The following is a partial transcription of our conversation reflecting on her position and the importance of sustainability at Berea College.

Bethany: So how much muse-inspiring are you doing?

Nancy: Most of what I’m trying to do is not so much tell people, but make sure they know their field relates. I’ve had a lot of individual conversations with faculty from business and marketing, to computer science, to art, to women’s studies, to peace and social justice, and English—with the message, “I know sustainability is part of your field. I’d love to hear more about it, and I’d love to see it in a way that’s visible.” Whenever possible, I hope that people will be brought to sustainability because they see that they’re a part of it already. What I sometimes like to say is, “I don’t care if you buy an LED light bulb and use it because it’s pretty, or because it’ll last, or because it’s going to save you electric money, or because it’s sustainable—I don’t care at all. I just want you to do the right thing.” And my hope is that all of the reasons for doing the right thing are going to come into play. And I mean the fact that you won’t have to buy another light bulb again for another ten years, maybe that’s fine—it’s really annoying to get up on a high ceiling and replace your light bulbs. Whereas I think the SENS curriculum, in an ideal world, is more about explaining to people the whys, and giving that whole background. But you can change behavior without always giving the whole picture. If you get people to walk to work because they’re going to be healthier and because they’re going to enjoy their commute more, do you actually care that they think that they’re doing it for environmental reasons?

Bethany: Berea College started very much with social justice and racial equality in mind, and so I feel like that value has always—

Nancy: It’s a pervasive value.

Bethany: Yeah it’s pervasive, it’s kind of always been there. And I mean, I’m sure there have been ebbs and flows of trying to re-center curriculum around those themes…

Nancy: Right—

Bethany: …But how do you see sustainability in relation to the value of social justice?

Nancy: I think it puts us in a really good position to be leaders in improving the field of sustainability… So green businesses will often pop up and they’ll chose to use green resources so that they’re more sustainable, and then from there they’ll find a good price for their product so their business has economic future to it. But what’s left out, is the fact that the only people who can afford LEED certified houses are rich.

Berea, on the other hand, has approached the whole world from the opposite perspective. Everyone should have equal access to resources, whether those resources are land, housing, clean water, or clean air—any of it… So we’re starting from the perspective—“change whatever you want—but it has to have equity.” I think that’s actually a really fantastic place to start environmental change and sustainability related stuff. If, for example, we’re talking about food access, then Grow Appalachia looks like a really good organization because it starts with the people who need the food instead of starting with the farmer who owns land and then figuring out how that farmer will make money…

Bethany: It seems to me that sustainability is big everywhere, and not just because it’s necessary, but because it’s trendy, you know? But it definitely feels like Berea College is moving toward making sustainability one of its main tenants.

Nancy: Yeah I mean one of the nice things about beginning with facilities—which is what we did—is that the facilities are very long term. So that makes it a visible presence no matter whether we talk about it or not… On the other hand, nobody is sitting around debating whether we should do social justice work. It is understood—you could not possibly leave Berea without learning about social justice. In the same way, don’t want sustainability to be something that you can leave Berea without learning about. At the same time, I don’t necessarily want to be the only way that people get there. It’s not going to be that everybody takes a class with Nancy Gift—it’s that—I know that Berea faculty already have the expertise to teach this. They may not have the confidence right now, but they actually do have the expertise, and I want all the faculty and students to know that whatever field they’re in there’s a place at the sustainability table that needs that voice….

Bethany: So what do the business folks teach here at Berea College?

Nancy: My dad was an economist. Economics is associated with studying money and how to make more of it. But Vulcar has said that he believes economics is actually the study of how people get happy—the currency of happiness. To the extent that money can buy leisure time, or to the extent that money can buy food security, there’s a certain amount of it that you need. Beyond that, statistics show that once a person is above poverty line there’s no correlation at all between their income and happiness. So people who make more are not happier. You can look at lots of other factors (that make people happy), but among them are community and health. And community and health are all about environment. Your community is partly about how you relate to each other spatially, so like in an Eco village or in very separate—suburban hell kind of spaces. And then your health is—whether you think about it or not—is related to your water and your air. I mean people talk about heart disease like it’s all about whether we eat bacon or fat, but the reality is that people who live in areas of high air pollution have a much higher rate of heart disease. We don’t talk about that because you don’t typically have a choice about where you live. But if you live in an area of high particulate matter, the particulates in the air don’t go to your lungs, they skip your lungs and go straight through your lungs and into your bloodstream. And that can cause hardening of the arteries. So your health and your environment are intimately linked, and if we don’t know that it’s because we’re not talking about the right things.

