Ferrum, VA, September 23, 2026 — The Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program (SMLWQMP), a collaboration between Ferrum College and the Smith Mountain Lake Association (SMLA), celebrated their forty years of stewardship with a dinner at Ferrum College on September 11. Alumni and community volunteers joined past and present student interns, faculty, college officials, and sponsors for a program that included special recognitions as well as reflections on the past, present, and future of the lake project.
Professor Emeritus Bob Pohlad collected photographs from the past forty years that were displayed during an opening reception and buffet dinner. Many scenic views were also integrated with data and announcements in the formal slideshow after dinner. Dr. Pohlad serves as botanist and senior field and lab scientist, as well as taking photographs throughout the summer program and around the campus and community.
Professor of Environmental Science Delia Heck, current director of the SMLWQMP, led the anniversary program at the dinner. Ferrum College President Mirta Martin welcomed all who attended and recognized the program’s many benefits. She said, “Forty years ago, a remarkable vision took root at Ferrum College,” bringing together partners whose “work has protected the waters of Smith Mountain Lake, educated generations of students, and demonstrated the profound impact a small college can have on its region.” She added, “We honor a legacy that has become one of the defining distinctions of Ferrum College and one of the Commonwealth’s longest-running examples of community-engaged environmental science.”
Dr. Dana Ghioca-Robrecht, who serves as data scientist and aquatic ecologist in the summer program, summarized her analysis of twenty years of data from the lake. Earlier on September 11 at a Friday science seminar on campus, Dr. Ghioca-Robrecht, who is chair of the Ferrum College School of Sciences and Agriculture, discussed in more detail her spring sabbatical project studying forty years of data.
Dr. Heck and Mr. Tom Hardy from the SMLA presented reflections on the past and the future of the program. These scientists reported that “overall lake water quality remains very good.” A combined tsi of 50.6, in the good range for standard evaluation of a lake’s trophic state index (measuring biological nutrients in the water), indicates “a healthy, resilient lake.” The long-term data show that a consistent spatial pattern shapes the lake, with lower nutrient data near the dam that created the lake, where water quality generally improves, and higher nutrient and sediment influence in the upper channels.
The 60th anniversary of the artificial lake’s creation was also recognized. A SMLA article published September 17, “Celebrating a Legacy of Lake Stewardship,” describes changes in the types of water quality testing conducted through the lake’s history.
Dr. Heck recognized all the community volunteer monitors, and then the current and former student interns. In 1995, monitoring of tributaries was added to the lake project, so that about thirty groups of community volunteers now monitor at eighty-four stations around the lake throughout the season. Dr. Martin praised “the extraordinary commitment of hundreds of citizen volunteers who have faithfully collected data and cared deeply for the health of the lake,” adding that “their dedication exemplifies the spirit of shared responsibility and community engagement that has defined this program from its inception.”
This year’s interns were Dashawn Nichting, Gracie Edwards, Dew Adams, and Ashly Cutcliff. Dr Martin commented that “Ferrum College students have learned science not only from textbooks and laboratories, but from the waters of Smith Mountain Lake itself. They have collected samples, analyzed data, worked alongside faculty mentors, and partnered with dedicated citizen scientists. In doing so, they have experienced the very best of a Ferrum College education—learning by doing, serving others, and preparing to make meaningful contributions long after graduation. The former student technicians have made Ferrum College proud by distinguishing themselves in careers in environmental science, research, government, and industry.”
Three individuals also received special recognitions. Mr. Dale Runyon of Bayside Marina & Yacht Club was thanked for providing a slip for the boats and keeping them serviced over the years. Mr. Hardy received a certification of appreciation for his science and volunteer leadership as chair of the SMLA. Ms. Carol Love, who plans to retire next May after thirty years as the College’s lab technician, was recognized for serving as the lab and field coordinator of the SMLWQMP for twenty-nine years, working with the student technicians, faculty, and volunteers on the lake and in the lab.
The program thanked other partnering organizations including the Appalachian Power Company, Bedford Water Authority, Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and Western Virginia Water Authority. Dr. Martin extended “heartfelt gratitude to American Electric Power and the AEP Foundation for their longstanding support of environmental stewardship and experiential learning.” She added, “Their generous gift of the program’s science vessel has enhanced both research and education.” The boat was donated in 2023.
The evening culminated with Dr. Pohlad and Instructor of Biology Chekka Lash presenting the first Carolyn L. Thomas Award to student Ashly Cutcliff. Professor Emerita Thomas and Professor Emeritus David Johnson began the water quality program in 1986-87. The award was made possible by memorial donations since Dr. Thomas’s death in January 2020.
Dr. Martin said, “As we celebrate this milestone, we honor those who had the courage to dream, the perseverance to build, and the wisdom to invest in something whose greatest impact would be measured not in months or years, but in generations. Their legacy lives on in every student inspired, every volunteer engaged, every partnership strengthened, and every clear, healthy shoreline of Smith Mountain Lake.”
More photographs from the banquet
Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Program at Ferrum College
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