Dear Ferrum Friends,

The days are still warm in southwest Virginia in these last weeks of summer, but the first hints of fall can be sensed in the coolness of the early morning air. This time of year always signals a season of “new beginnings” and the excitement this month on the Ferrum campus is palpable – not only has the 2004-2005 school year begun, but many exciting initiatives are also coming to fruition. In addition to welcoming new and returning students, we will soon be welcoming bulldozers and construction workers as our USDA building and renovation project gets underway within the next few weeks. We are calling this initiative “Ferrum PLUS!” for Project Leading to Undergraduate Success! The new and renovated facilities that will be the end result of these efforts during the next two years will dramatically enhance the face of the campus and provide our students with even more state of the art facilities and opportunities, all designed to further our goal of providing each and every Ferrum College student with a successful educational experience.

On the academic side, we are extremely pleased to welcome our new Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, Dr. Leslie Lambert, who brings to Ferrum a wealth of experience from her years at Roanoke College. We are equally pleased to announce the debut of the Virginia Center for Criminal Justice at Ferrum College, which will not only serve to enhance one of our most popular majors, but will also provide the criminal justice community throughout the state with unique programs, professional development opportunities, and specialized agency assistance. Our first-ever off-campus degree completion programs at the Roanoke Higher Education Center also began this semester with a dynamic and highly motivated group of adult students who are furthering their studies in criminal justice and business under the able tutelage of our own dedicated Ferrum faculty.

For our alumni, from Fairfax, to Roanoke to Lynchburg and back to campus, there will be a Ferrum “happening” nearly every week for the next few months, including Family Weekend on September 17-19, and Homecoming on October 8-9! I look forward to personally seeing you at many of these events and I hope you enjoy reading about these and many other exciting campus developments in the following pages.

Your tremendous support, encouragement, prayers and optimism continue to make all things possible for our Ferrum students. On behalf of the entire campus community, I wish you a wonderful season of new beginnings and thank you again for all that you do for Ferrum College.

Ferrum College Opens to Students for 2004-2005 Academic Year
Ferrum College began the academic year today with a feeling of positive change in the air due to exciting new faces in leadership, new academic initiatives and programs, and the anticipation of new construction and renovations. Read more about our exciting new year and enjoy photos of the Initiation and Affirmation Ceremony held in Vaughn Chapel on Friday for new students and also view photos from the Opening Conference with Faculty and Staff last week.

On-line giving
The development office is pleased to announce that you can now make your gift to Ferrum on-line using our secure server and your credit card. It is safe, secure, and an easy way to support the Ferrum Fund or any of the other exciting activities happening at Ferrum. From the Ferrum College homepage, follow the SUPPORT FERRUM link to our on-line giving site. Ferrum uses gifts from alumni and friends to enhance the educational opportunities given to our students. Please support the College and make your gift on-line.

Phonathon
Beginning September 19, Ferrum students will be calling alumni, parents and friends in our annual Ferrum Fund phonathon. When you get your call, we hope you will enjoy talking to a current Ferrum student and support them by making your gift to the Ferrum Fund.

Arthur Society
Last year, Ferrum created a new giving club known as the Arthur Society to honor former president Ralph Arthur. Members of the Arthur Society make annual contributions of at least $1000 to the Ferrum Fund. There were 39 charter members of the Arthur Society last year, and this year our goal is to increase membership to 50. Arthur Society members will be honored on campus with a dinner with Dr. Braaten and members of the Arthur family on September 7. We encourage alumni and friends to join the Arthur Society. For more information, please contact Beth Stewart at 540-365-4310, or Lee King at 540-365-4211. You may also join the Arthur Society by using our on-line giving option.

Remember Ferrum in your Will
As you complete your estate planning, please remember a bequest to Ferrum College in your Will. Estate gifts help to strengthen the endowment, fund student scholarships and make a lasting impact on the College. If you have already included Ferrum in your estate plans, please consider letting us know so that we can thank you appropriately and make sure that you are included as a member of the Beckham Society. For more information on how to include Ferrum in your estate plans, please contact Lee King at 540-365-4211.

Virginia Center for Criminal Justice Studies Established at Ferrum
Ferrum College has established the Virginia Center for Criminal Justice Studies, to provide the criminal justice community with unique education and training programs, professional development opportunities, and specialized agency assistance. The Center will consist of four primary programs: the Ferrum College Undergraduate Baccalaureate Degree in Criminal Justice, The Rural Criminal Justice Research Institute, a Criminal Justice Speakers Forum, and The Law Enforcement and Emergency Responders Professional Development Institute. In association with articulation agreements developed with area community colleges to facilitate transfers into Ferrum’s newly energized Criminal Justice program, these initiatives will unite this fall to formally debut as the Virginia Center of Criminal Justice Studies. Read more...

Professors Book to Appear in Paperback
The buzz about Harry Potter has not only to do with the title revelation of J.K. Rowling’s upcoming sixth book in the series or even the vibrant third movie, but also with the paperback release of Ferrum College Professor Lana Whited’s The Ivory Tower And Harry Potter. The paperback edition, to be released this month, will feature a new epilogue including material on “The Order of The Phoenix.” The book, edited by Ferrum College Professor of English Dr. Lana A. Whited, features 16 essays on the J. K. Rowling tales. While the University of Missouri Press’s book has had special appeal to literature professionals, it is written to be accessible to avid readers and fans of the series as well. Read more...

Arboretum Progress
This summer has brought continued improvements and upgrades to the Arboretum being constructed by faculty, staff, students and the community. The arboretum is located in the greenspace between Vaughn Chapel and the Adams Lake spillway. Read & see more...

