>> Berea College was the first integrated coeducational college in the South.

The legacy of this Kentucky institution.

It's also built around its 130 year model.

That swaps work study for tuition.

I talked with the current president while rule office about the 10 year plus 10 year his tenure at Berea and why he's moving on from this great college and his greatest accomplishments.

That's coming up.

Now on connections.

Thank you for joining us today for connections.

I'm Renee Shaw Berea College, as you've probably heard, is a college like no other and even says so on their Web site, as it makes a note to Ihsan promise to its students.

The leaders of this Kentucky institution, Billy Free College is a conversation worth having as they proven for more than a century, that it's a model that works.

And I'm delighted to be joined by the college's night President Mile Rule Office who announced his retirement several months ago, but is continuing to build on the college's reputation and dynamic ways which will talk about today.

Thank you, Mister President, for being here.

Thank you, Renee, it's good to see you again.

And I have to say publicly how I was to receive the service award last year from Berea College and then so well and to spend the time the reward for May was not just a beautiful plot, but it was the reception of those students who at a 5, me in ways that I cannot explain to this day.

You are a tremendous example to our students for sure.

Well, but I they were to me and I've kept in topper to touch with a few of since I left.

And what really I was struck by was there is the Berea spirit, which I can't even describe of this mature cohorts that they are of all ages, they say are a compassionate group of kids who are concerned about community connecting to community and things that matter.

Did they come there with that since ability or is that just nurture debris or is it a combination of both?

It's probably some of both, but really.

>> When they join a community where they are co workers, they're not just They're all responsible for some part of the work of the college.

And when they are all in the same circumstances, they all came without the financial means to pay for college and they they find a community where they they fit well together, they thrive.

They bring the best out in one another.

>> Yeah.

And tell us about the diversity of the students that come to Brea from all corners for highly diverse.

We do focus on Appalachia and Kentucky, but even so we're quite diverse in terms of students of color were at a little over 40% students of color.

>> We don't think that's particularly remarkable, though, because in the last half of the 19th century, we were 50 50.

We've always been a school that different folks have to come into this community and learn from one another.

Teach one another and make something special from their diversity.

So diversity is in our DNA.

And although we have the segregation era in Kentucky, once we're past that, we've been rebuilding that model of a very diverse.

And of course, it's not just black and white.

It was really only black and white in the 19th century.

The other races weren't very, very common in the U.S. now.

We have a wonderful rainbow of of people from all over the world.

Animal on the set, all ethnicities to right.

>> And what is it that you think they take away the most after their Berea College experience other than a degree?

Well, I think that idea that you can build a special I believe.

>> In fact, sometimes that's a negative because they go on and they can't find something like But they also realize they have been given the tools for creating or at least for moving their community and good directions.

And I really do think I hear this back from alarms that idea of wherever they go.

What was special about birria is part of part of what they're trying to do right.

>> And if we could replicate the community of Berea across all other communities, think how far we would go in terms of our understanding of each other right.

Having that rule urban mix and all those different demographics all together.

We would certainly have a little bit more understanding and tolerance of each other in celebration of each other.

And we would understand our obligation to respect one another to learn from one another and so on not to treat.

>> That other person has other and someone to be scared of her to be angry with someone.

That's that's just not what we do it Yeah, you can take a student from the mountains who has been in a very conservative background politically and religiously and a gay kid who came from the suburbs of Cincinnati they meet and they figure out, OK, I never really had to interact with someone like you, but I get it now.

So, yeah, yeah.

I just think about that.

And replicated everywhere.

>> Well, let's talk about some of the great accomplishments.

As I did announce your retirement and you I want you to explain why.

Because you are leaving birria at a time when so much is happening.

This just of pure excellence that that institution.

Why now?

>> Well, wonderful question.

I'm old enough to retire, first of all, the better way to talk about this is I came to college presidency with the idea that really like the college president sees are not such a good idea.

So I told the board when we came that I thought 10 years was a good duration.

They said, OK, I said, I'm not sure I'm making 10 years, not all presidents They said OK to that, too.

But then when 10 years came, they said we'd like you to consider staying longer.

So Lori and I said, well, let's go another get the get the school plenty of time to get ready for presidential transition.

But I will say to that he really probably want to leave the school when it's in good shape.

then it can be disruptive in traumatic to go through a presidential transition.

At least you're solid going into it or not.

And of course, most presidential transitions give you more energy.

New ideas, new excitement.

So at the end of the day, it will be a good thing for Berea right?

>> Well, you have a lasting legacy there.

I want to talk first about the hydroelectric dam and you've got a second facility now.

And so I want to talk about that.

We've actually feature did that on our Kentucky EDITION program, right when it debuts first been the first week of its debut.

So tell us about this.

And environmentalism has always been something that you've been a highly interested.

And I understand, right?

Absolutely.

