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Berea College is a small liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky (south of Lexington), founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,500 students. Berea College is distinctive among post-secondary institutions for providing low-cost education to students from low-income families and for having been the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every admitted student is provided the equivalent of a four-year, full-tuition scholarship (currently worth more than $90,000).

Berea offers undergraduate academic programs in 28 different fields. Berea College has a full-participation work-study program. All students are required to work at least 10 hours per week in campus and service jobs in over 130 departments. Berea’s primary service region is the Southern Appalachian region, but students come from all states in the United States and more than 60 other countries. Approximately one in three students represents an ethnic minority.

“You can literally come to Berea with nothing but what you can carry, and graduate debt free,” said Joseph P. Bagnoli Jr., the associate provost for enrollment management. “We call it the best education money can’t buy.”

Actually, what buys that education is Berea’s $1.1 billion endowment, which puts the college among the nation’s wealthiest. But unlike most well-endowed colleges, Berea has no football team, coed dorms, hot tubs or climbing walls. Instead, it has a no-frills budget, with food from the college farm, handmade furniture from the college crafts workshops, and 10-hour-a-week campus jobs for every student.

Berea’s approach provides an unusual perspective on the growing debate over whether the wealthiest universities are doing enough for the public good to warrant their tax exemption, or simply hoarding money to serve an elite few. As many elite universities scramble to recruit more low-income students, Berea’s no-tuition model has attracted increasing attention.

“Asking whether that’s where our values lead us is a powerful way to consider what our values are,” said Anthony Marx, the president of Amherst College, who considered the possibility of using Amherst’s $1 million-per-student endowment to offer free tuition but concluded that it would make no sense, given Amherst’s more affluent student body and the fact that the college already subsidizes about half the cost of each student’s education.

“We’re not Berea, much as we respect them,” Mr. Marx said, adding there would be no social justification for giving free tuition to students from wealthy families.

Although this year’s market drop is taking its toll, the growth in university endowments in recent years has been spectacular. Harvard’s $35 billion endowment, Yale’s $23 billion, Stanford’s $17 billion and Princeton’s $16 billion put them among the world’s richest institutions.

Such endowments have helped make higher education one of the nation’s crown jewels. As Harvard’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust, said in her spring commencement speech this year, endowments at Harvard and other research universities help fuel scientific advances as government support is eroding, and help drive economic growth and expansion in a difficult economy.

Although most universities have only modest endowments, the wealth of the richest has made them increasingly vulnerable to criticism from parents upset about rising tuition costs, lawmakers pushing them to spend more of their money and policy experts arguing that they should be helping more needy students.

“How much do you need to save for future generations, and at what point are you gouging today’s generation?” said Lynne Munson, of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington.

In January, the Senate Finance Committee requested detailed endowment and spending data from 136 colleges and universities with endowments of at least $500 million, with a possible eye to forcing them to spend at least 5 percent of their assets each year, as foundations are required to do. Large, tax-free endowments “should mean affordable education for more students, not just a security blanket for colleges,” said Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who is reviewing the data.

The commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt section said this spring that he wanted his agency to be more aggressive in ensuring that universities made “appropriate use” of their endowments. And officials in Massachusetts are studying a proposal for a 2.5 percent tax on the part of university endowments greater than $1 billion — a threshold exceeded by nine of the state’s universities.

“The endowments have grown to such an astonishing extent that people are asking, if the wealth and the value of the tax exemption are increasing, is the public benefit increasing, as well?” said Evelyn Brody, a tax professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

This year, Ms. Brody said, the debate has entered new territory. Traditionally, discussion about endowments has focused on the balance between using the money for the current generation versus saving it for the benefit of future generations.

“Endowment spending has usually been a ‘when’ question, about when the money would be used for a charitable purpose,” she said. “But now, it’s also being viewed as a ‘what’ question. What is the money for? And I think that’s new.”

In part, it is simply a question of itchy fingers. When one sector amasses great wealth, other sectors find it irresistible.

“That’s why Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the 16th century,” Ms. Brody said. “In those days, it was real estate, which was not easy to hide. Now it’s the disclosure, which makes the universities’ wealth impossible to hide.”

The mounting scrutiny by lawmakers has already prompted some action. Dozens of wealthy colleges have increased their aid to low- and middle-income students, many substituting grants for loans. Many have announced plans to expand their student bodies, and some are doing broader outreach and working with nearby K-12 schools to improve academic preparation.

Nonetheless, according to 2002 data, only one in 10 of the students at the nation’s most selective institutions come from the bottom 40 percent of the income scale. And the proportion of low-income undergraduates at the nation’s wealthiest colleges has been declining, as measured by the percentage receiving federal Pell Grants, for families with income under about $40,000. At most top colleges, only 8 to 15 percent of students receive Pell grants.

At Berea, more than three-quarters of the students receive Pell grants.

