On May 11, 2020, Ferrum College alumna and Residence Life staff member Alli Colls Summers ’15 and Assistant Football Coach Luke Summers celebrated their one year anniversary as a married couple. Little did they know how unique their first married year together would be.
Over the course of a year, the Summers family continued renovations on their house, enjoyed a home overrun with adorable puppies from their two golden doodles Woody and Gracie, and embarked on a quarantined and socially distanced lifestyle thanks to COVID-19. In mid-April 2020, the couple learned they were expecting their next greatest adventure: a baby due around Christmas.
“It’s been quite a year and a half,” said Alli, who was also promoted to director of Ferrum’s Residence Life and Housing in June 2020. “We’ve been pretty busy! Luckily, most of it has been a lot of fun.”
Their healthy baby boy, Lincoln Keith Summers, arrived at 1:25 a.m. on Christmas Day 2020. He weighed 10 pounds, 5 ounces and was 21.5 inches long.
“Lincoln already knows what he does and doesn’t like and he’s going to let you know it,” Alli said. “He’s very snuggly and an incredible day sleeper! Shockingly, for a 10 pounder, he does not enjoy eating! He’s the sweetest baby. We’re so in love, but definitely exhausted!”
In 2019, Alli and Luke were featured as Ferrum College Sweethearts in this article.
SGM (Ret) Dianne Ellwein
Ferrum College celebrated the nation’s veterans during a virtual Veterans Day Ceremony on November 11, 2020 at 10 a.m., which featured SGM (Ret.) Dianne Ellwein as the keynote speaker.
Viewers may watch the video of the ceremony on this page or on the College’s main Facebook page.
More about SGM (Ret) Ellwein:
Currently residing in Rapid City, SD, Ellwein is a highly decorated retired Title 10 AGR Soldier with the SD Army National Guard. She enlisted on May 2, 1981, and most recently served as the Reserve Component Command Career Counselor in US Army Europe where she oversaw the RC Retention program for 10 different army installations throughout Germany and Italy. She also served in the same capacity with the 1st ID at Ft. Riley, Kansas, prior to accepting the assignment at USAREUR.
She was the former Senior Enlisted Advisor for Reserve Affairs to the US Army Chief of Chaplains and the National Guard Chaplain Assistant Career Field Manager and Proponency SGM at National Guard Bureau. In 2013, she was DA Select to the rank of CSM. Prior to her Title 10 assignments, she served as a Title 32 Production Recruiter for the South Dakota Army National Guard where she earned top national awards.
Ellwein earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary education from Northern State College in Aberdeen, SD. She went on to earn a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in guidance, counseling, and personnel services. She graduated with honors from South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and has taken graduate level courses from the University of South Dakota and Duke University School of Medicine.JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZwbGF5ZXIudmltZW8uY29tJTJGdmlkZW8lMkY0Nzc0NzM1NzMlMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjY0MCUyMiUyMGhlaWdodCUzRCUyMjM2MCUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93JTNEJTIyYXV0b3BsYXklM0IlMjBmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF
In its 107 year history, Ferrum College has faced adversity over and over again, and each time has responded with bold determination, strength, and grit.
This year, the College will celebrate its history of boldness and perseverance on Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2020, by inviting donors to also show their “Ferrum Boldness” with a gift to the College’s Ferrum Fund.
The Ferrum Fund provides current and future students with:
#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide.
Visit www.ferrum.edu/givingday to make a gift to the Ferrum Fund.
Due to COVID-19, the beloved annual “Empty Bowls” event was postponed from its usual spring date this year; however, dedicated community members are making sure the event still takes place, “COVID-style.”
The Ferrum College campus community and public are invited to enjoy a modified Empty Bowls event on Sunday, November 15, 2020 from 12 – 4 p.m. The event will be held in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in the College’s Franklin Hall.
Attendees must pre-register for one of eight 20-minute time slots with each time slot offering a unique assortment of 100 handcrafted bowls, along with beautiful works of art. Each time slot will feature a different array of bowls so not time slot is better than any other. Twenty guests at a time will be allowed to view the bowls and artwork widely spaced within the room.
