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.

      New Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, Dr. Leslie T. Lambert welcomes our new and returning students. Dr. Lambert left her role as Professor and Director of the Center for Education and Innovation in the Liberal Arts at Roanoke College to join Ferrum College this summer. She replaces the former Vice President and Dean, Dr. Richard Sours, who has begun his presidency at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

      Institutional Advancement saw the return of Dr. Lee King in the role of Vice President. Dr. King left the Patrick Henry Boys and Girls Plantation as Executive Director to replace Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, who left Ferrum College to become Executive Vice President and Assistant General Manager of Blue Ridge Public Television and serve as Vice Mayor for the City of Roanoke.
This fall brings the first official year of the newly established Virginia Center for Criminal Justice Studies, which will 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.

      Among the new students seeking a Ferrum College diploma are the first class of Adult Education students. This fall Ferrum College began its degree completion program for bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration with an Emphasis in Management and Criminal Justice through classes held at the Roanoke High Education Center.
This fall construction will begin on two state-of-the-art, apartment-style residence halls as well as the extensive renovations to the Franklin Hall student and alumni center, Roberts residence Hall and the Beckham classroom building. Exterior and minor interior upgrades will be made to the three lake view residence halls as well. These improvements, due to be completed in 2006, are primarily funded by one of the largest USDA loans of its kind to an institution of higher education. The ambitious construction projects will result in new and improved facilities across campus in the first such comprehensive enhancement of multiple areas of campus since the 1960’s.

      Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu.
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