So the reasons for doing hydro or any renewable energy are pretty obvious, particularly.

>> If you are an educational institution where you want to show sustainability is important.

Individuals have to make choices but institutions can do things to do than we have all of our building projects have been LEED certified.

We have gone away from the intensive carbon usage will talk a little bit about our sustainable forestry.

But the idea that we could renewable Lee generate half of the college's electricity was what drew us to this project initially, we also found a couple of very capable engineers who had already recovered the hydroelectric facility at at Dam 7 on the Kentucky River and they convinced us that it would be possible to do this project.

Lock 12 we realize that not only are there the sustainability implications, but also we're doing economic development in that area.

We we used local a local contractor on a Pike County to do most of the work, the revenue, the tax revenue goes to still county schools, the electricity we sell discounted from the wholesale rate to the Jackson Electric Co-operative.

So their customers are getting the benefit of a 94% are a 6% discount on the electricity that the plant produces.

So just all kinds of reasons.

Plus, I'm a technical sort of person.

I was a physics professor before I was a college president in this kind of thing.

Just it just really sings for.

Yeah, it was up your alley, right?

A good returns of that as you as you move.

I but there's a second.

>> Project to write, write the board, the more of a skeptical eye as they should be.

I mean, we're college.

We're not we're not an engineering firm.

So when I said, but they're also for other dams.

We can do this.

They said, let's get one right first.

And so but when we flip the switch and not only selling electricity, but getting big they authorized us to start of the next project which is in Heidelberg, which is 33 miles upriver Lock and Dam 14 kind of an almost an identical lock and dam situations.

So everything we learned doing lock 12, like what do you do about those big trees that come floating down?

The river might not all be useful knowledge for us.

And we're expecting to do 30% better in terms of the capacity of that plan, even though it's a forever you'd say maybe less water, right?

But we will because of improvements in efficiency we are expecting to be that that much better when we finish that project.

>> And this is the first institution of higher education to do such a venture, correct?

Yes, and I like to say we were in a race with Notre Dame University.

They're doing a hydro project on the Saint Johns River, South Bend.

And we finish first.

Working on the second.

Try >> I don't know when they will finish, but I hope we're far along on the second right when they flipped.

There's do you see this being a continuing effort?

I think The first for 12, 14 and then 13 11 are all pretty much identical.

Then we can do the same thing and we are working to get the appropriate regulatory approvals we want to be first in line at those so I think I don't think we should do more than one at a time, but I don't see why we should do all 4 and and just get the value.

Then out.

Then the water molecules generate electricity for us 4 times.

Not just one last.

That's amazing.

Well, let's talk about the forestry efforts here because this is interesting.

And this isn't is this a new endeavor as well?

This is this is new from the point of view of sustainable management of the forest.

We've had a forest that's been growing since the 1920's when a faculty member by the name of silence Mason realized he could buy a cleared land cleared forest land for pennies on the acre.

And so he accumulated the first 6,000 acres just as you know, costin virtually nothing by this kind of a gift to the But it was only in the last decade that we've expanded to about 9,000 acres and really committed to sustainable management of forestry.

What >> of the force, which means horse long.

So instead of clear cutting an area which we have been doing up up until the last 10 years.

We now go into an area and take out only the worst trees that their harvest of all.

But there were the ones that are going to die in the next 5 years or they're there damaging the environment for other trees and we don't disrupt the forced we send in the horses.

They pull the logs out and then we sell the logs either we they're used to that would in our student crafts area home.

We sell it to specialty mills because it is high quality lumber.

Why if you do it that way over time your force gets healthier grows We will eventually be up to 6 teams of horses and 6 pairs of waters and even then will only cut 20% of the new growth while forced.

>> I can just only imagine these vigils out of the summit will have to capture some of you need to send a crew out.

Yeah, I mean, the horses, the horses love it.

I mean there and I was just as that, which I thought might have been a dumb question how the horses acclimating to the outside.

The horses are the best variance of If I had a choice, all the variants would be horses.

They would be so people are much more complicated.

The horses are 2 of them are in the team.

>> They're pulling a little wheeled buggy, kind of that.

Is by a little bit of leverage, able to lift the end of the log off the ground.

So it slides better rain.

But the horses are waiting impatiently for that long to be hooked up and they've got their years this way.

Instead of this way, of course, is years.

Yeah, this this way because they're waiting for the command to pull.

And as soon as the larger says, get up the years, go forward and they go and they go for him.

I will definitely have to go to a small have to see that.

How fascinated building a new barn in accessible place so that people will be able to see an encounter, the horses, but will also.

>> Over time, try to arrange the logging.

So that's more accessible to the public.

You have to watch.

I mean, a lot of things dangerous, right by the dream comes crashing down.

You want to know where everybody is and where the tree is going to fall and where your cameras are, We should do that something.

Yeah, absolutely.

