Carthan Currin III, formerly of Rocky Mount, is this year’s Arthur S. Owens Lecture Series speaker at Ferrum College. Currin will give the address “Making a Difference Through Public Service” on Tuesday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. in Grousbeck Music Center on the College campus.

    

     Currin is the Executive Director for the Virginia Tobacco Commission in Richmond, appointed in 1999 by Governor Jim Gilmore. He worked previously as the chief deputy director of the Governor’s Employment and Training Department. In 1989, Currin facilitated the opening of the Comfort Inn in Rocky Mount and worked as its general manager for nine years. It was during this time that Currin became the chair of the Franklin County Republican Party and established a working relationship with Jim Gilmore.

     Currin, a 1984 Public Administration graduate of Ferrum College, demonstrated political aspirations even as an undergraduate. He remains the only Ferrum College student to hold the office of President of the Student Government Association for more than one year.

     The Arthur S. Owens Lecture Series was established in 1983 to provide outstanding lectures at Ferrum College in the fields of business and public administration.

     Owens, who was born in Richmond in 1900, served Ferrum College from 1967 until his death in 1982, as Assistant to the President and Distinguished Lecturer. In addition to the Lecture Series, Ferrum College presents the Arthur S. Owens Leadership Award each year to a senior who demonstrates character, honor, leadership and initiative. In 1973, the merit-based Arthur S. Owens Scholarship Fund was established at Ferrum to provide financial assistance to deserving Ferrum students.
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. To learn more about the College, call 1-800-868-9797 or visit www.ferrum.edu.
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