The Ferrum College softball team will soon notice some changes to their facility after the College successfully completed its “Batting a 1.000” campaign for a new softball complex, named after Hall of Fame softball coach Vickie Van Kleeck.
The College raised over $330,000 from 119 donors for the new complex, far exceeding its original goal of $100,000 by June 30, 2022.
The Vickie Van Kleeck Softball Complex will include new club-level seating, construction of a press box, locker rooms, and other amenities to improve the gameday experience for the players and fans.
“It was a pleasure to work with so many friends and alumni on this campaign. The success of this fundraising effort will allow Ferrum College to build the best softball stadium in the ODAC and one of the best in all of Division III,” stated Director of Development, Bart Smith. “I’m excited for our softball program and all of the athletes now and in the future that will have a chance to play in this great stadium.”
Van Kleeck was Ferrum’s softball coach for 24 seasons before retiring in 2015. During her tenure at Ferrum, Van Kleeck won 531 games, including three regular season USA South Athletic Conference championships (1994, 1995, 2013). She led Ferrum to USA South Softball Tournament titles in 2002, 2005 and 2012, earning NCAA Division III playoffs appearances all three years. She coached 140 Academic All-Conference Players, 23 All-State players, and received the 2013 USA South Coach of the Year Award. She was inducted into Ferrum College’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
“I couldn’t be more thankful for the many donors who helped make our Batting a 1.000 campaign a success. In doing so, this allows us to move forward with the Vickie Van Kleeck Softball Complex,” stated Director of Athletics John Sutyak. “This was a true team effort to get us to our goal, which included our alumni, parents, staff, faculty, friends and a number of our current Ferrum softball student-athletes contributing to the campaign. The future is bright for Ferrum College softball.”
Ferrum College President David Johns spoke about what this new facility represents, stating “Athletics has always been an important part of the Ferrum College experience, and our softball program has enjoyed tremendous success over the years, on and off the field. We are delighted to honor Coach VVK and our softball players, past and present, with this new facility.”
With the successful completion of the campaign, the College hopes to unveil the Vickie Van Kleeck Softball Complex in 2023.
Ferrum College raised over $3.1 million this fiscal year, surpassing last year’s total by more than $500,000 and the total raised in 2020 by more than $1.1 Million. Over $835,000 was raised for scholarships and another $600,000 was awarded through grants to provide academic and financial support to the College’s students.
1,170 donors contributed to this year’s fundraising success, including 178 members of the Arthur Society. Named after the college’s seventh President, Reverend Dr. C. Ralph Arthur, the Arthur Society provides special recognition to alumni, parents, and friends who make annual gifts of at least $1,000 to the College over the fiscal year. Read more about Ferrum’s giving societies here.
This year, Ferrum College held its annual giving day on October 12, 2021 and participated in #GivingTuesday on November 30, 2021. The two events raised more than $250,000 from 384 donors, including $203,116 for the College’s Ferrum Fund, an unrestricted fund that covers scholarships, academic programming, and student research opportunities at the College.
The College also continued its trend in athletics fundraising with the successful completion of the “Batting a 1.000” campaign.” The “Batting a 1.000” campaign sought to raise funds for capital improvements to the softball facility including a press box, a team locker room, improved seating, and other amenities that will make Ferrum College’s softball facility one of the premiere stadiums in the Old Dominion Athletics Conference. With an initial goal of $100,000, the College raised over $330,000 from 119 donors. The new softball facility will be named after Hall of Fame softball coach Vickie Van Kleeck. Van Kleeck was Ferrum’s softball coach for 24 seasons, as well as the College’s Senior Woman Administrator, before retiring in 2015.
Ferrum College President David Johns expressed pride and gratitude for this year’s success, stating “I am proud of the work we are doing at Ferrum College to prepare students for good work and meaningful lives, and I am grateful to our many friends for helping to make this possible.”
“This year’s success affirms our commitment to providing a great experience for our students,” said Vice President of Institutional Advancement and External Relations Wilson Paine ‘07. “I am thankful to our alumni and supporters who recognize the important role Ferrum College plays for our students, our community, and our region. We have set a high bar for ourselves over the past few years, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.”
Make a gift and learn more about what your gift supports by visiting here.
Photo credit: Stephen “West” Nuttycombe, Jr. ’19
“Real dear to me,” is the way Gary Ingram describes how he feels about Ferrum College. Ingram graduated with an associate degree in Chemistry from Ferrum College in 1977 when it was still a junior college. A Franklin County and a Ferrum community native, Ingram says that the College was a big influence in his life before he ever became a student. Growing up, he spent many hours on the Ferrum campus with friends whose parents worked at the College and has fond memories of playing basketball in the gym with those friends. The Ferrum College influence extended even to his extracurricular activities as his Boy Scout leader was a math and physics professor at the College.
After becoming a student at Ferrum, Ingram says that he enjoyed his math classes and even received a mathematics award during his time at the College. He also played tennis under legendary tennis coach Bud Skeens.
“Ferrum College is helpful,” Ingram says, “Like a family.” He refers to the College’s motto of “Not Self, But Others” stating that, “If you get that one principle, you will go far in life.” Ingram continues to give back to the College and urges other alumni to do the same: “Ferrum College is so important to the community. It offers students a diverse range of academics and gives so many students the opportunity to attend college that might not be able to attend otherwise.” One other attraction, he adds, is that most of the professors live and serve in the communities around Ferrum College.
Since graduating, Ingram has enjoyed a successful career in the glass and mirror industry. He has been part-owner in Finch Industries for 20 years. The company is a leading supplier in North America of decorative glass and mirror products that are used in the furniture, medicine cabinet, manufactured housing, RV, and decorative wall industries. He also helped build the Rocky Mount Bowling Center located about 12 miles north of the Ferrum College campus. He sold the business to its current owners after running it for a few years. Ingram currently lives in North Carolina near the Greensboro area with his wife of 33 years, Georgeanne. He’s also the proud dad of daughters Laura, Meg and Marci, and granddaughters Emma, Natalie, and Abigail.