Would love to do that.

Another another Berea get for us.

We'll be glad to do that.

>> I want to talk about tech talk about all technology in new going from Mayor Gray area your tech campaign that are undergoing now to that such an interesting story.

I I love oftentimes say it seems like Bria connects better to the past and the future than the present.

haha.

>> we have always had students coming out of the mountains with a kind of do it yourself appreciation for technology and that many of them didn't come to study philosophy or physics.

They came to Berea because we have a technology program, though they'll do the level art stuff.

But they're really drawn to that.

So we've always had strong programs and technology.

But of course, we're trying to move them now we have been for the last 20 years.

Computer science is now our biggest major.

So we're sending students big tech firms and where students are entrepreneur setting up their own business nowadays.

You don't even have to go to Silicon Valley.

You can get these jobs anywhere where we've added engineering to our design used to be industrial arts, which connected to old fashion industries.

Now its design advanced manufacturing engineering.

And so on.

And so the facilities that we built in 1956, in opened in 1958, you can imagine don't connect very well at all.

The future of technology is small nimble, manufacturing practices.

Lots of artificial intelligence built and lots of technology on the digital side.

And so we we definitely need new facilities.

And so over the next 5 years, we will be building 2 new buildings to really meet that demand.

And we expect that to continue to be one of the thank you said draws students to birria and then gives them well starting careers in those areas are 60, 70, $80,000.

That's 2 to 3 times as much as the average family income at Berea College.

So match a student comes the mountains family has almost nothing.

Gets that first paycheck.

And you know, it's life changing life changing.

And that student not only can do something for him or herself but can do something for the >> Do you find that you're having to prop up the PR campaign when it comes to the tech the to do offer or do people know that already?

Because I think part rat people in Kentucky may not first technology with Berea College.

Truly, we're thought of.

>> Because it's a college like no other its sort of like and like the elephant in the fable where people have these different impressions, the dominant impression is that we're and Hardison right But in fact, we do nice programs in the arts and partisanship and we have the student crafts so that students are doing ceramics are doing woodworking weaving.

So that's true.

well, factor your question.

We are always dealing with an uninformed population.

Would we recruit?

We're talking to families who have not had any family members go to college.

They don't know that world.

They don't know what to expect.

So our admissions effort is all about families and students who probably didn't.

Many of them are really thinking college is going to be a possibility for and definitely we talk about the liberal arts and how important that is.

But we also do you can come to Brea and study nursing or education or business or pre engineering or computer science.

And in fact, that's reassuring to a lot a lot of families who are a little concerned about.

So what am I going to do with that degree in English or that degree even in physics or something like that?

They just don't.

That's there aren't any phd's in physics in their home communities so bright that that sounds familiar to that at one state.

Once they get on that journey of Brea College, some of them say sure enough.

I want to be a to go get a Ph D and others are very happy to be nurses, computer scientists, etcetera.

>> Let's talk about nursing we've done programs on on this program and broadcast here at the network center about the nursing shortage.

And we know that higher institutions are being looked at is helping to be these these feeders.

Of course, I mean that that's the the way to get the education and experience and to get a good job.

But apparently there's some fatigue among the current We know that we've heard from even the head of the nursing association that know they've been kind of viewed with some vilification during COVID that once they were the heroes and men as mitigation measures kind of ramped up and and professionals and health care settings are asking patients to mask up and do certain things that hides kind of turned on them.

And so the recruitment effort is in high gear.

Now, what's Berea College doing to help build up that workforce?

>> Well, we we do have I think we have the oldest.

Nursing program associate with a college or university west of the Allegheny.

we've been doing nursing for a long time.

Always been an important major.

There was a time when the majority of nurses and teachers in eastern Kentucky where Breonna graduates and now, of course, there are bigger programs we don't have we don't have that those numbers anymore.

But we're still a tremendous opportunity for students.

Very high quality program.

We've had 100% pass rate on the certification exams that nurses take.

They're called and collects for 7 years.

Now.

And it's just it's just an incredible program.

It is hard to go from.

We graduate 10 to 12 new versus a year course.

That's not a big number.

It is hard to go from wherever you are and double it.

That takes 4 years for a nurse to finish and there isn't any way that you can compress that and still have a good outcome.

though, my my school and all of the other schools of the Independent Association in our state are opening new opportunities for students.

It's going to be a slow I would say.

You mentioned the vilification.

I would say that if we're worried about nursing shortages, we should treat the nurses better.

I mean, they they should not be exhausted from their job.

They should not be punished for the good they're doing.

it's it's no wonder that some of them are leaving the There are much easier might.

Lori was a nurse for the first 5 years of our marriage I know how hard nurses, nurses work and the kind of emotional highs and lows you can you can feel wonderful about what you've been able to do with one patient one day and the next day you can be crushed by, you know, something you couldn't stop from happening.

