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Ferrum College

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Coordinates: 36°55′35.6″N 80°1′26.9″W / 36.926556°N 80.024139°W / 36.926556; -80.024139
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Ferrum College
MottoLatin: Non sibi sed aliis
Motto in English
Not Self, But Others
TypePrivate
Established1913; 111 years ago (1913)
Religious affiliation
United Methodist Church
Endowment52.3 million (2020)[1]
PresidentDavid L. Johns
Academic staff
220
Undergraduates950
Location
Ferrum
,
Virginia
,
United States
CampusRural, 700 acres (2.8 km2)
ColorsBlack, Gold and White
     
NicknamePanthers
MascotPanther
Websitewww.ferrum.edu

Ferrum College is a private college in Ferrum, Virginia. The college was established in 1913 and is associated with the United Methodist Church. It enrolls around 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offers over 54 undergraduate majors and two graduate programs. Ferrum College’s 700-acre campus is in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia, near Rocky Mount, Virginia, in Franklin County.

Its athletic teams compete in Division III of the NCAA in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). Ferrum has 11 men’s teams and 14 women’s teams, and its mascot is the Panther. The football team is commonly referred to as the "Black Hats."

Ferrum College is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

History

Presidents of Ferrum
President From To
Benjamin M. Beckham 1913 1934
John A. Carter 1934 1935
James A. Chapman 1935 1943
The Rev. Luther J. Derby 1943 1948
Nathaniel H. Davis '24 1948 1952
The Rev. Stanley E. Emrich 1952 1954
C. Ralph Arthur 1954 1970
Joseph T. Hart 1971 1986
Jerry M. Boone 1987 2002
Jennifer L. Braaten 2002 2016
Joseph "Jody" Carson Spooner 2016 2017
David L. Johns 2018

Virginia Methodists established the school in Ferrum, Virginia in 1913 to provide educational opportunities to underprivileged youth in the state’s Blue Ridge Mountains region. The church mission selected Ferrum for its nearness to the rural population and for the presence of the train depot on the Norfolk and Western Railway between Rocky Mount and Martinsville. After steady growth in its first decade despite numerous crises involving sickness, financial difficulties, and luring faculty to rural Virginia, in 1926 Ferrum’s trustees voted to recast the institution as a junior college. By 1940, half of the enrolled students were college level, the elementary division closing before the end of World War II. By the 1950s the junior college transformation was complete, the High School division closing in 1955. In 1976 Ferrum received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to operate as a four-year college. In 2020, this historic trend continued when Ferrum College received similar accreditation to confer graduate degrees.

Today, Ferrum College offers bachelor's degrees in over fifty major degree programs and several graduate programs.[2]

The college is affiliated with the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women of the Virginia Annual Conference.

Campus

Ferrum College Historic District
Ferrum College is located in Virginia
Ferrum College
Ferrum College is located in the United States
Ferrum College
LocationFerrum College Campus, Ferrum, Virginia
Area5 acres (2.0 ha)
BuiltBetween 1914 and 1942
ArchitectMultiple
Architectural styleClassical Revival, Colonial Revival, Craftsman
NRHP reference No.13000889[3]
VLR No.033-0286
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 29, 2013
Designated VLRSeptember 19, 2013[4]

The Ferrum campus is located on 700 acres (2.8 km2) near the town of Ferrum, Virginia. The nearest large cities are Roanoke, Virginia (35 miles (56 km) northeast) and Greensboro, North Carolina (70 miles south).

Notable buildings

The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, designated as the State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore by the Virginia General Assembly in 1986, is on the main campus near the Blue Ridge Farm Museum.

The Institute holds the annual Blue Ridge Folklife Festival on the fourth Saturday in October to showcase regional traditions. In 1999, the museum's collection of Great Road Pottery was featured on an episode of the American version of Antiques Roadshow.

The Titmus Agricultural Center has a modern barn where the students raise sheep, cattle, and horses. The farm also has a garden where students grow vegetables and herbs for the campus dining hall. In 2016, College Ranker ranked The Titmus Agricultural Center as #8 in the country for Best College Farms.[5]

Britt Hall

Stanley Library, named after the 57th Governor of Virginia, Thomas B Stanley, is the three-storied library on campus. It serves not only as a library but also contains many quiet areas for study, including also an art gallery, the International Programs office, the Carter Center for Academic Success, and several classrooms.

