Ferrum College

Infobox_University
name = Ferrum College


motto = Not Self, But Others
established = 1913
type = Private college
endowment = US $38,028,793 [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_3711_brief.php]
faculty = 90
president = Dr. Jennifer L. Braaten
dean = Dr. Leslie Lambert
undergrad = 1250
city = Ferrum
state = Virginia
country = USA
campus = Rural, 700 acres
colors =Black, Gold and White
color box|#000000 color box|#FFCC00 color box|#FFFFFF
mascot =
nickname = Panthers
athletics =NCAA Division III, USSAC
affiliation =United Methodist Church
website = [http://www.ferrum.edu www.ferrum.edu]

Ferrum College is a private college in Ferrum, Virginia, USA, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia. Ferrum College is known for having the second-oldest environmental science program in the nation and was ranked 41st by US News and World Report in Comprehensive Colleges–Bachelor's (South) for 2006 [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_3711_brief.php] .

History

Ferrum was founded in 1913 as a system of branch schools to bring elementary and secondary education to Franklin, Floyd, Patrick and Henry counties. With initial funding from the Woman's Missionary Society and the Board of Missions of the Virginia Annual Conference of the Methodist Church, the school opened under president Dr. Benjamin M. Beckham with 6 faculty members and 99 students in 1914.

The branch schools closed as public education took hold in the area. The elementary division closed in the early 1940s, followed by the high school division in 1955 to allow the program to concentrate on its junior college offerings. The junior college received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1960.

The college experienced dramatic growth and facilities improvement in the 1960s and 1970s and began offering bachelor's degrees in a selection of human service fields in 1974. The college was awarded accreditation as a four-year college by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1976. The last associate degrees were awarded in 1991.

Today, Ferrum College offers bachelor's degrees in thirty-three major degree programs. The college continues to operate under the auspices of the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women of the Virginia Annual Conference.

In 2006 Ferrum College welcomed its largest class of new students since the 1980s and enrolled over 1,000 total students for the first time in ten years.

On February 26, 2008, a man was seen walking on campus with a gun. The school was put into lockdown as a result. Although the lockdown was lifted later that day, the school released a sketch of the suspect and was closed for the rest of that week, which was preceding Spring Break.

Admissions

Admissions to this college is less selective and applications are accepted on a rolling deadline. 75% of applicants were admitted into the entering class of 2005. 50% of the entering class had an SAT I score between 800-1200 [http://www.virginiamentor.org/campustour/undergraduate/748/Ferrum_College/Ferrum_College3.html] .

Academics

Ferrum College offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees in thirty-three major degree programs.

The school is accredited by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, regionally by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. Specific baccalaureate programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).

The school is a charter member of the Bonner Scholars program.

Campus

The Ferrum campus is located on 700 acres near the town of Ferrum, Virginia. The nearest large cities are Roanoke, Virginia (35 miles northeast) and Greensboro, North Carolina (70 miles south).

Notable Buildings

The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, designated as the State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore by the Virginia State Assembly in 1986, is on the main campus near the Blue Ridge Farm Museum.

The Institute holds the annual Blue Ridge Folklife Festival on the fourth Saturday in October to showcase regional traditions. In 1999, the museum's collection of Great Road Pottery was featured on an episode of the American version of Antiques Roadshow.

Ferrrum's Schoolfield Hall is also home to the [http://www.blueridgedinnertheatre.com Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre] . Local legend has it that Schoolfield Hall is haunted.

Athletics

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Under future Evansville head basketball coach (who died in the December 1977 plane crash) Bobby Watson, Ferrum's basketball team was the national runner-up in 1972, losing in the NJCAA title game to Vincennes (Indiana) Junior College, led by future NBA great Bob McAdoo.

Currently, eight Ferrum alumni are competing in professional sports [http://www.ferrum.edu/athletics/Ferrum-pros.htm] .

Distinguished alumni in sports:

* Jim Grobe - head football coach, Wake Forest University
* Chris Warren '90 - football, running back for the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and Philadelphia Eagles
* Billy Wagner - baseball, closing pitcher for the New York Mets; has played for the Philadelphia Phillies (2004-2005) and Houston Astros (1995-2003) and was a first-round draft pick (12th pick overall) in the 1993 MLB draft.
* Eric Owens '93 - baseball, outfielder, most recently played for the Anaheim Angels in 2003. Played for the Florida Marlins (2001-2002), San Diego Padres (1999-2000), Milwaukee Brewers (1998), and Cincinnati Reds (1995-1997).
*Jerry Venable - former member of Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.
*Bruce Gossett - kicker for San Francisco 49ers in 1970s.

External links

* [http://www.ferrum.edu/ Ferrum College]
* [http://www.ferrum.edu/ironblade/index.htm The Iron Blade (campus newspaper)]