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The QR code on the back of this book cover launches the reader into the halls of a maximum prison where the author served many years. The documentary gives a different view of the prison environment. Highlighting the end result of a program operated by incarcerated people called PACT (Project for a Calculated Transition). A program the author was the president of, and which Yale University sponsored for over forty years. PACT allowed the author a platform to improve the lives of incarcerated men and staff alike. Some of the answers in this book were developed and extended to many men in the bowels of a NYS maximum prison. Ironically, some of the very same techniques are used in one of the countries around the world (Norway) that have the lowest recidivism rates internationally.
This work serves as a blueprint for pundits in favor of the criminal justice system and those who are impacted within the criminal justice system. Unlike most discussions surrounding the criminal justice system and incarcerated people, this effort is one made by someone who has lived on both sides of the experience as an incarcerated person in corrections and subsequently as a staff member within corrections.
The transformation that Dr. Bolus invoked at one of the lowest points of his life, shows people how faith and persistence can change some of the most dismal circumstances ever imagined. Dr. Bolus started this trek with a deep introspection and personal inventory, and then ultimately outlined what was the process for an individual who may have never learned any other way to live outside of committing crime? What are the characteristics of a criminal? What should a layperson know about criminal thinking and behavior for their own survival? What are some of the rehabilitative answers that the criminal justice system has overlooked that ultimately harm our society? How should we as citizens deal with the criminal element and the imbalance in criminal justice? These are some topics of discussion in this book.
Additional topics of discussion involve why is there such a high level of violence inside of the prison system, where does the hopelessness in the incarcerated person come from, and why is it that staff are not given the proper training in the way of human services and psychology courses to ensure the proper rehabilitation of those who are entrusted in their care? Why is it that correctional officers sometimes feel helpless and neglected in their daily duties?
Dr. Roy Bolus takes readers behind prison walls and into the heart of the human experience. His honesty, vulnerability, and thoughtful analysis make Hello Yale! both eye-opening and deeply inspiring. It is a powerful reminder that a person’s past does not have to define their future.
When I met Dr. Bolus during my time at Yale Law School, I was struck by his vision and his tireless work to create empowering educational spaces for his peers. This book provides insights about the brutal realities people inside prisons face, and his pathway through it all. I am in awe of the leadership he has shown against all odds.
Roy Bolus’s insights from his experiences are as important as his story is moving. Alongside people who study or work in the criminal legal system, anyone who thinks about our values as a society would benefit from reading his work.
About the Author Dr. Bolus was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He has over 34 years of experience in the criminal justice system. Dr. Bolus grew up in a poverty-stricken, violent, drug-infested neighborhood called Bedford Stuyvesant. The same neighborhood where popular names like Jay-Z, Al Sharpton, Spike Lee, Chris Rock, and Biggie Smalls derived.
Facing tremendous odds and negative influences, as a child raised in a single-parent household, Dr. Bolus found himself on the losing end. He was arrested at 18 and sentenced to life in prison.
During 31 years of Incarceration, Dr. Bolus earned a doctorate and two master degrees, learned public speaking, created rehabilitation programs for incarcerated people, created an accredited college program for men inside, and taught criminal thinking/behavior classes. Dr. Bolus’ strides were so great and unorthodox that politicians, as well as the governor of NYS, had taken notice, culminating in the release of Dr. Bolus from prison.
Post release, Dr. Bolus became a professor at Yale University, conducts lectures across the country about his experiences as a youth and criminal thinking, give motivational speeches, has worked as correctional staff, worked with men and women on parole and probation, currently serves on the governor’s ad hoc clemency committee with the Clemency Collective group, and provides counsel to those who are in the throes of drug addiction.
