BEREA, Ky. — Joseph Seo of Saipan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Berea College conferred on Dec. 20, 2023.
Berea College recognized 77 students on Sunday, Dec. 10 during its Mid-Year Recognition Ceremony. Berea alum Dr. Betty Hyatt Olinger addressed the students, who represented 21 states and three different countries.
Dr. Olinger began her career as a nurse after graduating from Berea College in 1969, taking her first job as a nurse and supervisor at Garrard County Memorial Hospital. Olinger married her husband David — also a Berea alum — in Danforth Chapel the day after their graduation. The couple moved to Rhode Island and, while there, Olinger expanded her career to nursing education, teaching for three years at the Newport Hospital School of Nursing.
Olinger later returned to Kentucky, where she began her 20 years of teaching in the Berea College Department of Nursing. In 1977, she completed a master’s degree in nursing and her doctorate in higher education administration in 1987 at the University of Kentucky.
In 1994, Olinger joined Kentucky State University as assistant vice president for Academic Affairs. She later served as acting vice president for Academic Affairs. Olinger says these two roles provided her with “a wealth of knowledge and experience in administration of academic programs and academic services.”
Olinger was later appointed as the division director for Local Health Department Operations in the Kentucky Department of Health. There, Olinger was responsible for day-to-day operations in health departments across Kentucky and gained a broader perspective on public health nursing, policy development and management of the state’s personnel system.
In 2004, Olinger returned to Kentucky State University as chair of the School of Nursing. During this tenure, the nursing program received full accreditation. From there, Olinger retired in December 2013, but was asked to return to serve the program again in 2019 until again retiring in June 2021.
About Berea College
Berea College (www.berea.edu), the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, focuses on learning, labor and service. The college only admits academically promising students with limited financial resources, primarily from Kentucky and Appalachia, although students come from 45 states and 70 countries. Every Berea student receives a Tuition Promise Scholarship, which means no Berea student pays for tuition. As one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges, Berea’s students work at least 10 hours a week to earn money for books, housing, and meals. The college’s motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” speaks to its inclusive Christian character.
