The Smith Mountain Lake Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program (SMLWQMP), administered by scientists from Ferrum College in collaboration with the Smith Mountain Lake Association (SMLA), is celebrating its thirty-sixth anniversary this year. Initiated in 1987, the program has functioned each year to monitor the water quality in Smith Mountain Lake and to encourage active participation of the lake community in protecting this resource.
Each summer, Ferrum College faculty, students, and SMLA representatives and volunteers monitor the lake water for nutrients, bacteria, and algal blooms. Stakeholders and local health departments use collected data to inform the community of any concerns.
Ferrum College Professor of Environmental Science and Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program Director Delia Heck has been an integral part of the program for 17 years. “For me, the SMLWQMP is an excellent example of the synergy possible between academia, citizen scientists, government agencies, industry, and regional advocacy groups to ensure the viability of our water resources. Ferrum College faculty, staff, and students work closely with the Smith Mountain Lake Association and its members on a weekly basis to run the program. This work wouldn’t be possible without the support of Appalachian Power Company, Bedford County Regional Water Authority, Smith Mountain Lake Association, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and Western Virginia Water Authority.”
“I am the intern responsible for the total phosphorus portion of the water quality project,” said student intern and Ferrum College senior Emma Brubaker. “I love this project. Working under and learning from these professors has already been one of the best experiences I’ve had. I can’t wait to see everything I learn this summer while doing something I love.”
Ferrum College senior and student intern Shane Hernandez’s family visited Smith Mountain Lake long before he was ever born. He has many wonderful memories of the lake and feels great to be able to do something for the lake and the community. “My job is to collect, analyze, and identify algae samples. While it is not the most entertaining job, I still find a great amount of satisfaction knowing that I am helping the community. It is awesome to learn more about the lake I have spent most of my life on.”
“I’m one of the main leaders on bacteria sampling and analysis,” said student intern and Ferrum College junior René Settle. “I am very excited about what I’ve learned here so far. I especially love being out on the lake and on the boat, even if I do get a sunburn. It’s so fun to be able to see the data come in and understand the reason behind the numbers.”
Faculty Emeritus of Biology and Agriculture Bob Pohlad has been involved in the program from the early days as a support person. He became directly involved in harmful algal bloom and invasive weed identification in 2007 as the need arose for expertise in this area. Pohlad was married to the late Ferrum College Faculty Emerita of Environmental Science and Smith Mountain Lake advocate Carolyn Thomas. Thomas, who passed away in 2020, was one of the original scientists, together with Ferrum College Faculty Emeritus David Johnson, who founded the Smith Mountain Lake Association’s Water Quality Monitoring Program. Involved in the program from the beginning until her death, Thomas worked closely with Ferrum College students analyzing water samples.
Pohlad noted he was fortunate to be able to work side-by-side for over forty years with Thomas at Ferrum College doing what they both loved, teaching and sharing knowledge and passion for nature with others. “Carolyn found an ideal place to study lakes when we came to Ferrum in 1978 where we lived between Smith Mountain Lake on one end of Franklin County and Philpott Lake on the other. Her passion for sharing this interest with others manifested itself in her teaching and outreach to community groups. She always was willing to share her research results at local, regional, and national meetings to promote stewardship and care of the environment. Her passion for caring for the environment was her driving force right up until she passed away in 2020.”
Ferrum College recently announced the endowment of the Carolyn L. Thomas Memorial Fund, which will provide critical support to the College’s natural science programs. Established in memory of Thomas, the fund will primarily support experiential learning projects for students in environmental science, agriculture, and biology. Pohlad stated, “The endowed Memorial Fund in her name supports the experiential learning that she felt so passionate about both through class trips we took and students who worked with us over the years on the Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Project. I am so appreciative of all of those who donated to honor her and her legacy of helping others. She truly was a Not Self, But Others person throughout her life.”
To view additional photos of the Smith Mountain Lake Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program, click here.
