Berea's Story

"Berea is the first college in the South to admit blacks and whites, men and women, on an equal basis. A nationally recognized four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences with an inclusive Christian identity, Berea remains true to its founding mission: to provide an excellent education to students of all backgrounds who have great promise but limited economic resources. In exchange for participation in Berea’s unique Labor Program, every student receives a four-year, full tuition scholarship."

A century and a half ago, a small band of Christian abolitionists settled in south-central Kentucky on ten mountainous acres bestowed upon their leader, the Reverend John G. Fee, by Cassius M. Clay. They named the site “Berea” after a Greek town that the apostle Paul visited in his journeys (Acts 17:11). The settlers’ one-room schoolhouse, small worship space, and village have evolved into what are today Berea College, Union Church, and the town of Berea, Kentucky. Their academic programs included instruction at the elementary, secondary, and collegiate levels. (Elementary and secondary school offerings were discontinued in 1968.)

Fee, believing that all people are equal, held that whether black or white, male or female, southern or northern, rich or poor, all are God’s children and justly deserving of an education. His reformist beliefs were embodied in the first interracial, co-educational college in the South: Berea College. Fee chose as Berea’s motto Paul’s assertion that “God has created of one blood all peoples of the earth” (Acts 17:26). Today, Berea draws students from more than 40 states nationally and close to 80 other countries. Celebrating diversity within an egalitarian community, fostering independent thought, and searching for common ground are ideals that continue to motivate contemporary Bereans.

Since its founding in 1855, the pillars of Berea’s educational mission have been learning, labor, and service to others. At the outset, Berea’s instructors truly were educators of “the head, heart, and hand,” to borrow a phrase from the art historian and social critic John Ruskin. They not only taught in the classroom, but also supervised student labor and encouraged students in acts of service to others. This holistic approach to education promoted in each student the self-sufficiency derived from manual labor and the strong sense that any vocation should serve others. Over time, learning, labor, and service gradually evolved into more complex and independent facets of the institution, yet they always have remained the pillars of Berea’s distinctive educational endeavor.

At the turn of the 20th century, Berea’s academic, labor, and service programs became recognizable as separate entities within the larger institution, and the labor program began to attract national attention. Many new apprenticeships developed, including those in Appalachian craft traditions. In 1906, every student was required to perform some type of meaningful labor. Gradually labor mentors articulated learning goals for each job, and, in doing so, they provided a crucial and lasting link between learning (the head) and labor (the hand). Generations of Berea students have gained special insight into the dignity and value of all labor and have seen how their labor helped to sustain the daily operations of the College community.

In 1969, President Willis Weatherford formally published Dean Louis Smith’s list of Berea College’s goals—including the fostering of learning, labor, and service—as the seven “Great Commitments.” In 1993, Berea’s faculty and trustees revised the Weatherford-Smith text so as to include eight Great Commitments and a new preface. These eight Great Commitments serve to define Berea’s special mission; they set forth the ideals toward which the College and its people constantly strive. The Great Commitments are rooted in principles and purposes that have guided Berea since its founding.