Tickets are free and there is no advance purchase required. Use this link to pre-register.
The bowls, handcrafted by Ferrum College students, community members, and professional potters from Floyd and Ferrum, VA, may be purchased for $15 each. The Blue Ridge Potters Guild and other local artists also generously donated 57 bowls and numerous original works of art, including a gorgeous large ceramic totem, paintings, pottery, jewelry, and more, which will be featured in a “set price” silent auction.
“I have been involved with Empty Bowls for many years now and am honored to be part of what is truly a community event,” said Nell Fredericksen, local potter and jeweler and co-coordinator of the event. “From the patrons that attend with warm hearts and open wallets, to the students making bowls, the support of Ferrum College, and the regional community of artists that are so generous with their time and talents – it is truly humbling. Through the efforts of everyone involved we have been able to support the food insecure children right here in our community for more than ten years.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a meal will not be served and attendees must wear masks. Tables will be sanitized between each time slot and restocked with new bowls by National Honor Society volunteers Atticus Cooper and Lily Fredericksen.
All proceeds from the event support Panther Packs, a program at Ferrum Elementary School that sends qualifying children home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, non-perishable food.
Following is list of original art donated to the event, and the artists who created it:
In addition to the bowls made by the Ferrum College ceramics classes, professional potters and community members handcrafted more than 200 bowls for the event. We are grateful for the talents of: Hona Knudsen, Steve Mitchell, Ron Sutterer, Wendy Werstlein, Josh Manning, Nell Fredericksen, Liz Cooper, Atticus Cooper, Neil Fredericksen, and Lily Fredericksen.
Panther Nation:
We are only a few days from the 2020 presidential election. The usual ramp-up to November has been intensified this year by the uncertainly of a global pandemic, a public health challenge that has remade our world in a matter of months. It also comes at a time when our country is thinking hard about its history and how to reckon with racism and social injustice. While every election is weighty and momentous, this one is especially so for these reasons, and more.
I am proud of how our college community works together through difficulties, how we celebrate together in moments of triumph, and how we treat each other with respect and grace when we disagree. This always serves us well, and it will do so in the weeks to come.
For some of you, this will be the first election in which you are eligible to vote. What a memorable day November 3 will be for you! Others of us have voted for decades and next Tuesday will be no less important. Each of us goes to the polls with a commitment to the future and with a steady belief that the messiness of democracy is worth it. At the very heart of being an American is unwavering optimism that, as Harry Emerson Fosdick once remarked, “… there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.”
I urge you, if you are eligible and registered, to please vote. It is one small way we participate in self-governance, and one huge expression of gratitude for the women and men who have sacrificed their lives over the centuries to ensure we enjoy this freedom.
I urge you also to be kind to one another, to treat each other on Wednesday, November 4 the way you do today. As Lincoln stated in his second inaugural address: “with malice toward none; with charity for all.”
Inevitably, some will be more enthusiastic and hopeful about the elections’ results than others. But whether on Wednesday we celebrate or whether we are disappointed, we remain family and we need each other. Every day, this community embodies an array of ideas of how to build the future, of how to achieve “a more perfect union;” nevertheless, we are joined together by a fundamental belief that our lives are better, fuller, and richer, when we live them together, and when we live them for each other.
With Panther (and American!) pride,
David L. Johns, Ph.D.
President
Ferrum College officially launched “Socktober” on October 1, 2020. The campaign will run through October 31.
The campaign asks students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the College to pledge to give a recurring monthly gift of at least $19.13, which honors the institution’s founding year. In return, donors will receive a complimentary pair of custom designed Ferrum College socks which are available only through this campaign and cannot be purchased anywhere else, including in the campus store.
All monthly gifts of $19.13 are eligible, but the College notes the greater the gift, the greater the impact on Ferrum students and the campus.
Recurring gifts will go to the Ferrum Fund, which is made up of unrestricted dollars and helps provide key resources for student scholarships, academic programs, athletics, and more. Learn more about the Ferrum Fund here.