Ferrum Athletic News
The Athletics website features several new stories including:
Venable Named Preseason All-American; Ferrum Picked 3rd in USA South Football Poll; Ferrum Cheerleaders Close Out 2003-04 with Competitions.  Read more...

All Sports Schedules Online!
Catch all the games you can, home and away, of your Ferrum Panthers! Every fall athletic schedule has been added to our new online calendar available right on the front page of the Ferrum website! Browse the calendar...

Car Crazy Racer Reunion!
On Saturday, September 25, from 2:00pm-5:00pm, the BRI will host a reunion and reception featuring Racers, Mechanics and more- all surrounding the year-long exhibit of "Car Crazy" now featured in the museum. Also get ready for a special storytelling stage during this year's Folklife Festival on October 23rd! Read & see more...

Special Alumni News:
Family Weekend
Family Weekend will be celebrated during September 17-19th. The weekend’s highlights include a luncheon with the Ferrum Family, many athletic events, a post football game reception, and much more! For a complete list of the weekend’s activities, please see this site for more information!

Homecoming 2004
Homecoming Weekend will be kicked off with the Corron Classic Panther Open on Friday, October 8th. Over 100 players have already signed on for the tournament! The weekend will also honor the Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2004 during a luncheon induction ceremony. We are proud to announce the names of this year’s inductees:

Mr. Joseph Philpott, Jr. ‘64
Mr. Philip Elmassian ‘71
Mr. Albert Latimer ‘78
Mr. James Sood ‘89
Mrs. Sarah Quesenberry Wagner ‘94

A fun filled weekend is planned with a football game vs. Guilford College, reunion gatherings, a post-game band, an alumni tennis tournament, an alumni women’s basketball game, and much more!! For more information on the weekend’s events, please contact the Alumni Office at 540-365-4216 or alumni@ferrum.edu. See this PDF download for more information!

Please see the Alumni Calendar of Events for Alumni gatherings in your area. Have ideas for Alumni events? Let us know! If you would like to see an event planned for an area not on the calendar, we would love to hear from you!

Ferrum College Elsewhere on the Internet for Alumni
The Ferrum College Message Board is a gathering place for alumni, current students, faculty, staff and associates of Ferrum College to electronically connect on the internet and by email. This service is provided by Yahoo.com. Anyone with internet access, email or Yahoo ID is able to join the Ferrum College Yahoo group by going here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrumcollege
Bridget Gallagher attended Ferrum from 1996-1998, and founded the message board in March 2000, as a way to connect with friends who had left or graduated from Ferrum. Today, there are 200 plus members who belong to the board.
Alumni and Friends can post messages, connect with each other, share photos, links, and files, all for free! It’s a great way to stay in touch with what is happening at Ferrum and to catch up with old friends. Alumni from many decades are on the board. Members may choose to hide their email addresses themselves if they wish to do so for privacy.

Please join this fun, exciting, and best of all, free message board for alumni and friends, to catch up on news and what’s going on at Ferrum, and best of all, to network with each other.

Young Alumni Working to Recruit New Students
The Admissions and Alumni Offices invited back a group of young alumni to our Spring Open House to discuss ways in which alumni can assist the college in attracting new students. This brainstorming session served as the foundation to launch an alumni initiative of letter writing, phone calling, and spreading the word about Ferrum. Reaching new students can be as simple as wearing your favorite Ferrum clothing! If you are interesting in getting involved, please contact alumni@ferrum.edu or call 540-365-4216.  

Alumni Calendar

Events In September:

Sunday, September 5th
Washington, DC Chapter Event, P.J. Skidoo's, Fairfax, 1:00 pm

Saturday, September 11th
Roanoke Chapter, Roadside Clean-Up, 8:30 am
Meet at Famous Anthony's, on Williamson then move to Summerdean Church of the Brethen, 6604 Plantation Road NE around 9:30 am

Friday-Sunday, September 17-19th
Family Weekend on Campus

Thursday, September 23rd
Lynchburg Chapter Event, Charley's, 6:00 pm

Thursday, September 25th
"Car Crazy" Racer & Mechanic Reunion & Reception at the BRI, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Events In October:

Friday, October 8th
Corron Classic/Panther Open, Westlake Golf and Country Club, 1:00 pm shotgun start, Dinner to follow tournament

Saturday, October 9th
Homecoming- Reunion Events to follow Football game
Sports Hall of Fame- Lunch to start at 11:30 am

Saturday, October 23rd
Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, On Campus

Events In November:

Tuesday, November 9th
Greater Hampton Roads/Richmond Events- The Italian Kitchen 11:00 am.
Capital Ale House in Innsbrook, 6:00 pm

Events In December:

Saturday, December 4th
Atlanta, Georgia event, Location and time to be determined

For more events on the Ferrum Campus, check out our new online, interactive calendar!

The President's Speaking Engagements :

Sunday, September 26
Guest speaker at St. Paul UMC, Woodbridge, VA

Sunday, October 3
Guest speaker at Roanoke District Annual UMW mtg. at White Memorial UMC

Sunday, October 10
Guest speaker at St. Paul’s UMC, Wytheville

Sunday, October 24
Guest speaker at Walker Chapel, Arlington

Sunday, October 31
Guest speaker at church in Stony Creek

Sunday, November 14
Guest speaker at Cave Spring UMC, Roanoke

Sunday, November 21
Guest speaker at McGaheysville UMC, McGaheysville

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...

On the Web:

Check our the redesign of the Ferrum College front page, courtesy of Webmaster Suzie Kelly and Public Relations. New features include a sleek new design and an interactive calendar for all campus events! View your new homepage at: Ferrum.edu...

Ferrum Outdoors
New website

Adult Education
New website
Find downloads here

Admissions Materials
Download publications here

The Strategic Plan
Download the Brochure PDF

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...