Bethany: Right.

Nancy: So, to answer your question back to the economics and business program, my sense is that the economists and the business people who are here; if they were interested in purely making money, they would not be here.

Bethany: Yeah.

Nancy: This is actually a self-selected group of the most open to social equity—open to environmental values—types of economists and business people you could possibly have. They’re not making the salary that they could make out in the business world. If you have an economics major you can make a lot more than a Berea faculty member. It means sometimes it’s hard to staff our positions, but it also means that when someone comes here and stays, they know what they’re here for.

Bethany: So how did you end up here?

Nancy: One of my favorite high school teachers was a Berea Graduate. I remember one of my classmates going to Berea, and how proud of her he was for getting in, and I remember just thinking that that was really neat. Berea was not an option for me because my dad was a professor. It’s kind of funny to say, but one of the things I think is saddest about Berea is that the students who come here didn’t have a choice in a lot of cases. It was either this college or none. And because they didn’t have a choice, I don’t think they realize what a gift it is to be here. Berea was the one place I couldn’t go. I went to Harvard. I could go anywhere I wanted, and even though we weren’t rich, I was going to get financial aid because of my grades. But I couldn’t go to Berea. I saw this as kind of a magical place—that there were lots of educations I could get in this world, but I couldn’t go immerse myself in Appalachia at that work college and be in that beautiful place. And so it’s always had that allure for me, of the one thing I can’t have. So I grew up in Lexington. Went to Harvard, got masters at UK, went to Cornell for grad school and then went to U of Chicago for four years, living just south of the Obamas. Then I moved to Pittsburgh, and now I’m here.

Peter J. O’Connor, a longtime civil rights activist, addressed the seniors and urged them to think of others first and strive for social justice, an ideal for which he has long advocated. O’Connor has dedicated his life and legal career to fighting social injustice, particularly in the area of affordable, quality housing for the underprivileged. During the ceremony, O’Connor was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Dr. Lyle D. Roelofs, who began serving as Berea College’s ninth president on July 1, 2012, remarked to the graduates to recognize, celebrate and share the distinctiveness of their Berea experiences at a college known for providing tuition scholarships and work experiences.

Several academic and labor awards were presented during the ceremony.

Erin Michelle Callow, a Spanish major from Ohio City, Ohio, received the Hilda Welch Wood Award for outstanding achievement by a female student.

Ivan Anselmus Titaley, a Chemistry major from Salitiga, Indonesia, received the T.J. Wood Award for outstanding achievement by a male student.

Sandy Bolster, director of the basic mathematics program and a member of the college since 1980, received the Seabury Award for Excellence in Teaching, Berea’s highest faculty honor.

Dr. Paul Smithson, assistant professor of environmental chemistry and sustainability and environmental studies, received the Paul C. Hager Award for Excellence in Advising. Smithson earned his doctorate degree from North Carolina State University in 1990 and has been a member of the Berea College faculty since 2002.

This year there were two recipients of the Elizabeth Perry Miles Award for Community Service. Dr. Richard Olson and his wife Cheyenne were honored for their community service, particularly with projects related to sustainability. Dr. Olson serves as associate professor of sustainability and environmental studies and has been at the college since 1999. Cheyenne recently retired as a gift officer and will devote her efforts to Sustainable Berea.

The Labor Supervisor of the Year award was given to Clara Chapman, assistant director of the office of institutional research and assessment. She has worked at Berea since 1996.

Daniel Redmond, computer and information sciences major from Richmond, Kentucky, was recognized for earning both the Berea College Student Employee of the Year as well as the Kentucky Student Employee of the Year. A member of the class of 2013, Redmond worked as a teaching assistant in the computer science department.