To learn more about the Carolyn L. Thomas Memorial Fund, click here.
On Friday, April 22, 2022 – Earth Day – Ferrum College announced the endowment of the Carolyn L. Thomas Memorial Fund, which will provide critical support to the College’s natural science programs. Established in memory of Faculty Emerita of Environmental Science Carolyn Lee Thomas, who passed away in January 2020, the fund will primarily support experiential learning projects for students in environmental science, agriculture, and biology.
A beloved member of the Ferrum College community, Thomas taught environmental science at the College for more than 41 years. In addition to her work on campus, Thomas loved the learning that occurred outside the classroom. She and her husband, Faculty Emeritus of Biology and Agriculture Bob Pohlad, traveled to all 50 states as well as to numerous locations around the world. In 2003, they traveled with three Ferrum College students to Malawi, Africa to set up water quality equipment and train Malawian scientists how to operate it. More recently, the couple toured the Galapagos Islands in 2017, and took groups of Ferrum College students for Experiential-term adventures to the Virgin Islands and Ireland.
Ferrum College Professor of Environmental Science Delia Heck said Earth Day 2022 was a fitting day to announce the newly endowed fund. “The theme for this year’s Earth Day is ‘Invest in Our Planet.’ That is exactly what Carolyn did with her entire career and with her very life. It is what scholarships from this fund will do – invest in our planet through the lives of Ferrum College recipients,” said Heck, who taught alongside Thomas and was a long-time friend. “Carolyn’s former students, friends, colleagues and family members are providing opportunities for students to engage in experiential learning that will have benefits for years to come. Carolyn would be so excited to see how we have committed ourselves to passing on the torch of scientific education.”
Wilson Paine, vice president of Institutional Advancement & External Relations, noted that the endowment of the Carolyn L. Thomas Memorial Fund was cause for celebration on many fronts. “Not only were we able to raise over $25,000 to create this endowment, but we did so with the support of roughly 150 donors. The vast number of individuals who supported this effort signifies the impact Carolyn had on so many during her time at Ferrum College,” he said. “My sincere gratitude goes out to Bob and Carolyn’s family who were instrumental in this momentous achievement that will honor Carolyn’s life and commitment to our students and the environment.”
“Our family is deeply appreciative and overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone’s gifts to honor my soulmate Carolyn’s memory with this endowed fund. Generated funds used for student experiential learning are exactly what she would want,” said Pohlad. “Carolyn was dedicated to helping her family, students, colleagues, friends, and the broader scientific community know how to make the environment better. She worked tirelessly over the years through her water quality studies and teaching not only to educate us on what should and could be done, but also exemplified that behavior in her daily life. Her legacy will live on through the use of this fund.”
Additional gifts to the Carolyn L. Thomas Memorial Fund may be made by visiting https://dev.ferrum.edu/giving/give-to-ferrum-college/ and selecting the Carolyn Thomas Memorial Fund designation.
5/24/2021
EPD 202 students sit on the steps they built leading to the Dr. Carolyn Thomas memorial bench during the three week May 2021 E-Term. Dr. Bob Pohlad photo.
During a three-week Environmental Planning and Development (EPD-202) Experiential Term (E-Term), led by Professor of Environmental Science Delia Heck and Professor Emeritus of Biology and Horticulture Bob Pohlad, seventeen Ferrum College students built, repaired, and beautified three sites on campus. In the process, they donated almost $5,600 in labor to the College, and one recent graduate even landed a job thanks to his involvement.
Alumnus Stephen Murphy completed the EPD-202 E-Term just days after earning his Bachelor of Science in environmental science this May 2021. He was then offered a job as a maintenance technician with Bedford Regional Water Authority. “My work with the E-Term and my previous job experience were key contributors for me to get the job,” Murphy explained. “During the interview, I was able to point to many examples of working with my group, and the collaboration between all of the E-Term groups. BRWA was impressed with my experience and that Ferrum has such a hands-on program.”
