Mission
We educate the head, heart, and hands –
to inspire leaders of integrity who cultivate thriving communities.
Combining academic exploration with meaningful work responsibilities in a residential setting, our approach emphasizes firsthand experiences and mentoring. We invest in the personal growth and professional preparation of talented students from varied backgrounds, with an enduring commitment to help those hindered by financial need. Guided by Christian principles, we value the dignity of individuals, the search for truth tempered with grace, and the well-being of our neighbors.
Values and Virtues
More than a century ago, our founder Martha Berry was troubled by the daunting needs and cyclical poverty of families living in rural Georgia. She believed young people were the region’s most important natural resource, and that education was the gateway to opportunity. She offered an education of the head, heart, and hands in a residential context to inspire graduates known for their work ethic, integrity, resourcefulness, and willingness to serve. Inspired by her faith and life’s work, Berry adheres to these core values and virtues.
Martha Berry was called to serve those in her community most in need of support. She considered them neighbors and offered education as a gate of opportunity, a way for them to move toward a better life.
“Miss Berry, realizing the great lack of her own neighborhood, began to lend her best energies to the solution of the problem of how to broaden the lives of the people living near her and to bring the advantages of education within the reach of the young people of the surrounding country.” (1920 Berry catalog, p. 5)
One of the quadrants in Berry’s seal contains a cabin, depicting the principle of simplicity that Martha Berry lived by. She was single-minded and self-sacrificing in her desire to create opportunities for her students and would not be distracted by the pursuit of other things.
“My simple desire to do something became a determined resolution to devote my entire time and resources to teaching students a way to help themselves.”
When the college was established, Martha Berry chose for its motto a text that speaks to the heart of leadership:
“Not to be ministered unto, but to minister,”
which is to say, “Not to be served, but to serve.”
We urge members of our community to serve humbly as Good Neighbors. If we care about the big problems in our nation and the world, we can address these issues faithfully in our home communities. A leader with a Good Neighbor mindset discerns and acts to meet the real needs of others beyond self-interest.
People want to be judged trustworthy. Trust is earned by accepting responsibility not just for our own work but equally for the work of the team and the betterment of the community. Responsibility is the backbone of character.
“Be a lifter, not a leaner.” The original motto of the Berry Schools, given as a charge by Teddy Roosevelt in 1910.
The places we inhabit are entrusted to us for a time before we pass them to others. Martha Berry believed that “Beauty is a part of education.” We are responsible to our children’s children for improving the beauty and health of the places and the planet we call home.
“I pray that I might leave this place better than I found it.”
From the start, Berry has celebrated the dignity of “worthwhile work done well.” The commitment to mastery of one’s craft begins with the first writing class, the entry level job, and back-up position on the team. Martha Berry willed students to do their best. Seemingly mundane tasks teach work ethic; demanding duties teach tenacity; complicated projects teach resourcefulness.
“Whether at work or play do your best” (Inscription on Green Hall)
Martha Berry’s life’s work was framed by adversity. Looking at one of the wizened old oaks on campus she observed: "The troubles you have are what make you.” She respected hardship as a profound teacher that opens our eyes, softens our hearts, and emboldens our resolve.
“Pursuit of the easy things makes us weak; pursuit of the difficult makes us strong.”
Berry was founded on the idea of combining academic study with a practical education of the hands. Today, firsthand experiences infuse our classes, laboratories, studios, research projects, community projects, internships and study abroad as well as the college-wide LifeWorks program. A century later, we affirm a simple principle:
“Learn to do by doing.”
A rich variety of voices and ideas makes Berry a dynamic place to encounter perspectives that are unfamiliar and unsettling. This diversity combined with curiosity and respect for difference allows for richer relationships and deeper learning through candid and caring dialogue. When difference leads to disagreement, our aspiration is to engage our neighbors with patience, humility and warm-heartedness.
Inscribed above the fireplace in Roosevelt Cabin, where Martha Berry lived for a time, is the phrase “kindle friendship.” She understood the power of a caring residential community to ignite relationships that shape, heal, and invigorate hearts and minds. She established Berry’s commitment to engagement and mentoring.
Martha Berry placed spires on many campus buildings, even the chicken houses. Meant to catch the eye and lift the heart, they reminded students of the worth of work done well before God. As students seek purpose and a moral compass for life, it is vital that they examine their religious commitments and relate faith with learning responsibly and intelligently.
These foundational values and virtues grew out of Martha’s resolve to live out the convictions of her faith, stepping past her doubts and failings. She was principled and pragmatic, and her efforts radically improved the lives of ten thousand young people over a period of decades. These values shaped and continue to define the mission of Berry College, just as her indomitable spirit continues to inspire us to improve this place where we live, work and serve.