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Dear Ferrum Friends, Happy Labor Day! On Monday, September 3, Ferrum faculty and staff will spend the day welcoming 1200+ students to their first day of classes, one of our largest enrollment totals since the junior college years. Our dedicated faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to achieve this goal and it is fitting that the results of their hard work will come to fruition on Labor Day! We marked the beginning of the academic year on Monday, August 27 with our “Opening Conference,” including a special worship service in Vaughn Chapel followed by a presentation and luncheon in the Skeens Alumni Conference Center area of Franklin Hall. On that day we welcomed many new faculty and staff to Ferrum and welcomed back those who spent the summer in research, travel, writing and other areas of professional development. The newest issue of Profess outlines some of these activities. We know you will find much to be excited about in this issue, with information running the gamut from brief introductions of our new faculty members to Professor Lana Whited’s take on the most recent “Pottermania” phenomenon. We have also included some fall events for your review and hope you can join us at many of the exciting alumni events we have planned. As I begin my sixth year as Ferrum’s president, I would like to
share with you our special Opening
Conference slide presentation. It
comprises a five-year progress report from each of our divisions,
and features a sweeping pictorial review of the entire campus. Thank
you all again for the unwavering support and generosity that have
made Ferrum College such a truly extraordinary place. Sincerely
yours, |
Events
Returning
Student Check-In
Sunday, September 2
Registration in Franklin Hall
2:00 - 4:00pm
Ceremony
of Initiation
and Affirmation
Monday, September 3
Vaughn Chapel
2:15 - 3:15pm
Club
Fair
Wednesday, September 12
Panther's Den
4:30 - 7:00pm
Fall
Jam
Saturday, September 22
Picnic Area
4:30 - 9:00pm
Coffeehouse
Thursday, September 27
Panthers Den
8:00 - 10:00pm
Family
Weekend
Register Online!
September 28 - 30
Panther
Preview
Saturday, September 29
Franklin Hall & Library
9:00am - 3:00pm
Praise
Band Performance
Saturday, September 29
Vaughn Chapel
10:30 - 12:00pm
Hypnotist
Damian
Saturday, September 29
Panthers Den
8:00 - 9:00pm
Karaoke
Friday, October 5
Panthers Den
9:00 - 11:00pm
Homecoming
Register Online!
October 12 - 14
Alumni Shenandoah Valley |
Alumni Greetings from the Alumni Office! Homecoming 2007 is almost here! Mark your calendars for the weekend of October 12-14 and make plans to come home to Ferrum! The full schedule of events will arrive in mailboxes this week. Register online now! The weekend festivities will kick off with the annual Corron Classic Panther Open Golf Tournament followed by the induction of the Class of 1957 into the 50 Year Club and a campus picnic for the entire Ferrum family. On Saturday, we will have our Distinguished Alumni Awards and Sports Hall of Fame luncheon followed by numerous reunion gatherings. You cannot miss this weekend! Our MySpace page continues to grow. Thank you! Stay tuned for photos and special updates in the coming weeks. Keep sending your friends to the alumni page! Details on the Ferrum Alumni gathering area at the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival are on our alumni calendar now! This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, October 27. Our calendar will provide information on the packages we provide for the event! It’s not too soon to make your reservations. Family Weekend 2007 will be held during the weekend of September 28-30. Details on this big event are online now as well. Register online now! The Office of Student Leadership and Engagement has secured well known entertainer, Damian the Hypnotist, to bring the fun Saturday evening! Our Parents Council will meet on Saturday, September 29. Please contact our office for more details! Keep checking our alumni calendar for updates on upcoming events! We look forward to seeing you at a gathering soon! We love to hear from you! Call us at 1-877-FERRUM1 or contact us via email at alumni@ferrum.edu. Keep sending those class notes! As always, please let us know if you need us! |
Campus
Facelifts |
Thoreau’s
Cabin Being Built on Ferrum College Campus This past May,
Dr. John Kitterman taught a new course during e-term called “American
Nature Writers.” The course, like other classes during e-term
was designed to get students out of the classroom and for some
“real world” experience. His course would include reading Walden and
build a replica of Thoreau’s cabin in the woods on the Ferrum College
campus. However, the course turned out to be a little bit more
challenging than he expected. He wrote about his experience
and it was published
recently in The Chronicle of Higher Education. |
|
Having trouble viewing the slideshow? Click here! |
Top
Stories
Dr. Lana Whited offers Potter
Perspectives to the World
For Harry Potter fans, July 21 couldn’t come quickly enough. At exactly
midnight, fans were finally able to get their hands on the highly anticipated
seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Fans
lined the streets and camped outside bookstores to ultimately discover
the conclusion of a journey that has played out over 10 years and run to
nearly 2,500 pages.
