Scholarship and Writing
Many retirees continue the scholarship and writing they began at Berea. Bill Best ’59, former professor of physical education and general studies, has written five books in the 23 years since he retired. One of them, “Kentucky Heirloom Seeds: Growing, Eating, Saving,” written with Dobree Adams, was published by University Press of Kentucky in 2017.
In 2023, Andrew Baskin ’73 received the National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS) Black Appalachian Storytelling Fellowship for Kentucky. The fellowship was used to publish a small monograph titled “Dorothy Mitchell-Kincaid: The Conscience of the 13 Streets of Alcoa, Tennessee,” which Baskin edited with his wife, Symerdar Baskin. Funds from sales provide financial assistance to residents with chronic diseases in Blount County, Tennessee. Baskin retired in 2019 as a professor of African and African American Studies.
Steve Gowler’s activities since retiring as professor of general studies and Chester D. Tripp Chair in Humanities in 2023 have included editing page proofs and indexing an intellectual biography of William Goodell, a mentor of John G. Fee and grandfather of Berea’s third president. “Goodell’s political theology provides a glimpse into what I think of as the DNA of Berea’s commitment to social justice,” Gowler says. The book, “Thoughts that Burned: William Goodell, Human Rights, and the Abolition of American Slavery,” was published in April by Cornell University Press.
Robert Hoag, who retired in 2019 as a professor and the Henry Mixter Penniman Chair in Philosophy, recently published a piece titled, “Right Authority, Armed Interventions.” The piece addresses questions about who, if anyone, has the proper authority to intervene militarily to address gross violations of basic human rights such as genocides and “ethnic cleansing.”
“The topic and thinking grows out of my work in Berea,” Hoag says. That work included participating in national seminars and presenting at national and regional conferences, as well as regularly teaching a course at Berea in human rights and international law.
Emeritus President Lyle Roelofs, who retired in 2023, and Ron Rosen, who retired in 2019 as a professor of biology and Mabel D. Worth Chair in Science, continue to review articles in their fields of physics and biology. In addition, Rosen has published several research articles written with former Berea students.
Former Director of Convocations Thomas Ahrens (ret. 2024) continues translating German-language literature into English. An excerpt from his translation of a novel by Austrian writer Sepp Mall recently appeared in the literary translation magazine Metamorphoses.
Sarah Broomfield ’08, who retired in 2022 as executive assistant to the dean of the faculty, continues to offer workshops on handweaving and natural dyeing and is working on a book about the 85-year history of Churchill Weavers.
Jeff Pool is completing two book manuscripts, including a lengthy introduction to the family of Christian religions (to be published by Routledge). Pool retired in 2023 as a professor of religion and Eli Lilly Chair of Religion and Culture.
Creative Work
Since retiring in 2017 as dean of labor, David Tipton ’73 has become a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association and is working to refine songs he wrote while at Berea. “I love how poetry has allowed my inner voice and struggles to come through,” he says.
Bob Boyce ’66 has continued to create fiber sculptures since he retired as a professor of art in 2008. A one-person exhibition of his work was held last year in a Knox County, (Tenn.), public library.
George Brosi, who edited Appalachian Heritage from 2002-2013, is at work on two books, including a memoir titled “My Quest for the Beloved Community: An Appalachian Activist Emerges from the Sixties.”
Steve Bolster, who retired in 2019 as Mary W. McGaw Chair and a professor of music, has performed in the Kentucky Bach Choir and become a candidate for its artistic director. He recently conducted the choir in a program titled “Strengthened by the Spirit: from Despair to Joy.”
Roelofs has continued to knit—he was part of a faculty knitting group at Berea—and has invented a new stitch he calls “Chain of Hearts.”
Service and Volunteering
In addition to writing and publishing, many retirees contribute their expertise to organizations and community projects.
Gail Wolford, who retired in 2014 as vice president for Labor and Student Life, tutored at Berea Community Elementary School and recently joined the Madison County Friends of the Library Board. “The greatest gift of my 30 years at Berea was to be part of a purposeful common effort to change lives and the world,” Wolford says. “I’ve tried out various volunteer service opportunities I thought would provide that kind of experience.”
Boyce is a volunteer research fellow two days a week at Knox Heritage, a non-profit working to save historic buildings and sites in Knox County, Tennessee.
Rosen has worked with elementary school groups visiting Berea’s Margaret A. Cargill Natural Sciences and Health building.
Since retiring in 2015 as director of financial aid, Nancy Melton ’72 has volunteered at Berea Home Village, a non-profit organization helping Madison Countians 55 and older to live independently at home. Her work has included taking seniors to medical appointments, grocery stores and visits with friends. “I’ve met some interesting and charming people I would never have known,” she says.
Since retiring in 2024 as associate professor of education studies, Penelope Wong volunteers at a University of Arizona store in Tucson, where she spends part of her year. The store’s proceeds go to UNICEF. Bolster volunteers at the Berea Food Bank. Tipton continues to serve in an environmental and guardian role managing his Red Lick Valley farm.
Judith Weckman retired in 2022 as director of Institutional Research and Assessment. She led the development of Berea Pollinator Gardens along Berea’s bicycle and walking paths. The project focuses on restoring native plants, supporting local wildlife and providing space for connecting with nature.
Professor of English (ret. 2010) Barbara Wade, Libby Jones, professor of English and Chester D. Tripp Chair in Humanities (ret. 2017), along with another writer, developed and co-directed Coming of Age, a writing project for Kentucky women over 60. The four-year program involved more than 60 women, including Broomfield and Weckman, and resulted in two published anthologies of creative work. “My work with community writers flows directly from service-leaning projects I did with my students,” Jones says.
Athletics and Fitness
Maintaining and increasing overall fitness is an important goal for many retirees. Since retiring in 2023 as director of Entrepreneurship for the Public Good and a professor of general studies, Peter Hackbert has earned awards in USA Triathlon National Championship events and in nine sport disciplines in world championship contests in Australia and Spain. In August, Hackbert will represent Kentucky at the National Senior Games.
Hackbert’s commitment to athletic endeavors, which began in the 1980s, was heightened through his Berea work in leadership and entrepreneurship. “Research reveals the value of deliberate practice leading to mastery,” he says. “Mastery learning fuels us to achieve the big goals or dreams we have in our lives.”
In addition to reclaiming activities she couldn’t pursue at Berea—kayaking and horseback riding—Wong has added a new activity: trail running. She is preparing for her first marathon with a distant eye on an ultramarathon somewhere in the Southwest.
Randall Roberts, who retired in 2017 as director of convocations and assistant professor of general studies, continues running regularly. He also backpacks and hikes in the American Southwest and canoes in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota and Canada. Other retirees engage in regular walking, bicycling, hiking and pickleball-playing.
Self-Care and Caregiving
Spending time with family, loved ones and friends is important to retirees. Additionally, several retirees have devoted time to caring for family members and friends. These include Robin Taffler (director of the Work Colleges Consortium, ret. 2023), who supported her parents during the two years preceding their deaths. Pool has spent time helping other retirees, providing transportation and maintaining social interactions with them. “Connecting with others is one of the major components in maintaining health in the aging process,” he says.
The experiences of these and other retirees show that leaving Berea is not an ending but a beginning. “We must develop a compelling vision of later life,” notes Harvard sociologist Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, in “The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk and Adventure in the 25 Years After 50.” She describes those years as “a time of potential change, growth and new learning, a time when our courage gives us hope.”
Indeed, Berea College retirees continue to contribute to the community and the larger society; to develop themselves intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically; and to discover new ways of being.