Beginning the 2013-14 season of plays will be a production of Ted Tiller’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, “Dracula.”  First produced in 1971, Tiller’s “Count Dracula” tells the story of the sly vampire from Eastern Europe who has taken residence in England. Theatre professor Shan R. Ayers will direct. Designing costumes will be Berea’s veteran costume designer, Mary Ann Shupe. Lacey-Lynn Gresham, the theatre program’s scenic studio supervisor, will provide designs for scenery and lighting. Productions dates are October 25, 26, 30, 31 and November 1, 2. All performances begin at 8 p.m. in the McGaw Theatre of the Jelkyl Drama Center.

The second production of the fall term will feature the return of Actors from the London Stage, performing William Shakespeare’s “Othello,” a story of power, greed and racial injustice. Production dates are November 14-16, 2013, at 8 p.m. in the McGaw Theatre. Berea College Theatre has hosted Actors from the London Stage five times previously. Funded by a generous endowed gift from the Arronson Foundation, the Theatre program hosts regular visiting artists such as AFTLS.

Beginning the spring term will be “Fefu and Her Friends,” a play by Maria Irene Fornes, which tells an irreverent story of friendship, greed and power. Assistant Professor of Theatre Adanma O. Barton will direct the play. This production will have costumes designed and created by Shupe and scenery and lighting designed by Ayers. Performances will be February 18-22, 2014, at 8 p.m. in the McGaw Theatre. Fornes, the play’s author, made a name for herself during the early days of the Off Off-Broadway movement in the 1960’s.

Closing the season will be the rock musical “Jesus Christ Superstar,” written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. Directing this production will be Associate Professor of Theatre Deborah G. Martin, with designs by Shupe and Ayers. Set to seventies-style rock music, the production tells the story of Jesus’ last days on Earth and includes such classic songs as “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “What’s the Buzz,” and “Superstar.” Performances will be April 11, 12, 16-19, 2014, at 8 p.m. in the McGaw Theatre.

The theatre department encourages audiences to purchase a season subscription for $30, providing them with one ticket to each production. This price reflects a 25% savings over the single general admission ticket prices; $10 for general admission and $8 for senior citizens and non-Berea College students. Berea College students are admitted free of charge as part of their yearly activities fee. Subscribers also receive priority reservation opportunities, reserved seating and a complimentary subscription to the theatre program’s newsletter, “Front Row.” Subscriptions will be available in late August by calling the Berea College Theatre Box Office at 859-985-3300. Interested parties may call to be put on the mailing list.

Carrying on a theatrical tradition since 1892, the Berea College Theatre program serves the students of the college as well as the community at large. By choosing from a broad base of plays and musicals, students receive opportunities to learn as part of the co-curricular production program and audiences are treated to season after season of quality theatrical events.

A live video stream will be viewable at http://webapps.berea.edu/stream/commencement.

O’Connor has dedicated his life and legal career to fighting social injustice, particularly in the area of affordable, quality housing for the underprivileged, will address candidates for graduation at Berea’s 141st commencement on Sunday, May 5, 2013. During the ceremony O’Connor will receive an honorary Honor of Law degree.

O’connor is the founder and executive director of Fair Share Housing Development in Camden, New Jersey, and executive director of Fair Share Housing Center, a public interest organization devoted to defending housing rights of New Jersey residents through enforcement of the Mount Laurel Doctrine, widely regarded as one of the most significant civil rights cases in the United States since Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

The first case of its type in the nation, the Mount Laurel Doctrine prohibits economic discrimination through exclusionary zoning in New Jersey municipalities and requires every municipality to plan, zone and take measures to provide its “fair share” of the region’s need for affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate-income families. As a result, more than 50,000 affordable housing units have been developed in an effort to improve the lives of moderate-income, low-income, and very low-income families, the elderly, and disabled.

Best known for serving as lead counsel in the “Camden Coalition” litigation of the early seventies that challenged the City of Camden’s urban revitalization efforts, O’Connor has worked for more than three decades advocating for affordable housing and community development initiatives in New Jersey, one of the most segregated states, with the second highest rental housing costs.

O’Connor obtained his Bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of the Holy Cross in 1963 before earning a law degree from Georgetown University in 1966. Following law school, he was a Rotary International Fellow in South America for a year. In 1967 he began working as a legal services attorney in Camden. Early in his career he was involved in reform efforts in landlord-tenant, consumer, mental health, and state/federal civil rights law, but it was the Camden Coalition litigation in 1970-72 that focused his interests in the areas of affordable housing, urban deterioration, and regional equity.

