Herbert Faber and Ruth McGurk Faber established the Appalachian Fund in 1950. Mr. Faber was a co-inventor of Formica. Faber was impressed by the character and loyalty of the Appalachian employees in his Cincinnati factory. With the fund, he sought to improve the lives of these Appalachian workers and their families.

In 1987, the Appalachian Fund dissolved and transferred $5 million to Berea College. The purpose of this was to establish the Berea College Appalachian Fund, which remains dedicated to its original mission of improving

• the general education,
• health, and
• well-being of people living in the Appalachian Mountains and surrounding areas.

Current Advisory Council

Bill Best
Berea, Kentucky

Cathy Caudill
Pikeville, Kentucky

Emily Jones Hudson
Hazard, Kentucky

Beverly May
Langley, Kentucky

Dr. Lyle Roelofs
President, Berea College

Lois Weinberg
Hindman, Kentucky

Teri Thompson
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Berea College (ex officio)

Davey King
Director, Berea College Appalachian Fund (ex officio)

Former Advisors

Herbert A. and Ruth McGurk Faber
Co-Founders, 1950

Stuart L. Faber
President, 1956-1987

Shirley Faber
Vice President, 1957-1987

Raymond B. Drukker
Director and Advisor, 1955-1960

Dow M. Drukker
Advisor, 1963-1966

Dwight Blackburn, MD
Advisor, 1963-1980

Dorothy Blackburn
Advisor, 1963-1980

Norbert F. Stammer
Advisor, 1968-1989

Mary P. Fox, MD
Advisor, 1980-1987

Charles Harris, MD
Advisor, 1980-1987

Julia Stammer
Director and Advisor, 1960-2002

Rev. J. Randolph Osborne
Advisor, 1990-2016

Loyal Jones
Advisor, 1995-2017

David Cooke
Director and ex officio Advisor, 2005-2022

Wally Campbell
Advisor, 2017-2022

To Make a Difference: The Story of the Appalachian Fund 1950-1990, by Tom Parrish, was published by the Berea College Press in 1990.