Overall, Berea’s statistics speak worlds about the demand for affordable higher education; this year, the college accepted only 22 percent of its applicants. Among those accepted, 85 percent attended Berea, a yield higher than Harvard’s.

Berea can be a haven for the lower-income students at high schools where expensive clothes and fancy homes demarcate the social territory.

“When I first heard about Berea, I didn’t think I wanted to come here,” said Candice Roots, who will be a junior in the fall. “But I visited in my senior year, and as soon as I got here, I knew this was what I wanted. Everybody was like me. You don’t have to have all this money to fit in.”

With its hilly campus, Georgian president’s mansion and old brick buildings, Berea looks much like any elite New England college. But its operating budget is less than half that of Amherst, which has a $1.7 billion endowment and about 100 more students. Faculty pay is much lower, and the student-faculty ratio higher. With no rich parents and no legacy admission slots, fund-raising is far more difficult at Berea.

Lacking tuition, Berea receives 80 percent of its $43 million education and general budget, and about two-thirds of its $55 million operating budget, from the endowment income.

Families bringing a student to a campus interview may stay, free, in a four-bedroom house, complete with flat-screen television and handmade sleigh bed. Students who are single parents have their own residences.

To satisfy the work requirement, some students have jobs in the academic departments, administrative offices and labs, while others are assigned to the college farm, the workshops that make and sell traditional mountain crafts (its handmade brooms, especially, are well-known treasures) or the college-owned hotel, which anchors the town square.

Mr. Marx, in homage, keeps a Berea broom in his Amherst office.

While Mr. Marx is not trying to match Berea’s student population, he is proud of Amherst’s efforts to attract top students from all income brackets. The college has increased the proportion of Pell recipients to nearly 20 percent of its student body, from about 15 percent five years ago, for example. With more than half of Amherst’s students on financial aid, the college announced last year that it would replace loans in all aid packages with grants. A full-time staff member recruits community college graduates as transfer students. Admissions are need-blind, for both American and international applicants.

Although he, like other college presidents, opposes the idea of a required 5 percent payout, Mr. Marx said the current debate over the use of endowments was healthy.

“Congress, the media, the public all have an interest in knowing whether we’re using our resources to make sure the best students have access to the best education,” he said. “They should be asking, are we really affordable? Are we offering the highest quality education? Are we directing graduates to think about their social responsibilities?”

Berea’s president, Larry D. Shinn, also opposes a required 5 percent payout but wants colleges pushed to do more for needy students.

“You see some of these selective liberal arts colleges building new physical education facilities with these huge sheets of glass and these coffee and juice bars, and charging students $40,000 a year, and you have to ask, does this contribute to the public good, or is it just a way for the college to keep up with the Joneses?” Mr. Shinn said. “We are a tax-exempt institution, so I think the public has a right to demand that our educational mission be at the heart of all of our expenditures.”

History

Founded in 1855 on the abolitionist principles of John Gregg Fee (1816-1901), Berea College admitted both black and white students in a fully integrated curriculum, making it the first nonsegregated, coeducational college in the South and one of a handful of institutions of higher learning to admit both male and female students in the mid-1800s. The College began as a one-room schoolhouse that also served as a church on Sundays. Although the school’s first articles of incorporation were adopted in 1859, founder John Gregg Fee and the teachers were forced out of the area by pro-slavery supporters in that same year. Fee spent the Civil War years raising funds for the school and returned afterward to continue his work. In 1869, the first college students were admitted, and the first bachelor’s degrees were awarded in 1873.

In 1904, the Kentucky state legislature’s passage of the “Day Law” disrupted Berea’s interracial education by prohibiting education of black and white students together. The college challenged the law in state court and further appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in Berea College v. Kentucky. When the challenge failed, the college had to become a segregated school, but it set aside funds to help establish the Lincoln Institute near Louisville to educate black students. In 1950, when the law was amended to allow integration of schools at the college level, Berea promptly resumed its integrated policies.

Up until the 1960s, Berea provided pre-college education in addition to college level curriculum. In 1968, the elementary and secondary schools (Foundation School) were discontinued in favor of focusing on undergraduate college education.

Academics and student life

For the past decade, Berea College has been consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the number one comprehensive college in the South[citation needed]. A high percentage of Berea graduates go on to graduate and professional schools, and the College is also active in international programs, with about half of Berea students studying abroad before graduation. The college provides significant funding to assist students in studying abroad. Berea students are also eligible to win the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship which provides funding for a year of study abroad following graduation. Like many private colleges, Berea does not enroll students based upon semester hours. Berea College uses a course credit system, which has the following equivalencies:

* A .25 credit course is the equivalent of 1 semester hour.

* A .50 credit course is the equivalent of 2 semester hours.

* A .75 credit course is equivalent to 3 semester hours.

* A 1.00 credit course is the equivalent to 4 semester hours.