“This class was an excellent opportunity for our students to participate in experiential learning at its best,” said Heck. “They were able to learn about concepts of sustainability, engage in the work of repairing, building, and creating garden and riparian spaces, and develop a sense of pride in their efforts, their project, and the campus.”
For the first four days of the E-Term, the students assessed the sites: the memorial bench honoring Pohlad’s wife, the late Professor Emerita of Biology and Environmental Science Carolyn Thomas, and the riparian buffer zone and garden, all at Adams Lake; the conifer garden and the Jess Goode memorial garden, both in the campus community arboretum area; and the pond and stream feature, and wedding gazebo and garden, also in the arboretum area. Students thought about lighting and electricity aspects, hardscapes, soil types, and plant design.
The rest of the E-Term was spent in approximately 200 hours of field work. After the work was complete, the students presented to the community their processes, before and after photos, maintenance plans, next steps, and donation opportunities on Friday, May 21, 2021 in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room. A tour of the sites followed.
“After all these years of teaching, it still amazes me how well the students respond to the opportunities of experiential learning,” said Pohlad. “I saw the same enthusiasm and pride in their work this year as I saw over the last twenty. By doing these types of projects, each student leaves a legacy for future students to learn from and a place to honor the memories of those who have been an important part of our Ferrum community family. Their efforts and comments on work around Carolyn’s bench were especially touching to me.”
“This E-Term was lots of fun, lots of hard work, sweat and tears, but overall it was rewarding. We took a project that had been going on for over twenty years, worked on by many Ferrum students, faculty, and staff, and now we get to add our names to that legacy,” said rising senior Lauren Ries. “We walked into E-Term not knowing much about the projects but we walked away knowing more about landscaping, hard work, and ourselves. And we have tons of good memories. Hard work does pay off!”
“The students discovered and recovered hidden treasures, while creating their own,” said Heck. “They built memories, skills and connections that will last a lifetime.”
See photos from the EPD 202 E-Term here.
Learn more about Ferrum College E-Terms here.
Read the Roanoke Times’ coverage of the students’ presentation on May 21.
The Synergistic Classroom: Interdisciplinary Teaching in the Small College Setting was published in October 2020. The book of essays written by higher education professionals includes two chapters by Ferrum College professors, one about the Appalachian Cluster program for first-year students and one about the College’s multidisciplinary, team-taught honors seminars.
“Arts in the Laboratory: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Honors Education in a Small College Setting” was written by Professor of Psychology Sharon Stein and Professor of English & Director of the Boone Honors Program Lana Whited. Their seminar, Media and Violence*, explores depictions of violence in news and entertainment media, social scientists’ methods of studying the effects on society, and ways to address problems associated with media and violence.
“Experiential Learning in the Rural, Small College Setting: Creating an ‘Appalachian Cluster'” was written by Professor Emeritus of English Peter Crow; Professor of Environmental Science Delia Heck; Professor of English Tina Hanlon; Assistant Professor of Sociology Susan Mead; and Professor Emerita of Environmental Science and Biology Carolyn Thomas, who passed away in January 2020. Since 1999 they have all taught in the Appalachian Cluster, a learning community in which first-year students study modernization in Appalachia through interlinked courses in sociology, environmental science, and English.
Editors Corey Campion and Aaron Angello of Hood College designed The Synergistic Classroom to demonstrate innovations that expand the traditional boundaries of discipline-specific programs within the particular circumstances at small colleges. Blending disciplines within the curriculum can boost students’ engagement while preparing them for the kinds of critical thinking and teamwork required in the workplace.
Hanlon commented that “interdisciplinary collaboration has been the most rewarding part of my career at Ferrum since I first began team-teaching with Carolyn Thomas in the 1990s. I believe the Appalachian Cluster’s blend of introductory coursework and experiential learning while visiting communities in coal county now aligns well with President David Johns’ vision for enhancing the college’s work and outreach in our Blue Ridge environment.”
