Dear Ferrum Friends,

I hope you and your families had a wonderful holiday season and that you were able to relax, reflect, and possibly enjoy one of the traditions that many of us engage in at this time - making   "resolutions" for the New Year!

Click for photos of Winter @ Ferrum

One of my resolutions for 2004 is to keep Ferrum's new vision at the forefront of our planning, and to remain focused on our core mission of educating students through excellent programs, quality services and state of the art facilities.   I am particularly excited because we will begin a new expansion/ renovation project this spring and summer, the largest construction project Ferrum has undergone for the last 30 years.    When complete, the campus will boast a more competitive physical plant that will include a new, 120-bed residence hall, an enlarged student center, renovated classrooms and consolidated faculty office space.   These projects will greatly enhance the living/learning experience for our new and returning students.

The first phase will be the construction of the 120-bed residence hall and we hope to have plans available for your viewing in a future e-newsletter.   Meanwhile, enjoy reading about all of the exciting Ferrum activities happening on and off campus, including visits in March by two prominent celebrities- Juan Williams , popular National Public Radio correspondent, and Martin Marty, the premier Protestant theologian of our time.  

Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Arboretum Progress & Giving Opportunity
Water is falling on the campus of Ferrum College, but not in the form of rain.   A water garden has been constructed by students, staff and faculty of Ferrum College. The construction project was part of a Landscape Design & Management course led by Professor Trenda Leavitt and Dr. Bob Pohlad, faculty in the Horticulture/Life Sciences Division. Experiential education, an initiative of President Braaten, enables students to experience the power of ideas to change the world by improving the physical spaces where we live and work. Sponsors thus far include:  Doris Dyer Memorial Garden Foundation, Seven Oaks Landscaping, DayBreak Earthcare, Emerson Creek Pottery, Jimmy's Greenhouse, Mitchell's Greenhouse, Sandy Sampson, Chris Wright, Carol Fliger, Trish and Brock Evans. Upcoming plans include a "Community Plant Donation and Planting Day" this spring when volunteers will bring donated plants on a Saturday and participate in planting. More...

A unique giving opportunity has been envisioned in conjunction with the arboretum design. Details of this heritage tree memorial area will be revealed in a future e-newsletter.

Major Upcoming Speakers
NPR's Juan Williams will be on campus Wednesday, March 10 courtesy of Multicultural Education and in honor of the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education; Email or call Bettye Buckingham (540-365-4352) for more information. Ferrum College has announced the creation of the Wasena F. "Buddy" Wright, Jr. Christian Ministry Lecture series and the first speaker will be renowned theologian Dr. Martin Marty on Wednesday, March 31; Email or call Wes Astin (540-365-4286) for more information.

New Athletic Director Named
Head Baseball Coach Abe Naff has been named Director of Athletics at Ferrum College. Naff replaces Dr. Ted Kinder, who announced his resignation January 6 after 10½ years as Ferrum’s Director of Athletics in order to accept the same position at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. The College also announced the promotion of Gary Holden to Assistant Athletic Director.

Alumni Happenings
Mark your calendars for Alumni Weekend 2004. We will celebrate the induction of the Class of 1954 into the 50 Year Club, and the reunions of 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, and 1979 during the weekend of May 14-16 th . We hope to see you there!

Reunions for the classes of 1984, 1989, 1994, and 1999 are being planned for Homecoming Weekend this fall. For information on any of these reunions, please contact the Alumni Office at alumni@ferrum.edu or 540-365-4216.

Ferrum Athletic News
The Athletics website features several new stories including: Ferrum Splits USA South Basketball Doubleheader- Freshman Aline Alzime led the Panthers in both scoring and rebounding ; Ferrum Sweeps Averett in USA South Basketball; Ferrum cheerleading takes off (see below); Venable Earns 2nd All-America honor; Recent scores at the online scoreboard... Read more...

Students Spend Break in Panama
Instead of heading home for the holidays, several Ferrum College students joined Dr. George Byrd and Dr. Joe Stogner on a trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama.   The group left on December 16 and returned on December 23. Three Ferrum seniors, Kristin Schoester, Ken Bradshaw, and Bryce Burnett, gave up a portion of their holiday break for the intensive Panama excursion. More...

Ferrum Cheerleading
 In April 2003, the Ferrum College cheerleading team competed at the Busch Gardens Spring Fling Classic in Williamsburg, VA.   The Panthers competed in the College/Open All-Girl Division, placing first overall and earning them a spot in the "Battle at the Capitol National Cheerleading Championships" at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University on March 6-7, 2004 in Fairfax, VA.   This is the first time that Ferrum has qualified for a national championship.   Ferrum is lead by Head Coach T.J. Agee, a former Ferrum Cheerleader.  

The Ferrum College cheerleading team will also be competing at the "Heavy Hitters Challenge" in Trenton, NJ at the Sovereign Bank Arena on Saturday, February 14.

To learn more about the Ferrum College cheerleading team or competition information, please contact Coach Agee at (540) 365-5573 by phone or agee@ferrum.edu by e-mail.

Events In February:

Until February 14th
Three VA Artists, Greer Gallery

Saturday, February 7th
Alumni Ambassador Meeting

Monday-Thursday, February 2-12th
Career Week, Ferrum College

Thursday, February 12th
Franklin County area alumni, Ippy's, 6:00 pm

Tuesday, February 17th
Roanoke area alumni, Roanoke Chapter, Higher Education Center tour in Roanoke

Events In March:

Tuesday, March 2nd
Virginia Beach/Tidewater area alumni, Mahi Mah's, 6pm

Wednesday, March 3rd
Richmond area alumni, Café Diem, 6pm

Monday, March 8th
Charlotte, NC area alumni, Location to be determined

Wednesday, March 10th
NPR's Juan Williams on campus

Tuesday, March 16th
Roanoke area alumni, Famous Anthony's 6pm

Wednesday, March 31st
Dr. Martin Marty on campus

See the Alumni Calendar online for more events and details...

The President's Speaking Engagements :

Sunday, February 8th
Guest speaker for Boy Scout Appreciation Dinner at Gogginsville UMC

Saturday, March 13th
Guest Speaker for Alpha Phi Omega Sectionals Banquet (at Ferrum)

Saturday, March 20th
Guest Speaker at Rappahannock District Church for "Day of Celebration"

Saturday, March 27th
Keynote speaker at Annual Sister Cities Dinner, Roanoke

Saturday, April 3rd
Honorary host of "Young Audiences of Southwest, VA"

Sunday, April 25th
Guest speaker at St. Mathew's UMC, Annandale

Refer A Student:

...And His or Her Fee Is Waived! Download the form for Alumni Referral, give it to a prospective student and they can use it to defer the application fee! It's a small Word document file that could make a big impact! Download here! Also suggest that they attend a Fall Open House on the Saturdays of February 7 & April 3. They can register online at this link...

Exclusive: For Fe Readers Only! Longing for days without snow? Our Fall @ Ferrum photos included a special treat just for the readers of Fe: a Ferrum desktop background wallpaper for your computer with a beautiful view of Adam's Lake, Schoolfield & the newly dedicated Stanley Library Annex. Click to download... Read Past Newsletters A new archive is available for readers of Fe to browse past issues from our launch in March of 2003 to the present! Click to visit...