Wanting to stay with this tradition, Colley hopes to prepare students for the intellectual world, as well as the physical working world and advancements in technology. Colley desires to continue Martha Berry's vision, which was schooling the mountain children in real life situations, morals and values, as well as academic studies in a modern context.
Nothing is broken, but everything can stand improvement.
We have moved from being individual schools to a united college, and illiteracy and poverty are no longer our challenges. Students of Berry College today are primarily from small towns and the suburbs. Our challenge now is to take on the world of the 21st century, Colley said. This program's chief purpose would be to identify several global challenges that lie ahead in land use, water resources, waste disposal, food production, etc., and identify the way these issues relate to the environment in which we live. Once these challenges are recognized, we should determine the best ways of addressing these challenges in our courses, laboratories, student research and internships, as well as in our academic and summer employment opportunities.