9/1/2021

Senior Daniel Lamb applies painter’s tape prior to painting at Hillcrest Apartments. Photo by Coach Cleive Adams ’02.

Over the summer, the Ferrum College campus community continued to live out its motto, Not Self, But Others.

Just in time for students to arrive back on campus, two Ferrum College housekeepers voluntarily refreshed the Chapman Residence Hall parking lines. Also, under the direction of Head Football Coach Cleive Adams ’02, a group of students painted Hillcrest Apartments on campus after the units had been renovated.

Housekeepers Dot Crook and Cindy Hudson, who are responsible for cleaning Chapman Hall each day, wanted to make their building look as good as possible. They noticed that the parking lot lines needed repainting, so the pair used the change they had found while cleaning Chapman to purchase paint and supplies. Then they set to work hand painting lines and making sure the lot was as fresh as their building. 

“They also trim bushes, weed plant beds, and more,” said Director of Physical Plant Brad Bishop. “Even though the Housekeeping staff is quite busy, they perform these jobs as they find a few minutes here and there throughout the year.”

Coach Adams’ group of students painted Hillcrest Apartments after contractors completed updates to the HVAC system, with lighting updates, new metal doors, and upgrades to bathrooms and the exterior buildings.

“My vision is to have 30 young men stay on campus each summer, working to help take care of our campus. Retention is the most important ingredient to sustain a program over time and the momentum of having young men excited about staying all summer can be contagious,” explained Adams. Regarding the work his players did, Adams said, “Once we finished a few units, we developed a game plan and took advantage of what certain guys did well, utilizing their strengths as we moved through each unit. We put a lot of paint on the walls up there!”

Bishop is also proud of his team. He said, “There are a lot of Physical Plant staff, as well as many across this campus, that go above and beyond the responsibilities that are defined in their job descriptions. In my opinion, they are the embodiment of Not Self, But Others.”

4/8/2021

When Ferrum College alumna Star Norton ’11 began her doctoral candidacy at Virginia Tech three years ago, she knew she wanted to research the inequities experienced by African-American students within the education system. She narrowed her research field to include the experiences of 14 former students of Lee M. Waid Elementary School during the desegregation process which began in May 1965 in Franklin County, VA. Out of her research was born Lee M. Waid: An Oral Historical Case Study of Students from an All-Black Rural Virginian School between 1963 and 1970.

“This dissertation serves as the culmination of my research over three years and was a requirement in order to fulfill the graduation requirements to obtain my Doctorate of Education from Virginia Tech in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies EdD,” said Norton. She received her EdD in December of 2020.

The case study is a deep dive into Black education in Southwest Virginia when integration was happening nationwide, and includes accounts of commonalities and differences in students’ experiences. Among the interviewees was Ferrum College Associate Dean of Admissions Edwina Prunty.

“As an educational leader and qualitative researcher, I take seriously the importance of examining the inequities and tribulations faced by African-Americans before and after the desegregation of public schools,” Norton explained. “One way social justice researchers can make a positive impact is by talking with community stakeholders who lived through historic events, such as the desegregation of Franklin County Public Schools.”

Norton graduated from Ferrum College in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts with a double-minor in teacher education and psychology. At Ferrum, she served as class president for three years and vice president for one year. She also served as a resident advisor, member of Alpha Phi Omega, Student Leadership and Engagement worker, and in a variety of other clubs and organizations. In 2014, Norton earned a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision from Liberty University. She is the first in her family to graduate from high school and college.

Originally from the Tidewater area, Norton has remained in Franklin County since attending Ferrum College. She has served in various education roles, including as a teacher, instructional coach, and school administrator. She hopes that her research will continue to shed light on the history of desegregation of schools and the students who lived through it. She believes those past experiences can impact present educational policy and practice. “I hope that this study adds to the literature of the history, legacy, and influence of Black education,” she said. 

Read Norton’s case study here.

Over 40 student-athletes attended Adams’ online meeting to have a safe place to ask questions and get real answers.

With emotions running high following recent events in our nation, Ferrum College Head Football Coach and alumnus Cleive Adams ’02 decided to take action.

Adams reached out to Athletic Director John Sutyak with an idea: he wanted to invite student-athletes to an open Zoom meeting to provide support and raise awareness about social issues. 

His goal was to give Ferrum’s student-athletes a safe place to gain information and perspective, ask questions, and receive real answers.

Sutyak gave Adams his wholehearted support.

“Because I have access to a large number of student-athletes, we thought that it would be a great start to help with healing and understanding our feelings moving forward,” Adams said. “I really believed if I stepped out to take this on with my team, it could possibly start a positive trend for other teams while helping my young people deal with the issues, as well.”

Adams invited Ferrum College Police Chief Jim Owens to speak during the online meeting, held June 4, 2020 at 7 p.m. “We didn’t want it to be overly formal so we agreed that I would handle the introduction and the purpose,” said Adams. “After the introduction, the chief provided us with a breakdown of his experience as a law enforcement officer, as well as his department’s vision and mission.”

More than 40 student-athletes attended the Zoom call, along with Sutyak and all of Adams’ staff members.

“We had some good questions, but we hope the next opportunity we get together, the student-athletes will be more open to sharing their feelings,” said Adams. 

“I am incredibly thankful for Coach Adams and Chief Owens coming together to collaborate and meet with our team,” said Sutyak. “These are the types of interactions we want to encourage in an effort to come together, listen and work toward meaningful change in society. I look forward to more dialogue in the future.”

Get to know Adams here.

To learn more about Ferrum College Athletics, visit here.

Adams stands with President David Johns during Adams’ 2019 induction into the Ferrum College Sports Hall of Fame.

Athletic Director John Sutyak has announced the hiring of alumnus Cleive Adams ’02 as the new football coach at Ferrum College.

“I am excited to welcome Cleive Adams back to Ferrum as our new head football coach,” said Sutyak. “It was critical that we identified someone who is of high character, that can positively mentor our current and future football student-athletes and who not only knows Ferrum, but embraces who we are and can effectively recruit and retain high level students and football players to the college. Cleive fits those traits and has a proven record of success in his tenure as the head coach at Averett. We are excited that he will be leading the Black Hats into the future and work toward our ultimate goal of competing for the ODAC championship.”

Prior to his stint at Averett, Adams served two stints as an assistant coach at Ferrum, from 2003 to 2004 and again from 2007 to 2013. During his second stint, Adams served as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator. He was an assistant football coach and special teams coordinator at fellow Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) member Washington and Lee University from 2005 to 2006.

“It’s an absolute honor to be named head football coach at Ferrum,” said Adams. “To be a part of a program with such a rich tradition represents an awesome opportunity. I’m looking forward to a new beginning with my alma mater and a productive partnership with the Ferrum Athletics department and campus community.”

A native of Radford, VA, Adams played football at Ferrum under legendary Coach Hank Norton in 1988 and 1989. After stepping away from school to start a family, he returned to Ferrum in the late 1990s to resume work on his degree, eventually earning a Bachelor of Science from Ferrum in recreation and leisure with a minor in psychology in 2002. In 2019, Adams was named to the Ferrum College Alumni Sports Hall of Fame.

Adams will succeed Rob Grande, who stepped down earlier this month to accept a position with the Iowa State University football coaching staff.

Ferrum College will hold an introductory press conference to formally announce Adams’ hiring on Wednesday, April 1 at 1:00 p.m. The event will be streamed live here.

Read more on the Ferrum College Athletics website.