The Hank Norton Center contains a sports medicine facility, locker rooms for teams, offices, and a kitchen. It was built in 2012 and named in honor of former Football Coach and Athletic Director Hank Norton, who spent 34 years at Ferrum.[6]

The Stratton House, Spilman-Daniel House, John Wesley Hall, Roberts Hall, Richeson Hall, and Beckham Hall are part of the Ferrum College Historic District and are listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.

Academics

Ferrum College currently offers fifty-four undergraduate degree programs and two graduate degree programs (Master of Science in Psychology, and Ed.S. in Teacher Leadership and Coaching). In 2020, the college started offering degrees in Nursing, and a 100% online RN to BSN program.

The college’s environmental science program is the second oldest in the country, and Ferrum is the only private college in Virginia to offer a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science.

In partnership with NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, Ferrum offers the #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship to promote international students seeking education in the United States. The college currently has students representing over 12 countries on its campus.

The Boone Honors is an interdisciplinary program committed to challenging students enrolled in the program. The Honors program is for students enrolling with a combined math/verbal SAT score of 1200 or higher and a cumulative high school GPA of 3.5. Every student in the program is eligible to receive travel scholarship money for Study Abroad, and other extracurricular activities.[7]

Student Life

Ferrum College has four sororities and three fraternities.

The Chrysalis Literary and Arts Magazine is a collection of works created by students and faculty. New issues are published each semester, and they display works of poetry, prose, photography, and visual art.[8]

Spiritual Life at Ferrum offers students a chance to grow their spirituality. Due to Covid-19, the previously weekly in-person offerings, are now shown virtually over social media.[9]

The Iron Blade was established in 1955 and is the campus newspaper. The content is written primarily by students and it delivers news to the Ferrum College campus and the broader Franklin community.[10]

Norton Outdoors is the outdoor connection for students, faculty and staff. Trips are frequently taken involving various outdoor activities such as sailing, skiing, rock climbing, hiking, and caving.[11]

Athletics

Ferrum College is an NCAA Division III school competing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (since the fall 2018 season), formerly having played in the USA South Athletic Conference from 1988 through 2018. Its football team played in the Atlantic Central Football Conference from 1998 to 2000.

Ferrum joined the NCAA Division III in 1985 after being previously classified as a junior college. Under head coach W. H. "Hank" Norton, Ferrum won the National Junior College Athletic Association national football championship four times (1965, 1968, 1974, 1977). Norton's last great team, in 1989, finished third overall in the NCAA Division III. This team featured future AFC leading rusher Chris Warren and Freddie Stovall.

Seven members of the Panthers' 1968 championship team—all of whom had transferred to Marshall University—died in the 1970 plane crash which also claimed the lives of 37 Marshall University Thundering Herd players and 30 others, including the team's coaches, 25 boosters and the entire flight crew.[12]

Ferrum was the first college in Virginia to offer collegiate women’s wrestling. In March 2019, Ferrum College hosted the NCAA Division III men’s wrestling championships, held at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia.[13]

In January 2020, the College announced plans to launch both women’s and men’s track & field programs beginning in the fall 2020 season.[14]

The spring 2020 athletics season was abruptly canceled in March of that year, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.[15]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  2. ^ mike.allen@roanoke.com 981-3236, Mike Allen. "Ferrum gets go-ahead to add graduate programs". Roanoke Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  4. ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  5. ^ "The 40 Best College Farms".
  6. ^ "Hank Norton Center". Ferrum College.
  7. ^ "Boone Honors Program".
  8. ^ "Chrysalis".
  9. ^ "Spiritual Life".
  10. ^ "The Iron Blade".
  11. ^ "Norton Outdoor Adventures".
  12. ^ "Ferrum honors Marshall victims". herald-dispatch.com. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  13. ^ "2019 NCAA Div. III Wrestling Championships". Ferrum College.
  14. ^ MARSH, STEVEN. "Ferrum to add men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field to its athletics roster". The Franklin News Post.
  15. ^ "ODAC Cancels 2020 Spring Seasons and Championships". ODAC. March 20, 2020.
  16. ^ "Abbitt, Watkins Moorman (1908–1998)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved November 4, 2012.


36°55′35.6″N 80°1′26.9″W / 36.926556°N 80.024139°W / 36.926556; -80.024139

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