8/19/2021
Dr. Ed Hally
Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration Ed Hally has been appointed to the position of Boone Honors Program (BHP) assistant director. He will serve alongside Professor of English Lana Whited, who has directed the program for the past 13 years.
“With a keen intellect and a heart for service, Ed Hally is an ideal candidate for honors education,” said Whited. “I am delighted about his appointment and grateful for his willingness to take on this new role.”
“I have a soft spot for honors programs, in general,” said Hally. “They were an important part of my own college career and development as a scholar.”
The BHP, an interdisciplinary program committed to challenging students, and the college campus as a whole, to strive for excellence, has continued to grow since its 2001 inception under the leadership of now-retired Dean of Arts and Humanities and Religion Professor David Howell. In May 2021, the program graduated 14 honors medallion recipients, its largest-ever group. This fall, BHP will welcome its largest entering class of 25 honors students. (An SAT score of at least 1200 and a GPA of at least 3.5 are required to join BHP as a Ferrum College freshman.)
Hally has worked closely with BHP for more than a decade, and has taught the introductory honors seminar (Honors 100) eight times. His role as BHP assistant director will evolve over time as the program’s needs are determined, but will mostly involve program assessment, mentorship, service on the BHP steering committee, and continuing to teach the Honors 100 seminar.
In 2020, Hally began directing the College’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which seeks to engage the student body in ways that will lead to even more student success. He will continue directing the QEP as he navigates his new role as BHP assistant director.
“The students are the main reason to work so closely with the BHP,” said Hally. “The classes are always rewarding to teach because the students always surprise and impress me with their creativity, their talent, and their ability to work as a team.”
Read more about the Boone Honors Program.
Signs bearing the phrase “Engage for Success” are popping up all over Ferrum College’s campus this fall. These three words sum up the institution’s theme for the new quality enhancement plan, or QEP, which will be in effect for about the next decade.
This QEP topic was chosen after a yearlong process which included focus groups and surveys from students, faculty, coaches, and administrators. The general consensus was that campus members, particularly students, wanted to increase academic engagement on Ferrum’s campus.
“We believe that Ferrum students achieve more when they are more active in their classrooms, on the playing field, in worship, or other activities,” said Associate Professor of Political Science Ed Hally, who is leading the new QEP initiative. “Not only that, but engaged students adjust to college life better and tend to feel a greater connection to their fellow students, Ferrum faculty and staff, and the College as a whole.”
“Engage for Success” includes six subcategories of engagement:
Once the topic has been approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), “this upcoming year – year 0 – will be mostly about getting a snapshot of how engaged students already are in these areas,” explained Hally. “We’ll use this year to establish a baseline and then try to beat that baseline in future years.”
Hally and the QEP team plan to utilize an online app called “Presence” to monitor the program’s progress. With the app, event coordinators will be able to list their events, tagging up to two types of student engagement. Students will also be able to easily access an events calendar to attend gatherings.
Fall 2021’s goals include ramping up student engagement as much as possible with encouragement from student leaders, faculty, and staff; and prize giveaways rewarding the most engaged students at Ferrum.
Alumna AnnGardner Eubank ’20, pictured here in her Ferrum College volleyball uniform, is the youngest member to serve on her local town council.
The day after returning home to White Stone, VA, when Ferrum College’s spring semester classes transitioned to virtual learning due to COVID-19, AnnGardner Eubank ’20 received her absentee ballot in the mail for her local elections. The ballot listed only three names for four available town council positions.
“I realized if I spread the word enough, the last seat that was up for grabs could very well be mine,” said Eubank. “I called and messaged everyone I knew, asking them to write me in. I used social media to get my name out there, as well.”
On May 20, 2020, just 11 days after graduating from Ferrum College, Eubank received word that she would officially serve a two-year term as the youngest person on White Stone’s town council.
“A big part of what I’d like to achieve during my term is to simply provide a new perspective and to represent the younger demographic,” said Eubank.
White Stone is located near the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay, and Eubank wants to utilize and protect those waterways.
“My town is extremely small business oriented, and I’d like to continue to strengthen those small businesses within my community while promoting sustainable practices and standards,” she explained.
At Ferrum College, Eubank majored in political science and minored in international studies. She was also a member of the women’s volleyball team and secretary of the Lambda Sigma National Honor Society. She served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and was a sport’s editor for the College’s newspaper, The Iron Blade.
“The political science curriculum at Ferrum not only educated me on the functions and structures of government and politics, but also aided me in seeing myself as a global citizen. I can truly and empathetically see policies and issues from multiple different stances,” Eubank said. “Dr. [Sandra] Via [director of Graduate and Online Studies and associate professor of political science] and Dr. [Ed] Hally [associate professor of political science and assistant professor of public administration] not only taught me everything I know systemically and fundamentally, but they inspired me and ignited a passion for change and the overall betterment of society.”
“We’re really proud that AnnGardner found a way to apply the lessons learned in her political science classes to serving her community so soon after graduation. She is proof that a Ferrum education and a political science background gives students the ability to change the world,” said Hally.
Eubank’s election to her local town council is just the beginning. She plans to continue serving her community through politics and will ultimately work her way into diplomacy.
Learn more about Ferrum College’s political science program here.
