at NCCIW; and Sarah Neff, who served as a teaching assistant for a Project TURN class.

Faculty and other process into the NCCIW Chapel

Bernadine Anthony leads Jobe, Dean Colón-Emeric, Neal, Griffith, Cambell, and the certificate graduates during the procession.

NCCIW graduates pose after the service

Certificate graduates pose with the dean, Divinity School faculty, Divinity students who have participated in the Project TURN courses, Divinity School alumni, and friends of the program.

Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric gives a sermon at NCCIW.

Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric gives a sermon during the service in the NCCIW Chapel.

Prison certificates during Closing Convocation 2026

Two students, Amanda Mumford and Aamber Swann, received their certificates at the school's Closing Convocation in Duke Chapel.