Donors are also asked to take a photo of themselves in their socks and post it to social media, tagging #FerrumCollege and #RockTheSocks.
Learn more and sign up to give a monthly gift at www.ferrum.edu/rockthesocks.
On September 30, SGA held a Zoom session with Aladdin Food Services, which provides dining options on campus.
In this semi-virtual world in which colleges are presently living to keep COVID-19 numbers at bay, Ferrum College’s Student Government Association (SGA) is striving to keep campus members informed.
Beginning in September, SGA coordinated town hall Zoom meetings during which students, faculty, and staff are invited to log on to hear from various departments on campus and ask questions.
“We want to bridge the gap between students, faculty, and staff. By hosting Zoom meetings, we are doing just that,” said SGA President Kintwon Pettiford ’22. “We want students to know their voices are being heard and that they are able to make changes, if needed.”
On September 23, 2020, SGA held its first town hall Zoom meeting, hosting Dean of Students and Title IX and Pandemic Coordinator Nicole Lenez. During the session, Lenez answered questions and outlined the steps the College is taking to continuing keeping positive COVID-19 cases low on campus. On September 30, SGA held another successful town hall Zoom session, this time with Aladdin Food Services, which provides dining options on campus.
The meetings will be held once a month, allowing SGA time to canvas the student body for topics that students want to learn more about.
Pettiford urges campus members to stay tuned. Upcoming Zoom meeting topics include a session on activities with Director of Student Activities Justin Muse ’05 and a session called “What’s Next” with President David Johns and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Aimé Sposato.
Meet the 2020-21 SGA cabinet members here.
On Thursday, September 24, 2020, after an extensive review, Ferrum College received a glowing approval report from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) team.
“We are assessed according to dozens of standards ranging from academic programs, faculty qualifications, budget and finance, planning and assessment, board governance, administrative leadership, student services, general education, and the list goes on and on,” explained President David Johns in a campus-wide email. “Almost always, an institution is given a few (sometimes many!) ‘recommendations’ that MUST be enacted in order to continue its accreditation.”
Upon completion of this rigorous and extensive review process, the SACSCOC team determined that Ferrum College is 100 percent in compliance with every standard set forth, and made no recommendations. Final approval will occur in June 2021 by the SACSCOC board of trustees.
“I wish I could convey…just how absolutely rare it is to receive such a final report,” wrote Johns. “We have all worked very hard over the last few years reshaping the College, encouraging leadership, and dreaming big.”
SACSCOC is the regional accrediting body for higher education institutions in eleven southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia) and Latin America. Once every decade, a SACSCOC team made up of peers from other higher education institutions performs an extensive accreditation evaluation on SACSCOC colleges.
“We have been preparing for our ten year compliance report and the off-site and on-site visits for several years,” explained Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Aimé Sposato. “We brought together various groups of talented and dedicated faculty and staff to analyze the systems, protocols, and program offerings. I am delighted to share in the joy that our faculty, staff, and students feel across the campus. I am proud of our work, our dedication to our students, and our mission.”
“The best part of the process of preparing the report was getting to work with people from all over the College to tell the Ferrum College story,” said Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Kevin Reilly, who spent countless hours preparing for the evaluation. “So many people worked so hard and with such excellence because they love Ferrum.”
“The final SACS report with no recommendations is so gratifying,” continued Reilly. “It means that a team made up of our peers from colleges around the southern United States took a very close look at all aspects of our College and discovered that we are doing outstanding work here at Ferrum.”
Learn more about SACSCOC and the accreditation process here.
Read The Franklin News-Post‘s coverage here.
As a Sam Houston State University graduate student earning a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in emergency management and coordination, alumna Victoria Miller ’18 is also beginning a new journey as an intern in NASA’s Pathways Program.
The Pathways Program provides an opportunity for current students to work, explore a career, and further NASA’s goals and mission, all while continuing their education. Learn more about the program here.
On August 17, 2020, Miller began working in the Office of Procurement for Operations Support at NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Her duties include covering contracts, task orders, and proposals, and analyzing orders for several different departments including flight operations, safety missions, SpaceX, and Boeing.