Other events will be held throughout the day. A pinning ceremony for nursing graduates will be held at 8:30 a.m. in Phelps-Stokes Chapel, followed at 10:30 a.m. by the baccalaureate service. A luncheon for graduation candidates and their families will be served at 11:30 a.m. in the Alumni building. Following the commencement service, a reception for graduates, families and guests will be held in the campus Quad.

The first half of the concert celebrates the centennial anniversaries of composers Benjamin Britten (b. 1913) and Giuseppe Verdi (b. 1813). The Concert Choir will perform Britten’s Festival Te Deum, Op. 32 with Berea College Organist Javier Clavere on the organ, and will sing the famous Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’s opera Nabucco.  Also included are two choruses from the Spring section of Franz Joseph Haydn’s The Seasons, and two contemporary choral works celebrating light—Lux aeterna by Argentine composer Fernando Moruja and Northern Lights by Ola Gjeilo.  The first half will conclude with two movements of the Missa Kenya by Paul Basler for choir, French Horn, and African drums.

The second half of program features several pieces performed by the all-male Chamber Singers, including anti-war songs by Lon Beery and Fenno Heath and a cappella pop pieces Route 66, Moondance, and Over the Rainbow.  The concert will end with performances by the Concert Choir featuring guest dancers– an arrangement of a Piazzolla tango,  Introducción al ángel, performed with two dance couples from Berea’s Social and Folk Dance course and Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag danced by couples from the Lexington Historical Dance Society.

Roelofs (pronounced Roo-lahfs) assumed his presidency on July 1, 2012, after the retirement of Dr. Larry Shinn, who served as Berea College’s president for 18 years.

During the ceremony, before a crowd of hundreds of Berea College faculty, staff, students, alumni, retirees and delegates from dozens of colleges and universities across the country, several notable Bereans charged Dr. Roelofs with the Great Commitments, Berea College’s mission statement.

Silas House, best-selling novelist and NEH Chair in Appalachia Studies, challenged Dr. Roelofs to carry out Berea’s first commitment “to provide an educational opportunity primarily for students from Appalachia, black and white, who have great promise and limited economic resources.” Dr. Roelofs replied, “I will… with God’s help.”

Dr. bell hooks, world-renowned feminist and distinguished professor in residence in Appalachian Studies, challenged the president “to create a democratic community dedicated to education and equality for women and men.” Former President Larry Shinn, who served as Berea’s president until June 30, 2012, charged Dr. Roelofs with Berea’s commitment “to stimulate understanding of the Christian faith and its many expressions and to emphasize the Christian ethic and the motive of service to others.”

The inauguration speaker was Dr. Elaine Tuttle Hansen, executive director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth.

Roelofs is a graduate of Calvin College with a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in physics and mathematics. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, both in physics, at the University of Maryland and has more than 35 years of experience in teaching and research at the University of Maryland, Calvin College, Brown University, Haverford College and Colgate University. He is also an experienced administrator, having served as associate provost at Haverford College, as provost and dean of faculty, and as interim president at Colgate University. A number of U.S. and international institutions have tapped Roelofs for visiting appointments and fellowships, such as the Sandia National Laboratory; the Fritz-Haber Institut in Berlin; University of Munich; Technical University Clausthal-Zellerfeld; and Universität Ulm.

Dr. Roelofs’ academic and scholarly research has resulted in substantial grants from such organizations as the Research Corporation, Pew Mid-Atlantic Cluster, and the National Science Foundation. Other honors include the Humboldt Research Fellowship and the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Teaching Fellowship. He held an endowed faculty chair at Haverford College as distinguished professor of computational science.

Dr. Roelofs has many accomplishments in research and pedagogy, numerous publications in refereed professional journals, as well as invited papers and presentations at national and international seminars and colloquia. Beyond his academic interests, Dr. Roelofs enjoys reading, cooking, and various outdoor activities including bird watching, camping and hiking. He is also an avid runner who runs with students twice a week and will run in the upcoming Derby City Mini-marathon in Louisville. He and his wife Lauren have two sons, both of whom are in graduate school.