The Pottermania and the mega-hype surrounding this series were unprecedented.
Even Amazon.com and Borders, Inc. representatives have been quoted as saying
it was unlike anything they have ever seen in recent memory. In fact, the
first six books have sold over 325 million copies in 65 languages. The
sixth book sold 15 million copies in 24 hours after its release. Each book,
particularly this last one, included a mystery-themed marketing approach
before its release. Publishers Scholastic Inc. and Bloomsbury were ordered
to keep the plots of each book a secret. Booksellers were in some cases,
ordered to sign affidavits promising not to leak any information. In this
final book, there was even added hype when Rowling herself announced two
of the main characters would die, and Pottermania went out of control.
For months before the book’s release, speculation of who would live and
who would die spread all over the Internet. From the “spoilers” in the
blogosphere, to interviews and discussions in the mainstream media, you
couldn’t get away from those predicting Harry’s fate. The speculation was
so intense, that once readers finally were able to get their hands on a
copy of “Deathly Hallows,” some admitted to going straight to the last
chapter instead of reading the 749 pages to find out who gets the ax.
In the middle of the media frenzy was Ferrum College English Professor
Dr. Lana Whited, editor of The
Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon.
Whited was approached by various reporters here in the U.S. and
abroad exploring the questions that fans and critics alike wanted
answered. This was not at all unexpected for Whited. Since the
publication of her 2002 book, she has served as a Potter resource
for media outlets including from Agence France Presse, The
Australian. La Tercera (the national
newspaper of Chile), and some of the most recognized names in U.S.
news. Because of her research on the Harry Potter series and
phenomenon, Whited has been asked to discuss several subjects
and themes about the books, but this time around she says it
was all about Harry. “By far the most common questions I was
asked was whether Harry would die” she explains. “I said I didn’t
know, but it wouldn’t surprise me.” Her comment to an Associated
Press reporter from New York was widely quoted. She said, “heroes,
like Moses, often deliver the people to the Promised Land but
do not see it themselves." She says the theme of choice and the
role of choice in our lives plays a very important role. Dumbledore
says to Harry in the end of Chamber of Secrets, ‘It
is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more
than our abilities.”’ Whited says Voldemort, for example, has
very powerful magical abilities but makes bad, essentially self-centered
choices. Harry, however, having above-average magical abilities
and the powerful protection of his mother’s sacrifice, generally
makes choices for the good of the whole. Read
More...
Ferrum
College Welcomes Record Number of Students to Campus
Dr.
Jennifer L. Braaten and Ferrum College have reasons to celebrate as
the school year begins. Dr. Braaten is marking the beginning of her sixth
year as the first woman president of Ferrum College by welcoming the
largest group of new students to Ferrum in over twenty years. Braaten
says the entire campus is excited and energized at the prospect of
so many young men andwomen
embarking on their college careers at Ferrum and insists on sharing
credit for this accomplishment with Ferrum College faculty and staff. “The
Ferrum College that you see today, with our unparalleled facilities
and outstanding academic, athletic and experiential learning programs,
is the direct result of the hard work, dedication and can-do spirit
of the entire campus community, a spirit that was clearly evident to
me when I arrived at Ferrum in July of 2002. Read More...
» Click
here for campus photos
Summer 2007
New Apartment-Style
Residence Hall Named After Ferrum Friend and Benefactor
Ferrum College is thrilled to welcome
students into Moore Hall, the new state-of-the-art residence hall that
is now officially open to students. The building is named after
R. Stuart Moore, a former trustee and one of Ferrum’s most generous benefactors.
Moore, who always felt a need to help students who did not have the financial
means for a college education, left a gift of $7.75 million to Ferrum when he
died October 10, 1992. The gift was one of the largest in the college’s
history. His donation helped set up two independent trusts that helped
fund endowments for scholarships and operating costs. Moore also left the
school his art collection, 117 paintings that Moore collected over his entire
lifetime. Those paintings can be seen in John Wesley Hall.
Moore was President and Chief Executive Officer of The Lane Co., a furniture
manufacturer. He never attended Ferrum, however his mother was a believer
in the college and its mission. She sold baked goods at church to send
to the less fortunate students who attended the original Ferrum Training School.
Construction of Moore Hall, which is the twin to Arthur Hall, began in January
’07 and only took 8 months to complete. The new residence hall houses 12 fully
furnished apartments and are complete with 4 bedrooms, two baths, and common
area with kitchenette. These two buildings serve the campus in a central
location and are the final phase of FerrumPLUS! the college’s most ambitious
construction and renovation project in 50 years.
We’ve
been hit by the WeatherBug!