“My first week at NASA has been unique for sure,” said Miller. “The whole agency is facing new obstacles with everyone being virtual. It’s been fun, busy, challenging, exciting, and eye opening for me. I am constantly learning new material and getting to build new relationships, and I’m very excited to see what the future holds for me at NASA.”
Miller is a 2018 Ferrum College magna cum laude graduate. She received her undergraduate degree in political science with a minor in business administration. During her time at Ferrum, she was a member of the women’s wrestling team, the women’s tennis team, and the Boone Honors Program.
Miller said her experiences at Ferrum College had a lasting impact on her. “I went on an E-term to Mexico City,” she said. “The greatest memory I have from that trip was when we visited an orphanage and we taught the children there how to do different play dough art projects with our cameras. The children were so sweet, kind, and happy to have us there. They danced and sang for us. I remember how happy they were even though they have a difficult life. It was the best experience I have ever had.”
“There are so many things to love about Ferrum,” Miller continued. “Being 1,200 miles away from home, I could always count on my Ferrum friends and family to be there for me. Ferrum gave me experiences I never dreamed of, and the family and friends I’ve always wished for.”
Now, Miller is back in her hometown of League City, TX, just a few minutes from her Pathways internship in Houston. She lives there with her husband Hunter, and their boxer terrier mix Noel. In her free time, Miller enjoys weight lifting, painting, reading books, planting succulents, and playing board games and corn hole with her family and friends.
UPIKE President Burton Webb, UPIKE Provost Lori Werth, Ferrum College Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs Aimé Sposato, and Ferrum College President David Johns.
In July 2020, Ferrum College and the University of Pikeville (UPIKE) entered into an agreement to provide access to a Master of Social Work degree to Ferrum students.
“Those who make social work a career are special individuals, and knowing that our partnership will play a part in helping those students further their education with a graduate degree is very fulfilling,” said Ferrum College President David Johns.
This agreement is the second in Ferrum and UPIKE’s history together. The two institutions began their initial partnership in September 2019, when UPIKE pledged to reserve one seat each academic year in its Doctor of Optometry program for a Ferrum College student who meets all early admissions criteria.
For UPIKE’s Master of Social Work program, the university has again agreed to reserve one seat each academic year for a Ferrum College student who meets all early admissions requirements. UPIKE’s offer of admission is open to Ferrum students who have earned a Bachelor of Social Work, as well as those who have earned a bachelor’s degree in any other field of study, provided that those students have 21 credit hours in liberal studies.
“We are fortunate to have such great partners at the University of Pikeville,” Johns continued, “and we are pleased to collaborate with them again to provide new opportunities for our students. This pandemic has highlighted the important role social workers play in holding together the fabric of our society. I am grateful we will be working together to prepare our students for this critical career.”
“Ferrum College and the University of Pikeville are committed to finding additional ways to grow our partnership,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Aimé Sposato. “Our memorandum of understanding regarding the Master of Social Work program at UPIKE will build yet another pathway for Ferrum College students to excel in their purpose.”
UPIKE’s Master of Social Work program is delivered online with courses offered year-round so that students may continue to work while obtaining their degree. The masters program offers a 30-hour advanced standing option for students who hold a bachelor’s degree in social work, and a 60-hour program for students who have a bachelor’s degree in a field other than social work, or who completed a social work degree in a non-accredited program. All accepted students are required to have at least a 3.0 GPA.
“Our agreement with the University of Pikeville will help Ferrum College graduates press forward in their education to live out our College’s motto, Not Self, But Others,” said Dean of Health Professions and Social Sciences Angie Dahl. “There is a great need for social workers across our region, so we are thrilled to continue building our strong partnership with UPIKE to make these opportunities available to our students.”
“We are very excited by this opportunity to formally connect with UPIKE’s Master of Social Work program,” said Associate Professor of Social Work Martha Haley-Bowling. “Students will have the opportunity to attend a top notch MSW program to further their educational and career goals.”
Learn more about Ferrum College’s social work program here.
Learn more about UPIKE’s Master of Social Work program here.
(August 5, 2020) After COVID . . . What?
