Ferrum College announces the addition of three new members to the Board of Trustees: alumna Amanda Cox ’04, F. Abe Dymond, and Jeffrey C. Pugh. Their terms will begin July 1, 2022.

Cox is an external affairs manager for Appalachian Power responsible for oversight and implementation of local and county governmental affairs, community relations, and providing assistance with local/regional economic development.  She also serves as a registered lobbyist in Virginia and participates in the General Assembly sessions in Richmond.  Additionally, Cox has taken Appalachian Power’s Rural Broadband Initiative from a study concept through to the first connection of customers, and continues to serve as a resource to a variety of stakeholders on the issue.

Prior to joining Appalachian Power, Cox served as the President/CEO of the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce and its Partnership for Economic Growth where she positioned the Chamber to become the lead entity for small business development, leveraged workforce partnerships to increase the Chamber’s capacity to deliver business services, and secured a 5-Star rating with the US Chamber of Commerce for the first time in the organization’s history.

She currently serves on multiple state, regional and local boards and has a bachelor of science in Business Administration from Ferrum College and a master of business administration from Radford University. 

Cox lives with her husband, Jonathan, and two children in Franklin County, VA.

Dymond is a supervisory compliance officer with the Agricultural Marking Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. He is a trusted leader adept at initiating change in organizations at all stages of maturity. Dymond leverages multi-disciplinary skills to improve collaboration across organizations, build teamwork, and improve processes that synchronize the organization with mission, vision, and values. He creates reliable, targeted messaging focused on alignment of core values and organizational activity and is an expert in organizational governance design.

Dymond received a bachelor of arts in English from Ripon College, a Juris Doctor from Hamline University School of Law, a master of business administration with a concentration in finance from Carlson School of Management, and a master of laws in military law from The Judge Advocate General’s School.

Pugh is professor emeritus of Religious Studies, former Distinguished University Professor, and Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Religious Studies at Elon University. An influential teacher, mentor, and author, Pugh regularly comments on state and national issues. His ambitious research has resulted in six books, ranging from Nazi-era theologians Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his work in religion and science.

Pugh’s most recent book, “The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the End Times: Theology After You’ve Been Left Behind,” was published by Fortress Press in 2016 as part of a series sponsored by the popular Homebrewed Christianity podcast that takes a unique approach to helping delve into key Christian concepts, figures and ideas. He has also made numerous presentations at professional meetings and conferences, written articles, book chapters and book reviews for various publications, and served eight years as a member of the board of directors of the International Bonhoeffer Society.

Pugh earned his master of divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, and a master’s degree and doctorate in theological and religious studies from Drew University Graduate School. His graduate research focused on systematic and historical theology and he continued that work during his career at Elon. He received Elon’s Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2000 and the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2010.

Board of Trustees Chair Phyllis Q. Karavatakis ’76 announced today that Dr. David Johns has been appointed the twelfth president of Ferrum College. Johns currently serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Union College, a private, United Methodist affiliated, liberal arts institution in Barbourville, Kentucky. He will assume his new role as president of Ferrum College on January 1, 2018.

Johns was the top candidate in a field of semi-finalists with experience and expertise in the roles of either president, provost, or vice president at comparable higher education institutions. The search committee consisted of Ms. Karavatakis, as the chair, along with Ferrum College trustees, alumni, faculty, student, and staff representatives who had not served on prior selection committees. In September, members began the review of applications from a deep field of qualified higher education administrators. Using professional search protocol, members then narrowed the field and conducted off-campus interviews with several semi-finalists. The committee brought their unanimous recommendation to the full Board of Trustees for their consideration and final selection.

According to Ms. Karavatakis, “Of all the candidates, Dr. Johns was deemed the best fit for president of Ferrum College. During his tenure at a Methodist-related institution, Dr. Johns taught and advised a student population comparable to that found at Ferrum College in a region similar to southwest Virginia. His sense of mission, his background as a vice president for academic affairs, and his experience as a faculty member, a Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS) reviewer, a college chaplain, and a college librarian allow him to understand the complexity of higher education in the 21st century.”

Johns grew up near Canton, Ohio and was the first in his family to attend college. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Malone University in 1985, his Master of Arts from Earlham School of Religion in 1989, a Master of Library Science from Kent State University in 1993, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Theology from Duquesne University in 1999.

Upon his selection as the next Ferrum College president, Johns said, “I am honored to join the Ferrum community at a time of great opportunity and promise. The College’s history of service to the region is inspiring. I believe college should be a place where we are challenged to grow, to think, and to figure out how we can contribute to healing the world. This is in Ferrum’s DNA and Susan and I are eager to work with the entire Ferrum community to ensure this continues for generations to come.”

Johns is also a peer accreditation reviewer with the SACS Commission on Colleges, the Chair of the Faculty Research Fellowship Committee with the Appalachian College Association, and is active with the Chief Academic Officers group of the Association for Independent Kentucky Colleges & Universities.