The Synergistic Classroom is available from Amazon and other booksellers, or visit Ferrum College’s library to check out a copy.
Learn more about Ferrum College’s efforts to provide interdisciplinary learning by following its Appalachian Cluster program on Facebook.
*The Ferrum College course catalog describes the Media and Violence course as “an interdisciplinary, team-taught, writing intensive study of the relationship between media and violence. The emphasis of the course will be on how violence is depicted in news and entertainment media, how media depictions of violence affect society, how social scientists study these effects, and how the problems associated with media and violence might be addressed.”
Ferrum College students work with Professor of Environmental Science Delia Heck during the 34th season of the Water Quality Monitoring Program. Left to right: Samuel Chappell; Michelle Musick; Delia Heck; and Chelsea Zizzi. Bob Pohlad photo.
Last week, the Smith Mountain Lake Association (SMLA) and Ferrum College Water Quality Monitoring Program began its 34th season. Since 1987, Ferrum College has worked with the SMLA to perform periodic testing of the lake water to help keep swimmers and boaters safer.
The Ferrum College portion of the team is made up of Program Director and Professor of Environmental Science and Natural Science Division Chair Delia Heck; Senior Scientist and Retired Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Environmental Science David Johnson; Senior Scientist and Retired Professor Emeritus of Biology and Horticulture Bob Pohlad; Program Scientist and Assistant Professor of Biology and Horticulture Clay Britton; and Laboratory and Field Coordinator Carol Love.
Heck took over the director’s position after the January 2020 death of former Program Director and Retired Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science Carolyn Thomas. Thomas helped found the program.
This year, the team also consists fifty-four citizen scientists at Smith Mountain Lake who volunteer their time, and five paid Ferrum College student interns: senior Jacob Blaukovitch who is pursing a degree in chemistry, biology, and pre-professional health science (pre-med), with a one health minor; senior Lexi Davidson who is majoring in environmental science and minoring in biology; senior Michelle Musick who is earning an environmental science degree; senior Samuel Chappell who is majoring in environmental science and plans to graduate this December; and junior Chelsea Zizzi who is pursing a major in chemistry with a minor in English.
The Water Quality Monitoring Program is a labor of love for the Ferrum College team as it commands many hours during the summer months. “We test for bacteria every two weeks at fourteen sites with two stations at each site,” explained Heck. “We conduct depth profiles at five sites every two weeks. Our volunteers monitor and interns collect samples at fifty-six lake sites and twenty-two tributaries for trophic status monitoring.”
The team tests for e-Coli and other harmful bacteria. They also monitor algae biodiversity, watching for harmful algal blooms.
This year’s testing is even more complex than previous years due to COVID-19 restrictions. Heck said the team has developed safety protocols, including restricting interactions in the testing lab and with volunteers, implementing virtual training videos, rigid sanitizing, social distancing, wearing masks, and taking their temperatures daily. Each team member and volunteer also uses their own equipment including hand sanitizer, pens, personal flotation devices, and more.
Heck explained that water quality testing is not only important to keep swimmers and boaters safe, but is also an indicator of challenges in our environment. “Water is essential to our life on Earth. We face a changing climate and the interconnectedness between humans, health, and the environment are made clearer every day,” said Heck. “The project will continue to serve as an early warning sentinel as well as a model for how to to work collaboratively with our neighbors in living out our motto of Not Self, But Others. The partnership with the business sector, state government, and community exemplifies the very best Ferrum College has to offer our region.”
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The 34th season of water quality monitoring has been dedicated to Carolyn Thomas, founding member of the program and beloved Ferrum College professor. The following statement was sent to this year’s citizen scientists in her honor:
“The Smith Mountain Lake Association and Ferrum College Water Quality Monitoring Program are dedicating the 2020 monitoring season to the memory of Dr. Carolyn Thomas, one of the founders of the program. Carolyn passed away in January after a courageous two-year battle with cancer. Carolyn’s passion for water quality was evident every time she ventured out on the lake. You can see that demonstrated in this interview with John Carlin from a few years ago.