Yeah.

So I have great admiration for nurses.

I think we should treat them better.

And then we would lose money right now.

So true could be said about the education profession as well.

>> Yeah, right now let's talk about higher education, particularly private institutions.

You know, we've for many years we heard the groans from public institutions who always wanted more money from Frankfurt because that was helping to they would say offset the tuition increases.

But you are to mission free institution.

But I am curious about the struggles that private institutions like Brie is experiencing.

Are they having some of the similar struggles that we hear public institutions are enduring?

one thing people have to understand about education is we're not educating now.

The way we did.

2030, 40 years ago, we're facing a bigger to get a student from.

How he or she is coming to college to being ready to be part of modern society that.

That keeps on getting harder.

So I read people wonder why do costs go up in higher education?

Well, we're not just building the same car every year.

Just like in the auto industry.

The car has to be that much better year by year.

So does the student so costs are going to go up the kinds of issues we face.

Our more along the lines of trying to make sure the public really understands what we're So it can support.

And and we're not interested in the public that only wants to support private colleges.

We want a Kentucky population that supports higher education wherever it is.

University of Kentucky Eastern Kentucky University Brea College.

It's all important.

Not that every student needs or shouldn't go to college.

But many should and and the advantages to an individual from doing it are so clear.

And so a and it's a big puzzle in higher education.

Why do we have to point that out to we're willing to do because it's our job, but the idea that go getting that four-year degree and roughly tripling the income you would receive over a lifetime having access to jobcentre more enjoyable and more rewarding.

I'm having the benefits in your personal life of of education.

So that idea that we have to sell 4 years of really high quality experience.

Now, I realize.

We have to be conscious of the costs.

And so I'm delighted to be in an institution that really gets that right rain.

But even if you put Weast, we spent 40,000 a year to educate our students.

So if you go to another place where the student has to come up with part of that, is that a good investment?

It still is.

So I'm going to promote of higher education, not just the Berea model.

Sure.

>> And at a time when there are jobs that are in service industry, jobs that are starting off 15, $19 an hour can be hard to convince a young person who >> thanks.

That's a lot of money and the time of that their for their age that that the higher education is worth the pursuit.

>> True.

It is a deferred gratification thing.

You absolutely could get that job right out of high school, especially Buckies I believe is paying $18 an hour.

So if and I haven't been there yet, started to make a a wooded area next.

It's pretty amazing place.

Yeah.

So it big knowing that you're up against that type of employment opportunities, which may be short or long lived.

Who knows where the economy is going right then.

And as the economy goes through its cycles, those who >> prosper.

Or are harmed, least by the cycles are the more educated people, right?

So you you you can have a good run.

then as the worm turns so to speak, then you you could regret their decision later on.

>> The conversation about free college.

We we have that on and off.

Sometimes it's connected to political and presidential cycles depending on who's in the hopper for that.

But for those who question, you know, is this something that should be universal?

What would you say?

Well, >> I don't know.

Maybe this is heretical, but I don't think college should be free.

I think it should be.

Free or very low cost for those who can't afford it.

But no, why would I as a college president or a bank president or a lawyer?

Why shouldn't they why shouldn't they be pain, something that amounts to their fair share of the cost?

I believe college shouldn't have big barriers depending on your family But I I wouldn't make the argument for for, in fact, I can only raise money to keep Brea Free.

If I can tell everybody if you give me money will go to someone who otherwise couldn't go to college.

If I go to you and say, Renee, please write me a check for $10,000.

I have this doctors kid who would like to come to Brea for Free.

I don't think that's a very strong case right there.

>> Means testing right to make sure they need to base.

Right?

Yeah.

So what's next for you?

>> Well, I'm really going to and I am not the kind of person who thinks I can be a consultant and save some other college from some kind of problem.

A high, I believe the best way for colleges to solve their problems is to figure out themselves not to not to pay Lyle rule last $5,000 to come in and give them I'm going to really retire.

I Lori and I own a place in her hometown, which will be we know the neighbors already and that sort of thing.

I have many interests and I'm in it or I love paddleboarding.

I love woodworking.

I I read all the I do could puzzle so I think all cool.

I think all the time.

Yeah.

Little wordle every now and I had.

>> Last 2 days today at got Wordle and 3, the last 2 days they got into some on a mother.

You're on a roll.

Now you're on a roll.

It's not usually like that.

Well, maybe we'll see some of your fine art.

and, Brianna, you know, if you get a chance to correct something, well, doctor, last, thank you.

I've enjoyed getting to speak with you and getting us to see you and other venues.

And I just appreciate your service to Brea and to Kentucky by extension.

So the best of luck to you and Miss Lori, thank you for having me, Renee, and thank you for all you do for Kentucky to the issue.

My pleasure.

Thank you, sir.

And thank you for watching this edition of connections.

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Stream it at any time.

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