What awaits on the other side of COVID-19? We have all thought about it, whether out of weariness or a need to plan ahead. But, while we have imagined it, an answer is nowhere in sight.
It seems premature to ask the question because no one knows where we are on the timeline of the pandemic. If we have a vaccine in early 2021, five or six months from now, then at best we are only half way through. But are we closer to the end of the middle, or God forbid, the beginning? Regardless, it is worth thinking about what lies beyond COVID-19 since, sooner or later, we will be there.
I have two concerns and two hopes as I think about our Post-COVID future.
My first concern is that social distancing will lead to social isolation.
We need to maintain physical distance to slow the spread of the virus. In order to do so, many businesses have sent employees home, schools have transitioned to online instruction, and communities have postponed or canceled events that often bring us together.
But distance leads to isolation when we forget the simple acts of common life. We have learned over the last few months that many of our regular activities and meetings can be conducted virtually. But how can we assure that community life thrives, and how can we be sure we are building a Post-pandemic life worth living?
My second concern is that by the time we reach the other side of COVID-19, we will have become an America fractured beyond recognition. Between daily gaslighting and politicizing this pandemic, a wedge is being driven into an already cavernous divide. The wedge is between two impulses at the heart of the American psyche – compassion for the Other, and individual liberty.
At our best, Americans are generous people. We are present during crises at home and abroad, and we have given much for the sake of others. Yet, Americans can be stubbornly independent, regarding liberty as a license to do anything we want. Generally, we balance both impulses according to circumstance and need, but this wedge causes extremism leaving little room for compromise or restraint.
Yet, in spite of these concerns, I have two hopes.
First, many things that were important a half year ago, seem less so today. The pandemic has kept us close to home, close to family, and close to those things as the center of our lives. Some of what consumed our time and resources, have faded into the background.
It can takes years to achieve the pared down lifestyle thrust upon us in just a few months. While it was uninvited and threw us off balance, we are living reprioritized lives, a little more grounded, and a lot less distracted.
Thus, my first hope is that we maintain this hard eared perspective; if we can, then we will have gained something meaningful in exchange for the havoc this pandemic has brought us.
My second hope is that COVID-19 will renew our commitment to each other and to the common good.
We have been reminded that airborne pathogens do not seek permission before crossing barriers we erect. We have learned that reckless personal conduct causes lasting damage. And, we are learning that simple gestures, like wearing a mask in public, saves lives and slows a virus.
Much of what makes our communities livable, from good roads, to schools and parks, to clean water, to healthcare are goods that benefit us all. Our wellbeing is wrapped up together, so if we want a good life for ourselves after COVID-19, we need to invest in each other. Our lives may run in different directions, but we all breathe the same air.
I’m not sure what lies on the other side of COVID-19, but whatever it is, it will not be something that simply happens to us. That’s not the way the future works. The future is something we create through our passion, our imagination, and our commitment.
So, while it may seem a little early to speculate about what comes after COVID-19, we have work to do now. Allowing isolation and division to flourish will result in a future worse than any pandemic; however, if we stay grounded in what is important and lasting, and if we focus on the goods common to us all, we will build a Post-COVID future worth living.
This column by President David Johns appeared in The Roanoke Times and The Franklin News-Post. President Johns may be reached at president@ferrum.edu.
Ferrum College is exited to announce the launch of the Appalachian Music program and its new music ensemble, Orchestra Appalachia, during a Facebook Live event on Friday, August 7, 2020 at 2 p.m. Visit Music at Ferrum College’s Facebook page here to view the recital.
The virtual recital will feature Jake Blount, Uma and Giri Peters, and After Jack’s Emily and Rachel Blankenship-Tucker. Performances will showcase the living tradition of modern old-time music.
Ferrum College’s new Appalachian Music Program, under the direction of Emily Blankenship-Tucker, welcomes all musicians, vocalists, and dancers, of any skill level, to join and celebrate the region’s rich Appalachian heritage and music while also recognizing the present time and place. The program is open to students, faculty, staff, and community members. Email ebtucker@ferrum.edu to learn more.