All students are required to attend the college on a full-time basis, which is 3.00 course credits of enrollment, or 12 semester hours. Students must be enrolled in at least 4.00 course credits to be considered for the Dean’s list. Enrollment in 5.00 or more course credits requires the approval of the Academic Provost, and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Part-time enrollment is not permitted except during Summer term. A cumulative GPA of 2.5 is required in all majors in order to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree.

Scholarships and work program

Berea College provides all students with full-tuition scholarships (valued at $23,400 per year), and many receive support for room and board as well. Admission to the College is granted only to students who need financial assistance (as determined by the FAFSA); in general, applications are accepted only from those whose family income falls within the bottom 40% of U.S. households. About 75% of the college’s incoming class is drawn from the Appalachian region of the South and some adjoining areas, and about 8% are international students. Generally, no more than one student is admitted from a given country in a single year (with the exception of countries in distress such as Tibet and Liberia). This policy ensures that 70 or more nationalities are usually represented in the student body of Berea College. All international students are admitted on full scholarships with the same regard for financial need as U.S. students.

In order to support its extensive scholarship program, Berea College has one of the largest financial reserves of any American college when measured on a per-student basis. The endowment stands at $1 billion. The base of Berea College’s finances is dependent on substantial contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations that support the mission of the college and donations from alumni. A solid investment strategy increased the endowment from $150 million in 1985 to its current amount.

As a work college, Berea has a student work program in which all students work 10 or more hours per week on campus. Employment opportunities range from busing tables at the Boone Tavern Hotel, a historic business owned by the college, to managing the hanging and focusing of lights for the productions at the Theatre Lab. Other job duties include janitorial labor, building management, resident assistance, gardening and groundskeeping, information technology, woodworking, and secretarial work. Students are currently paid an hourly wage at or above $3.00 per hour by the college. The college regularly increases student pay on a yearly basis, but it has never been equivalent to the federal minimum wage in the school’s history. Students are not allowed to work off campus. Students are also not allowed to have cars on campus without a special permit, and student permits for cars are rarely granted to first- or second-year students. The college generally uses a shuttle bus system to provide students with supplemental transport.

Campus life

Technology is an important part of life at Berea College. To help students bridge the “digital divide,” in 2000 Berea launched its laptop initiative as the top objective of its Sesquicentennial fundraising campaign. Since 2002, all students at Berea receive laptops that they take with them when they graduate from Berea. Students are not required to pay for the computers, though they do provide a small fee to support the technological infrastructure. There are about 5,800 data ports on campus, and the College is working to establish a campuswide wireless network, with 24 on-campus wireless hotspots currently.

Berea’s sports teams are called the “Mountaineers.” They compete in the NAIA’s Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Berea has not had a football team since 1904.

Christian identity

Berea was founded by progressive, non-sectarian Christians, and it still maintains a Christian identity separate from any particular denomination. The college’s motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth”, is taken from Acts 17:26. Many General Studies courses are focused on Christian faith, and every student is required to take an Understandings of Christianity course in his/her Sophomore or Junior year. In effort to be sensitive to the diverse nature of humanity, these courses stress that Christianity is one of many paths to an understanding of God, and that its holy book, the Bible, is neither absolutely true nor authoritative. Rather, Berea College emphasizes that the Bible is a collection of stories that contain lessons for the religious pilgrim.

Library collections
The Hutchins Library maintains an extensive collection of books, archives, and music pertaining to the history and culture of the Southern Appalachian region. The Southern Appalachian Archives contain organizational records, personal papers, oral histories, and photographs. Included are the papers of the Council of the Southern Mountains (1912-1989) and the Appalachian Volunteers (1963-1970).

Presidents of Berea College

1 Edward Henry Fairchild (1869–90)
2 William B. Stewart (1890–93)
3 William Goodell Frost (1893–1920)
4 William J. Hutchins (1920–39)
5 Francis Hutchins (1939–67)
6 Willis Weatherford (1967–84)
7 John B. Stephenson (1984–94)
8 Larry Shinn (1994–Present)

Notable alumni

* John B. Fenn - winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in chemistry
* Rodney Griffin - award winning songwriter and baritone with Southern gospel group Greater Vision
* Finley Hamilton - United States Representative from Kentucky.
* Julia B. Hooks - second African-American woman in the United States to graduate from college and paternal grandmother of Benjamin Hooks
* Juanita M. Kreps - U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Jimmy Carter
* Keven McQueen, author of several books chronicling violent crime in pre-20th century Kentucky
* Harold “Hal” Moses, M.D. - Director Emeritus, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center; Professor of Cancer Biology
* Tharon Musser - Tony Award winning lighting designer known especially for her work on A Chorus Line
* Jack Roush - founder, CEO, and owner of Roush Fenway Racing, a NASCAR team
* Helen Maynor Scheirbeck - Assistant Director for Public Programs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian
* Naomi Tutu - daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and activist
* Muse Watson - American actor
* Billy Edd Wheeler - songwriter, performer and writer
* Carter G. Woodson - African-American historian, author, and journalist. Co-founder of Black History Month

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