Ferrum
College is officially a WeatherBug site, joining over 8,000 schools and
businesses nationwide that actively monitor the weather and collect weather
data. Those
interested can go to http://weather.weatherbug.com and
enter ‘Ferrum’ to get real-time weather on campus. You can also
access other active sites with weather conditions and cameras as well.
The college’s WeatherBug camera is currently located on top of the Skeens
Alumni Center at Franklin Hall in the center of campus. The zoom, 360
degree camera has its own computer hook-up that attaches to the network.
This interactive technology will not only display weather events on campus,
but will be used by Ferrum College professors as an important interactive
tool when teaching a variety of subjects including geography, physics,
mathematics and technology. This system gives Ferrum College access
to WeatherBug
Achieve,
an educational resource that will allow the college to retrieve weather data
from around the country. Students can download real-time data to study and analyze
everything from rainfall and ocean currents to global warming and weather phenomena
such as El Nino. Dr. Bob Pohlad, Ferrum College Professor of Biology, says
he plans to incorporate the technology in his curriculum, especially with the
Watershed Project. The project monitors and analyzes streamflow, precipitation,
soils, vegetation, and a wide range of other ecological parameters. He says the
opportunities the WeatherBug technology will provide are endless. “This technology
gives us a whole new collaborative effort not only with other professors and
departments here on the Ferrum College campus, but also with other colleges and
universities around the country. Read More...
Congratulations to the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre on a Terrific Season!
Emily Rose Tucker with Ferrum College & Franklin County High School Students in a production of The Jack Tales |
The Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre’s season has
now come to an end and what a terrific season it was! Most, if not
all of their shows, were sold out, and Rex Stephenson and Jody Brown
were forced to add shows to keep up with the demand. Blue Ridge
Dinner Theatre Executive Producer says “The 28th season of the Blue
Ridge Dinner Theatre was another record breaking season with people
coming from all over southwest Virginia and northern North Carolina
to see quality theatre and enjoy Ferrum hospitality. One important
factor in the BRDT's success is Emily Rose Tucker. Tucker--a multi-talented
performer--engages the audience with her singing, playing, composing,
and acting.”
Emily has spent the last seven seasons at the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre.
Upon graduating from Alfred University, (in Alfred, NY), in 2003,
she made Ferrum her home, and took a position as an Elementary Music
teacher in the Franklin County Public Schools. Over the past three
years, she has taught Choral Music and Drama at Benjamin Franklin
Middle School, and has continued to direct the drama program at Franklin
County High School. “Working in the schools has been very rewarding
in that I have students who started with me in Elementary or Middle
School, and they are now part of the creative community that we are
building.” She says. “I frequently have FCHS
alumni come back to work with me, or they become a part of Ferrum
College's drama program, the Jack Tale Players, or the BRDT. Last
year, several of my students performed with me in La Boheme at
Opera Roanoke.” Read
More...
Ferrum College
Graduates Get Hired!
The Career Services Office
recently announced that the employment and graduate/professional school
rate for the 2006 graduates is 100%. The self reported survey,
which is initiated six months after graduation, had a 54% return rate.
The
2006 graduates responded to the question,” What are you doing at present”? By
choosing one of the following categories: Employed
(only) 83%, Graduate/Professional School (only) 13%, Employed and Graduate/Professional
School (both) 3% and Self Employed was 1% for a total of 100%. To provide
a perspective over time the following are the five previous years results
for the Employment and Graduate/Professional School rates which are:
2001 – 98%, 2002 – 98%, 2003 – 96%, 2004 – 98%, 2005 – 97%. Read
More...
Todd Fredericksen
Travels to the Galápagos Islands
This summer,
The Appalachian College Association funded a trip to the Galápagos for
16 faculty members, led by Todd Fredericksen in Ferrum’s School of Natural
Sciences and Mathematics and Jim Reynolds of Brevard College. The group traveled to 10 islands
in eight days on a chartered yacht. The goal of the trip was to bring
faculty members together to share experiences while learning about the
natural history of the islands, as well the impact of humans, and to
bring these experiences back to the classroom. The trip also included
a shorter trip to the volcanic cordillera on the Ecuadorian mainland.
Read More...
 |
Todd Fredericksen shares a moment with bird on his trip to the Galápagos.
|
Victory Stadium
Gets New Life at Ferrum College
Ferrum College’s W.B. Adams Stadium
is currently being fitted with aluminum bleachers, purchased in the summer
of 2006 from the City of Roanoke Virginia. The seats should be in place
for Ferrum’s season-opening game at home against in-state rival Emory & Henry
College on Saturday, September 1.