“One of the traditions of the College’s sampling trips is to count great blue herons, Carolyn’s spirit animal. From now on when one is sighted we hope you will be reminded of Carolyn’s passion, her dedication to Smith Mountain Lake, and her love of citizen scientists like yourselves.”
Read more about the Smith Mountain Lake Association and Ferrum College Water Quality Monitoring Program here.
Ferrum College welcomes gifts made to the Carolyn Thomas Memorial Fund which supports students in the College’s Division of Natural Sciences. Please click here to make a gift in Thomas’s honor.
Dr. Bob Pohlad, Professor of Biology, Horticulture, & Environmental Science
Dr. Carolyn Thomas, Professor of Environmental Science & Biology
Dr. Bob Pohlad arrived at Ferrum College in 1978 as a biology professor. He spent the next 41 years at the College teaching biology, horticulture, and environmental science. His wife Dr. Carolyn Thomas joined him at Ferrum in the fall of 1979 where she spent 40 years as a professor of environmental science and biology. They taught together, engaging Ferrum College students in world-wide travels to Africa, the Virgin Islands, Ireland, and more countries, as well as showcasing nature in our own backyard. The couple retired together in May 2018. In January 2020, Dr. Thomas passed away at the age of 71. “Being at Ferrum College, on a campus such as ours, she embraced every place as her outdoor laboratory,” Dr. Pohlad remembered. “If she could get outside and get students in the creeks or pond, she knew that they would learn to love what she did.”
Ferrum College will always be a special place to Dr. Pohlad. “Carolyn and I could teach together, side by side, raise our family in a wonderful community of people, develop close and lasting ties to so many students and colleagues, and feel the joy of their successes over all these years,” he said. “We both loved to provide everyone the opportunity for experiential learning and share our love of travel and discovery with them. Seeing that look of joy on their faces when they lived a new experience was such a pleasure. I think that goes for both of us.”
Ferrum, VA, January 15, 2020 — On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, after a 20-month battle with ovarian cancer, Ferrum College’s beloved retired Professor of Environmental Science Carolyn Lee Thomas passed away. She was four days shy of her seventy-second birthday, and had just enjoyed a long weekend with her family.
“We are heartbroken over the death of Carolyn Thomas, who was for so many of us a model of fierce intellect, creative imagination, and personal courage. She had a way of exciting curiosity in her students and of inviting us all to be better people. Her fingerprints are on all of our lives—thousands of us—and we will miss her dearly,” said President David L. Johns.
Born on January 18, 1948 in Orlando, Florida, Thomas knew from an early age that she was happiest in nature. She received her Bachelor of Science in biology from Florida Southern College and went on to earn a Master of Science in zoology from the University of Georgia. After moving to Virginia, Thomas earned her Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Virginia Tech.
In 1974, she met her soulmate Bob Pohlad when she enrolled at the University of Central Florida to begin work on her master’s degree. Pohlad was working as the teaching assistant in Thomas’s cytogenetics class while completing graduate work at the University. He helped Thomas with her microscope projects and labs. “We just hit it off,” Pohlad explained. “She was someone who loved to travel as I did, was a little bit hippie in her sandals and long hair, and was a free spirit that I loved talking to. We spent hours talking about everything including our common upbringing.” The pair found many similarities in their lives, including losing their fathers as young teenagers, loving sports, and filling leadership roles–Thomas as president of her ZTA sorority and Pohlad as president of his youth group and biology club.
