About the School of Social Sciences

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN, DR. FREDERIC TORIMIRO:

Welcome to the School of Social Sciences information site. I hope your visit to this website is a new or return journey to Ferrum College. As we welcome our students back each semester, it is important also to remember and extend salutary greetings to our alumni and prospective students. Ferrum College continues to play a leading and pivotal role in the practice of teaching and research that underscores student-centered learning. On a daily basis, it introduces students to a culture of learning and teaching influenced heavily by a higher caliber of dynamism derived from creativity and innovation. The School of Social Sciences participates in this endeavor by playing a leadership role in cultivating a culture of teaching learning that offers excitement and flexibility to students as well as faculty. As a part of the larger academic community, the faculty and I envision a climate of teaching and learning that prepares graduates for a rapidly changing world. We take seriously our commitment to student learning outcomes. We are also a collaborative body that constantly looks for the nexus between academic programs. Our ultimate goal is to prevent balkanization or “academic islands” and to advance an integrated learning environment.

The School of Social Sciences is devoted to teaching, student-involved research and other facets of learning that also enhance knowledge integration. In fact, collaborative research with other faculty and students is seen as akin to good and effective teaching. The School is supportive of faculty who explore new and effective ways in which students understand the tangible and intangible meaning of their civic responsibilities. Effective and good teaching is seen as an intellectual exercise that blends classroom knowledge and practical experiences. The School of Social Sciences therefore promotes vigorously and intentionally a culture of service that supports constructive advocacy and community building. The faculty and academic programs have also been designed or realigned to make it possible for our students develop an interpretive framework from which to pursue reflections connected to their academic pursuits, sense of obligation, value system and community. Our efforts at knowledge integration therefore support projects that encourage our students to become “active stakeholders” or “active agents” in communities seeking social transformation and justice. I am proud to say that the School of Social Sciences continues to hold steadfast to its commitment to experiential or community-based learning. The Experiential Term or E-term offerings by our faculty represent accurately our interest in bridging the gaps between classroom learning and practical experience.

The School of Social Sciences also promotes and maintains a vibrant academic environment that is enhanced by the high premium placed on student research and scholarship. The relationship it fosters between undergraduate research and civic engagement is one way in which students are encouraged to understand the responsibility of citizenship at any level. Students are encouraged to attend professional meetings and conferences that tend to target undergraduate scholarship. The Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference and the Mid- Atlantic Regional Conference for Undergraduate Scholarship (MARCUS) are just two of the conferences that are earmarked for students. Our students collaborating with faculty also have the unique opportunity to present at the Appalachian College Association (ACA) annual conferences and in various meetings relevant to their disciplines.

The School of Social Sciences has initiated a student-success tracking program it calls Intentional and Strategic Advising for Post-Graduate Education (ISAGE). This program targets second semester freshmen as well as sophomores and juniors who have the potential and desire to pursue post-graduate education. These students are guided and offered and intentional mentoring program that involves faculty, staff from the Office of Career Services and athletics. ISAGE is a mentoring program that reminds our students that as members of small college environment we place a high priority and an individualized approach to their success in life.

It is my plan and that of the program coordinators to keep you updated on interesting happenings in the School of Social Sciences. I also hope your cyber-visit to Ferrum translates to a personal campus visit so that we can share with you the many wonderful initiatives and programs sponsored by the School of Social Sciences and Ferrum College in general. Thanks for your visit and I hope to see on campus.

The School of Social Sciences at Ferrum College offers 12 majors and 16 minors. Graduates of the School of Social Sciences are prepared for careers in a broad range of fields as well as graduate training in both professional and academic disciplines.