The aluminum seats were purchased
just prior to the demolition of Roanoke’s Victory Stadium, which took
place from June 26 through July 5 in 2006. The facility was built in
1942 and had a seating capacity of approximately 25,000. Read More...
Be sure to sign
up for e2campus alerts!
If you haven’t signed up for e2campus alerts be sure to
do it here at www.ferrum.edu/e2campus.
This state-of-the-art emergency communication system will instantly alert
students to any type of campus emergency, including weather-related events. Ferrum
joins leading institutions such as the University of Virginia, Penn State,
and Syracuse University in the use of this new technology. e2campus
will be an important addition to methods currently in use by the College
for widespread communication such as email, voicemail, announcements
on radio and television and the College website.
Don’t worry! You will not be bombarded with campus e-mails by signing
up. This
is for emergencies only. If classes are cancelled for any reason-- you’ll be
notified instantly.
e2campus is a subscriber-based mass notification system that transmits information
via text messages sent to cellular phones. e2Campus also enables
Ferrum to send emergency information via pagers, wireless PDAs, and e-mail. The
service is a cross-carrier mobile content service, meaning that those who are
subscribed to e2campus will receive messages as long as their cellular phone
provider has service on the Ferrum College campus. Andrea Zuschin, Dean
of Student Affairs says, “Ferrum College decided to participate in e2campus because
it adds another method of reaching our students during a campus emergency. We
realize that no one method of communicating is foolproof, so the more methods
we use, the more students we can reach.”
More information on this service is also available at the e2Campus website
at www.e2campus.com
Ferrum College Student
Leaders Make Over 30,000 Meals for Relief Organization
Over 100 Ferrum College students attending the 2007
Student Leadership Institute gathered at Phoebe Needles Wednesday, August
29 to participate in Operation Sharehouse, a volunteer, on-site mission
of Stop Hunger Now. Together the students exceeded their goal and packaged
30,240 dehydrated, vitamin-fortified rice and soy based meals that will
be sent to orphanages and school feeding programs in Third World countries.
Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief agency with offices in
Raleigh, NC and South Hill, VA. The Rev. Lee Warren, VA Director of Stop
Hunger Now brought the event to Ferrum. Read
More...
» Click
here for photos
Ferrum Welcomes
New Faculty to Campus
Ferrum College welcomes many new faculty faces to campus this fall. These
faculty members have joined the Ferrum College faculty since the beginning
of the 2007-2008 academic year... Read More...
» Login to your account
» Register with e2Campus
WeatherBug!
Facebook!
Join our new facebook group, brought to you by the Ferrum Dispatch!
Photo
Galleries
August
29, 2007
Operation
Sharehouse
Summer
2007
Thoreau's
Cabin in Ferrum
August
27, 2007
Opening Conference
Summer 2007
Todd
Fredericksen Travels to
Galapagos Islands
August
2007
Campus
Photos
July 5, 2007
Roots
of Virginia Culture
June 22, 2007
PAWS
Session
May 2007
Bradford
Peace Exchange
Wallpapers
Schoolfield
Hall & Sale Theater
Stanley Library
Back to School!
More
Wallpapers...
Publications
Ferrum
Magazine
FP
Newsletter
Iron
Blade
FNS
Newsletter
Development News Is Your Children’s Future Based on Guesswork? In some advanced math classes, the theories occasionally seem so complex that they just don’t make sense. When the equation becomes too convoluted, it appears easier to just guess at the answer, rather than to work through it. Unfortunately, many people seem to take that approach to their retirement planning as well, and their guesswork may not leave them with the retirement security they hope for. Worse, qualified retirement plans like IRAs are assets people often mistakenly think will be their children’s largest inheritance, when in fact... Read More... |
Student Andrea Zuschin, Dean of Student Affairs We’re continuing
to improve the Fitness Center by adding new exercise equipment,
expanding exercise space, ramping up our intramural programming,
and collaborating with Ferrum Outdoors, which will now be housed
at the Fitness Center. We have added another new residence hall,
which will be called Moore Hall, several more student apartments,
and residential rooms on the second floor of Bassett Hall. We've
also added several student organization offices to the first floor
center area of Bassett Hall. |
Assistant
Soccer Coach Pauly, Wife Bike Across America
Ferrum
College Assistant Men's Soccer Coach and his wife, Rachel Troyer,
have recently returned from six months of bicycle riding, camping,
and general exploration of the western United States. |
Click
for an online version of this e-Newsletter
Check
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more!
Alumni: Click
here to update your information and class notes online!
For More News, Calendars and Events Check Ferrum.edu/News
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!
Read Past Newsletters: Click
here for more!
NOTE: If you know of any friends or alumni that are not getting Fe, email us and we will send them a copy!
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