***The Moonshine Heritage Car Show originally scheduled for this weekend has been postponed until a summer date that is yet to be determined.***The Blue Ridge Institute & Museum of Ferrum College, along with the Outlaw Cruisers Car Club of Rocky Mount, will sponsor the third annual Moonshine Heritage Car Show on Sat., April 7, 2018 at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum on the campus of Ferrum College.
The show will highlight cars that either have a moonshine hauling history or were the type of vehicle that was used for transporting liquor. All cars have to be pre-registered. The show will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Afterwards, for those interested, a “run” will made from Ferrum to Twin Creeks Distillery in Henry.
The show is free and open to the public. Local favorite eateries, Bowling’s Place Hotdogs and Daylight Donuts, will be onsite.
For more information, call (540) 365-4412.
Photo credit: Terry Hall Collection
Ferrum College will commemorate and honor the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. next week with The True Black History Museum traveling exhibit celebrating black history and a visit from Free Hugs Project founder Ken Nwadike, Jr.
For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Mon., Jan. 15, 2018, The True Black History Museum’s exhibit, A Tribute to the African-American Journey, will be on display from 9AM – 2PM in the Panthers Den in Franklin Hall on campus. Over 150 rare and authentic artifacts will be shown, including original documents from historic figures such Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, George Washington Carver, Angela Davis, President Barack Obama, and many other great African-Americans. There will also be a lecture and Q&A session at 11:30AM.
Please note: In support of these activities, we will use the Midday Special Program Schedule.
The campus community will continue to celebrate King’s life on Thurs., Jan. 18, with a visit from peace activist, video journalist, and YouTube personality Ken Nwadike, Jr., who will give an address designed to promote peace and unity at 7PM in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in Franklin Hall on campus. Nwadike is the founder of the Free Hugs Project, which produces motivational videos to spread love, inspire change, and raise awareness of social issues. His Free Hugs videos have reached millions of viewers on Facebook and YouTube. Nwadike also overcame many challenges as a former homeless student athlete and now owns Superhero Events, an event production company that raises funds and awareness for homeless teens.
Both Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration events are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the Student Leadership & Engagement Office at (540) 365-4441 or slet@ferrum.edu.
As we celebrate various holiday periods such as Advent, Hanukah, and Christmas, we join millions the world over who gather with families and friends and pray for peace.
We share the gift of presents and presence and focus on the importance of community, and care, and compassion.
At Ferrum College, students, faculty, staff, alumni and Franklin County residents recently hosted multiple events on campus and in Rocky Mount – all of them emphasizing the beauty of our area, our wonderful people who live and work here, and the community spirit we share.
Sharing the photos from this time will let you see and hear the joy, and let you feel the hope we have in our faith, family and friends at Ferrum College!
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.
