Berea College
Tier2-2: Socially Responsible Investment Policy

From the Berea College Investment Policy: The College, founded by ardent abolitionists and radical reformers, continues today as an educational institution still firmly rooted in its historic purpose “to promote the cause of Christ.” Adherence to the College’s spiritual foundation, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” shapes the College’s culture and programs so that students and staff alike can work toward both personal goals and vision of a world shaped by Christian values such as the power of love over hate, human dignity and equality, and peace with justice. This environment frees persons to be active learners, workers, and servers as members of the academic community and as citizens of the world. The Berea experience nurtures intellectual, physical, aesthetic, emotional, and spiritual potentials and with those the power to make meaningful commitments and translate them into action. To achieve this purpose, Berea College commits itself To provide an educational opportunity primarily for students from Appalachia, black and white, who have great promise and limited economic resources. To provide an education of high quality with a liberal arts foundation and outlook. To stimulate understanding of the Christian faith and its many expressions and to emphasize the Christian ethic and the motive of service to others. To provide all students, through the labor program, experiences for learning and serving in the community, and to demonstrate that labor, mental and manual, has dignity as well as utility. To assert the kinship of all people and to provide interracial education with a particular emphasis on understanding equality among blacks and whites. To create a democratic community dedicated to education and equality for women and men. To maintain a residential campus and to encourage in all members of the community a way of life characterized by plain living, pride in labor well done, zest for learning, high personal standards, and concern for the welfare of others. To serve the Appalachian region primarily through education but also by other appropriate services. The investment of Berea’s endowment should be made with sensitivity to these Great Commitments, the ethical values they embody, and the significant dependence of the operating budget on endowment income.