Thomas and Pohlad were forced to begin a long-distance relationship after Pohlad was accepted into the University of Georgia’s doctorate program. The couple wrote to each other daily and traveled back and forth from Florida to Georgia as often as possible. They couldn’t stand being apart any longer and held a surprise wedding in March 1975 at Thomas’s homeplace on Lake Howell in Maitland, Florida (in photo at their wedding). Many of the guests were unaware they were coming to a wedding ceremony until the minister arrived. “We were married outside under the trees on the lake,” recalled Pohlad. “After the wedding ceremony, we played flag football and they threw us in the lake. I remember we left town that evening to head to the beach for our honeymoon one-night stay and couldn’t find a place, and ended up at a motel back in town.”
In 1978, the Pohlad-Thomas couple found themselves at Ferrum College when Pohlad was hired as a professor of biology and horticulture. Thomas taught middle school science for a year but quickly accepted a position teaching environmental science at Ferrum College in 1979, where she and Pohlad remained as professors for the next 41 years. They both retired in May 2019 (after the 2019 commencement shown in the photo). Once asked in a 2018 interview how she and Pohlad were able to work for so long at not only the same college but in the same department with offices next door to each other, she answered, “It works because we communicate. We have to understand each other staying up late, working with students. We have to keep talking, although we don’t always agree. The advantage is that we both have these responsibilities together, so we understand them.”
In addition to their budding careers at Ferrum College and Thomas’s continued pursuit of graduate work, the couple became parents when their son Chris was born in November 1979. In December 1984, their second son Tim was born. Thomas’s legacy now lives on in her two sons, their wives, and her four grandchildren.
At Ferrum College, Thomas served as Science Camp director for many years. She was also a founding member of the Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Project, which she directed for 32 years, leading a team of Ferrum College faculty and students in conjunction with the Smith Mountain Lake Association to analyze the lake’s water quality during the summer months.
“She was as passionate about water quality, environmental science, the natural world, and women in science on the day she retired as her first day 41 years ago when she began teaching,” wrote Ferrum College’s Associate Professor of Environmental Science Delia Heck. Heck taught alongside Thomas and worked with her on the Water Quality Project.
Thomas was diagnosed with ovarian cancer stage IV in May 2018. During treatment, she remained positive and active, continuing as often as possible with her 50-year habit of walking multiple miles a day. “I just pushed through the pain,” Thomas said in the same 2018 interview. “I derive my spirit from friends and family. I heal better through them. But I’m also a scientist, so I believe in medication and treatment.”
Thomas’s work will not be soon forgotten. In addition to the thousands of lives she touched, Thomas and Pohlad jointly received the Ecological Society of America’s Eugene P. Odum Award for Excellence in Ecological Education in 2016. Thomas also received the Melvin Johnston Award from the Smith Mountain Lake Association for her work on the Water Quality Project.
Thomas and Pohlad were married for nearly 45 years. They spent their lives teaching and traveling, visiting all 50 states and touring the Galapagos Islands in 2017. In 2003, the professors traveled with three Ferrum College students to Malawi, Africa to set up water quality equipment and teach Malawian scientists how to use it. Recent adventures led Thomas, Pohlad, and Ferrum College E-Term (Experiential Term) students to distant locations such as the Virgin Islands and Ireland. This past summer, the couple road-tripped out west in an RV and dubbed the trip “Bob and Carolyn’s Excellent Adventure.”
“She was most happy in the lab, in the field or forest, or in the water, helping students discover and learn about the amazing planet Earth,” wrote Heck. “It was an honor and privilege to work with her, be mentored and taught by her, and to serve by her side in pursuit of truth, knowledge, and inspiration.”
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The celebration of life for Dr. Carolyn Thomas, a member of St. Peters In the Mountains Episcopal Church, Callaway, VA, was held on Sunday, January 26, 2020, in Ferrum College’s Vaughn Chapel, and drew hundreds in attendance. Please see this Spotify slide show, set to some of her favorite songs, honoring her memory.
In lieu of flowers, the Thomas and Pohlad families request that individuals make a gift to the Carolyn Thomas Memorial Fund at Ferrum College, at https://dev.ferrum.edu/ferrum-giving. Donations will support students in the College’s Division of Natural Sciences.
