Berry College

Berry College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in Mount Berry, Floyd County, Georgia,  just north of Rome. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Berry was founded in 1902 by Martha Berry, and, boasting 27000 acre, Berry College also claims to have the largest contiguous campus in the world.

Location and Campus
Berry College is situated in Northwest Georgia, 72 mi northwest of Atlanta, Georgia and 75 mi south of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Berry campus consists of fields, forests, and Lavender Mountain. Designated portions are open to the public for hiking, cycling, horseback riding, and other outdoor activities. The campus is also home to a large population of deer (estimates range between 1,500 and 2,500). The Georgia Department of Natural Resources oversees about 16,000 acres of the campus, conducts managed hunts and provides recreational opportunities within the department of regulations. However, land encompassing the academic buildings and other public spaces is a wildlife refuge in which no hunting is allowed.

Outdoor Recreation
Berry College has more than 80 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails and 2 disc golf courses that are open to the Berry community and to the public. The Victory Lake Campground located in the heart of Berry's campus is available for Berry student use only. Berry also offers an intramural program with men, women and co-educational play for many sports including quidditch and inner tube water polo.

History
Berry was founded in 1902 by Martha McChesney Berry in the Possum Trot Church as a school for rural boys. Seven years later, a girls school was added. A junior college was established in 1926, and a four-year college followed in 1930. Graduate programs outside the liberal arts were added in 1972. Funds for campus facilities and other programs have been provided by such notable contributors as Henry Ford and Truett Cathy.



Student Demographics
Berry College has a total of 1,944 undergraduate students with a freshman class size of 557 students. There are also 149 graduate students. There is a 67:33 female to male ratio, and 74% of the students are in-state residents.

Academics
Berry College offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Education, and Education Specialist degrees from the four schools making up its academic program. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and is a member of the Annapolis Group, an organization of more than 120 liberal arts colleges nationwide.

Undergraduate programs
The Campbell School of Business offers bachelor's degrees in accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing. It is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

The Charter School of Education and Human Sciences offers bachelor's degrees in early childhood education, middle grade education, psychology, health and physical education, exercise science, and pre-physical therapy and is accredited by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCATE). Upper level programs include an ESOL endorsement, master's level reading endorsement, and certifications in early childhood education, middle grades education, and secondary education.

The Evans School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences offers bachelor's degrees in art, communication, English, French, German, government, history, international studies, music, music education, music with elective studies in business, religion and philosophy, sociology and anthropology, Spanish, and theatre. The music program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). Pre-law is also available as a pre-professional program. This department is home to the all of the school's student publications including the Campus Carrier (campus newspaper), the Cabin Log (yearbook), Ramifications (art magazine), and Viking Fusion (multimedia news and entertainment website).

The School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences offers bachelor's degrees in animal science, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, environmental sciences, nursing, mathematics, and physics. The chemistry program is accredited by the American Chemical Society (ACS). Dual degree programs are available in engineering (with the Georgia Institute of Technology) and nursing (with the School of Nursing at Emory University). Pre-professional programs in pre-dentistry, pre-medicine, pre-pharmacy, and pre-veterinary medicine are also available.

A minor degree can be obtained in 36 different courses of study throughout the four schools.

Berry also offers an undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies.



Honors Program
Berry’s Honors Program is an undergraduate program designed to give qualified students a chance to learn in an intellectually challenging environment with their peers and professors. The Honors Program allows the students to take Honors-only classes, Honorized classes and to study abroad in Honors-only programs. During their last year at Berry, Honors students must complete and defend a senior thesis, and upon graduation, they will receive an Honors diploma.

Graduate Programs
Berry offers a Master of Arts in Teaching program and an Education Specialist certification in the Charter School of Education and Human Sciences that is accredited by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCATE).

The Campbell School of Business offers a Master of Business Administration program that is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Academic Support Center
The Academic Support Center is located in the Memorial Library at Berry and is open to all Berry students who need assistance. It provides free student tutoring services to any student who requests it and provides academic accommodations to students who have a documented disability. It also offers time management and study skills counseling in a one-on-one setting to Berry students.

Religion
Berry College's mission statement espouses "values based on Christian principles,". The school is also involved with Chick Fil-A, a Christian-run business through their WinShape foundation programs, which require mandatory church attendance and adherence. The campus has a chaplain, four chapels, and an active religion-in-life program supporting all Christian denominations and religions outside of Christianity. The school recognizes the Student Association for an Inter-Religious Community which is a student organization that encourages dialogue between religions represented on campus.

Athletics
The Berry College mascot is the Viking. Berry fields competitive teams in 18 intercollegiate sports including men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, tennis, running, lacrosse, swimming and diving, and golf, as well as men’s baseball and football and women’s volleyball, softball and equestrian team.

The Berry College women's basketball team won the Division II national championship in 1976.

The Berry College Board of Trustees recently voted to add football beginning in the fall of 2013, with track and field coming soon after. According to the school newspaper, The Campus Carrier, adding football will not affect the Title IX regulations. A new stadium, to be known as Valhalla, is being built on the Berry campus and is set to open in fall 2013. The new facility will be home to the school's football, track, and lacrosse programs.

Southern Athletic Association
Berry is a founding member of the Southern Athletic Association (SAA), an NCAA Division III conference that was formed in 2011 and began play in fall 2012. Other SAA members are Birmingham-Southern College, Centre College, Hendrix College, Oglethorpe University, Millsaps College, Rhodes College, and Sewanee: The University of the South.

The Cage Center
The Cage Center is Berry’s 131,000 square foot athletic facility that houses a performance gymnasium, a natatorium with observation seating, a fitness center, racquetball courts, an indoor track and classrooms. The Cage was named after Berry College alumnus and trustee Steven Cage whose $10 million donation kicked off the project.

Work Program
Berry College’s student work program guarantees every student a job on campus if they are interested in participating. The students have the opportunity to have a meaningful work experience that will build their resume and supplement their particular academic interests. Students are paid based on the Level (1-5) they work. Level 1 workers are typically just starting at their jobs and are paid minimum wage. As the students move up in experience and leadership, they move up in the Levels and are paid increasingly more.

Films
Berry College has been used for the filming of several movies, along with music videos by bands such as Casting Crowns. The most notable films are Remember the Titans and Sweet Home Alabama. Disney's movie Perfect Harmony was filmed at buildings including the Old Mill. A short scene from Dutch was filmed on the Berry campus. In addition, scenes for the new series The Following starring Kevin Bacon were filmed on Berry's campus.