Berea College

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BEREA, Ky. – Berea College recognized 77 students Sunday 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.&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

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.”&nbsp;

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.

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 Berea College Celebrates 77 Graduates at Mid-Year Ceremony

BEREA, Ky. –The Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky (ATBHK) will host a free teacher professional development workshop on Monday, featuring keynote speaker Karyn Parsons. Parsons is an actress, children’s book author and founder of Sweet Blackberry.&nbsp;

The free workshop will be Monday, Jan. 15 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.&nbsp;

The ATBHK has created professional development programs in response to the needs communicated by educators across Kentucky. This transformative workshop is crafted to honor the enduring legacy of the legendary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and will be structured around informative breakout sessions taught by ATBHK fellows. Each session is curated to help empower educators to bring Black history into their classrooms.

“Since its inception, ATBHK has worked diligently to provide opportunities for Kentucky teachers to hear from experts in Kentucky’s Black history across the spectrum of K-12 education and beyond,” said Chaka Cummings, ATBHK executive director. “This year’s Martin Luther King Day program will focus on frameworks, lessons and resources educators can immediately use in their spaces. Educators will leave with tools to support effective teaching of Kentucky’s Black history and will have the opportunity to meet with other educators to build professional networks in the name of effective Black history teaching.&nbsp;

“It is critical that educators feel supported and prepared when discussing Black history, and the Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky has created this program with these two specific goals in mind,” Cummings added.

The Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky is a collaborative effort with current founding member organizations Berea College, Kentucky State University, The Muhammad Ali Center and Kentucky History Resources, LLC (a subsidiary of the nonprofit Thomas D. Clark Foundation which supports the University Press of Kentucky.&nbsp;The Association was organized in 2022 to recover the social, historical and cultural contributions of Black Kentuckians and to make these materials readily available to teachers in the Commonwealth, thereby promoting quality K-12 instruction in history.&nbsp;The goal is to ensure an inclusive, respectful experience for all students that provides for their academic success.

Registration for the workshop is required. For more information, including registration and a schedule of events, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://19291.blackbaudhosting.com/19291/MLK-Day-Professional-Development">https://19291.blackbaudhosting.com/19291/MLK-Day-Professional-Development</a>&nbsp;.

Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky hosting free teacher professional development workshop