Roelofs (pronounced Roo-lahfs) assumed his presidency on July 1, 2012, after the retirement of Larry Shinn, who served as Berea College’s president for 18 years. Roelofs leads a college nationally recognized for its historic commitments to interracial and coeducational education, an enduring focus on the Appalachian region, its student labor program, and its unmatched commitment to providing an affordable education to students with limited financial resources.

Roelofs is a graduate of Calvin College with a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in physics and mathematics. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, both in physics, at the University of Maryland and has more than 35 years of experience in teaching and research at the University of Maryland, Calvin College, Brown University, Haverford College and Colgate University. He is also an experienced administrator, having served as associate provost at Haverford College, as provost and dean of faculty, and as interim president at Colgate University. A number of U.S. and international institutions have tapped Roelofs for visiting appointments and fellowships, such as the Sandia National Laboratory; the Fritz-Haber Institut in Berlin; University of Munich; Technical University Clausthal-Zellerfeld; and Universität Ulm.

Dr. Roelofs’ academic and scholarly research has resulted in substantial grants from such organizations as the Research Corporation, Pew Mid-Atlantic Cluster, and the National Science Foundation. Other honors include the Humboldt Research Fellowship and the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Teaching Fellowship. He held an endowed faculty chair at Haverford College as distinguished professor of computational science.

Dr. Roelofs has many accomplishments in research and pedagogy, numerous publications in refereed professional journals, as well as invited papers and presentations at national and international seminars and colloquia. Beyond his academic interests, Dr. Roelofs enjoys reading, cooking, and various outdoor activities including bird watching, camping and hiking. He is also an avid runner who runs with students twice a week and will run in the upcoming Derby City Mini-marathon in Louisville. He and his wife Lauren have two sons, both of whom are in graduate school.

The inauguration speaker will be Dr. Elaine Tuttle Hansen, executive director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth.

Other inauguration events include:

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

• Inauguration Exhibit (all day, opening at 7:45 a.m.) at Hutchins Library
• Staff, Faculty, and Retiree Luncheon at noon – 2 p.m. in the upper gym at Seabury Center

Thursday, April 4, 2013

• Presidential 5K Run/1-Mile Walk starting at lawn in front of Berea Community School. Check-in is at 6:30 a.m. and the run/walk begins at 7 a.m.
• Inauguration Exhibit (all day, opening at 7:45 a.m.) at Hutchins Library

• Convocation: Ron Rash: Tell the Truth but Tell It Slant: The Past as Present in Appalachia at 3 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Chapel
• Chalk Up Berea at 4 p.m. in the Quadrangle
• Concert at 6:30 p.m. in Baird Lounge, Alumni Building

Friday, April 5, 2013

• Inauguration Exhibit (all day, opening at 7:45 a.m.) at Hutchins Library
• Symposium: Finding Unity in the Great Commitments at 3 p.m. in Gray Auditorium, Presser Hall
• Sand Sculpture Unveiling Reception at 5 p.m. on Fairchild Lawn
• Berea College Alumni reception at 7 – 9 p.m. at the Visitor Center
• Appalachian Heritage’s 40th Anniversary Celebration at 7:30 – 9 p.m. at the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center Gallery. Gurney Norman, Crystal Wilkinson and Silas House will conduct readings
• Senior Voice Recital: Molly Marie Bennett at 8 p.m. in Gray Auditorium, Presser Hall

 Saturday, April 6, 2013

• Installation Ceremony in the Main Arena, Seabury Center at 10 a.m.
• Street Celebration at 12:30 p.m. at Boone Tavern Hotel & Main Street area
• Student Crafts on the Square Gallery reception honoring Dr. and Mrs. Roelofs at 12:30 – 5 p.m. on Main Street. Light refreshments will be served.

Recent headlines and video interviews:

Berea College’s ninth president begins tenure: http://bcnow.berea.edu/2012/07/berea-colleges-ninth-president-begins-tenure/

Berea College names ninth presidents; http://bcnow.berea.edu/2011/10/berea-college-names-ninth-president/

Roelofs video interview: his leadership role: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfVob9O1HJs

Roelofs video interview: a physicist as president: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO3673dHtVQ

Roelofs video interview: what he does for recreation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCHsGgcK2M0