COMING SEPTEMBER 2024
FROM UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY

Lessons from the Foothills: Berea College and its Unique Role in America

In Lessons from the Foothills, Gretchen Dykstra profiles contemporary Berea College with its rich and beloved history. Kentucky abolitionist John Gregg Fee established the small school in 1855 to educate anyone eager to learn, regardless of their race—a notion that horrified those convinced of the sanctity of white supremacy.

Four years later on Christmas Eve, sixty-five prominent and armed white men rode into the small town of Berea forced the townspeople to close their integrated one-room schoolhouse. Thirty-six community members, including Fee’s entire family, fled. In 1864 Fee and the others returned and reestablished what became Berea College.

This book is the first to focus solely on Berea’s clearly articulated mission, which individually and holistically, provide clear aspirations for the college and its community. The first of the great commitments says the college will “provide an educational opportunity for students of all races, primarily from Appalachia, who have great promise and limited economic resources.” Berea has never lost its way. Not one of Berea’s 1500 students ever pays tuition; everyone works 10-20 hours on campus to assist with living expenses; 45% are Black or Latino; 5% come from 70 different nations; and all come from low-income families. Many consider Berea the moral compass of the commonwealth,.

Like the institution itself, Dykstra’s portrait is structured around these principles; each chapter functions as a deep dive into the history, current practice, and significance of each of the Eight Great Commitment. With stories and insights from alumni, students, faculty, and staff Lessons from the Foothills is an engaging and illuminating profile of a unique and historic institution and its enduring commitment to academic excellence, public service, and respect for one another.