Although a lot has changed since his days running around campus as a kid, he still finds time to visit. His last time on campus? The Folklife Festival in 2019. With each visit, Ingram reflects on how much Ferrum has meant to him and how much he owes to his hometown college.
Article written and submitted by freelance writer Amy Shelor Dye.
10/14/2021
On October 12, 2021, Ferrum College celebrated its own day of giving, ending the campaign with a record-breaking day: $109,382 from 275 donors. This year’s total more than doubles last year’s, when Ferrum received $56,786 from over 260 donors on December 1, 2020 during #GivingTuesday, the global day of giving.
“During a time when it seems that unity is scarce in the world, our college community has once again joined together to enrich the lives of Ferrum students,” said President David Johns. “They will benefit from the generosity of our alumni, employees, and friends for years to come, and I am proud of the work we’re doing to educate our future leaders.”
The theme for Ferrum’s Giving Day was “The Tie That Binds,” which celebrates the long-lasting relationships that are built on campus between students, coaches, faculty, and staff.
“Through the years, spanning decades and generations, it is our shared experience that brings us all together as members of the Ferrum family,” said Vice President for Institutional Advancement and External Relations Wilson Paine, who is a 2007 Ferrum College alumnus. “The support we continue to receive is just astounding, and I am proud of our collective commitment to Ferrum students.”
Photo by Brad Holley Photography
10/5/2021
The Ferrum College community will celebrate its Giving Day on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. The theme of this day is “The Tie That Binds,” which pays tribute to the relationships shaped at Ferrum College.
Vice President for Institutional Advancement and External Relations Wilson Paine, who is also a 2007 alumnus of the College, spoke about his own experience: “Ferrum College has played an intricate role in our lives beyond just the classroom. As a student at Ferrum, I met friends whom I’m even closer to now, nearly two decades later. They have been by my side through some of life’s most important milestones – my first job interview, my wedding, the birth of my children. Through it all, I’m reminded that Ferrum College has been the tie that binds us all together.”
On or before October 12, the College invites donors to honor the relationships forged at Ferrum by signing up to make a monthly recurring gift to the Ferrum Fund at www.ferrum.edu/give.
The Ferrum Fund provides current and future students with:
4/12/2021
Despite a nationwide slowdown in fundraising, Ferrum College is on track to have a successful philanthropic year by exceeding last year’s giving numbers. Colleges and universities across the nation have felt the strain in fundraising over the last year due to COVID-19. According to a national Education Advisory Board survey, one in four institutions is experiencing a 30 percent or more decline in fundraising revenues, and over 50 percent report a significant slowdown in major giving.
“This feat won’t be easy and will require a successful fourth quarter, but if we can pull this off, Ferrum College will be in rare company among higher-ed institutions across the nation,” said Vice President for Institutional Advancement and External Relations Wilson Paine ’07.
This fiscal year-to-date, which runs from July 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021, Ferrum College has already exceeded last year’s total for athletics fundraising, which marked a previous school record. The College has also nearly doubled the total number of gifts received from 2019. “On March 31, 2019 we had received 970 gifts to the College, and we are already at close to 1,700 for this fiscal year,” Paine said, noting that over 350 of this year’s gifts came from first-time donors.
While Paine acknowledges that the College has seen a slowdown in major gifts, likely attributed to the persistence of the pandemic and the lack of face-to-face meetings, Ferrum College has found success through a number of mini-campaigns, including the Virtual Sell Out Adams Stadium campaign and Giving Tuesday. In two years, the College has grown its Giving Tuesday success from 42 gifts totaling $6,255 in 2018 to this past year when it raised $112,601 from 314 gifts.
“That we are in a position to exceed last year’s fundraising totals across a range of metrics (number of gifts, Ferrum Fund, overall giving, and athletics giving) is a testament to the hard work of our entire Institutional Advancement team and our loyal donor base who have answered the call to support Ferrum College during this challenging year,” said Paine, “The future is bright at Ferrum College, and I’m excited at what we will be able to accomplish over the last three months of the fiscal year and into next year.”
If you would like to make a gift to Ferrum College, please visit www.ferrum.edu/giving.
12/3/2020
Ferrum College celebrated #GivingTuesday on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 with an invitation for donors to be “Ferrum Bold” by making a gift of any size to any program. The College ended the day with gifts totaling a record-breaking $56,786 from over 260 donors.
As part of this year’s #GivingTuesday, Ferrum participated in a two-part challenge issued by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund: if the College raised at least $25,000, the duPont Fund would match it with another $25,000. Additionally, if at least 200 people made donations through the College’s website on Giving Tuesday, the duPont Fund would kick in another $25,000, bringing the total to an extra $50,000 for Ferrum College.
Ferrum met both requirements to receive the combined $50,000 in challenge gifts, bringing the total amount raised to $106,786.
“This Giving Tuesday was another reminder of the generosity and overwhelming support Ferrum receives from its alumni, faculty, staff, and friends,” said President David Johns. “The impact of Tuesday’s gifts will be felt for years to come.”
The theme for this year’s Giving Tuesday was “Ferrum Bold” and focused on stories of students and alumni who embody the toughness and resiliency that Ferrum has adopted this year through the slogan: Ferrum Means Iron.
“At a time when we are all being pulled in multiple directions, I am truly in awe of our supporters’ generosity,” said Vice President for Institutional Advancement & External Relations Wilson Paine. “I am so proud of the Ferrum family and the Institutional Advancement team for their commitment to our students and programs.”
Per their website, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund “is committed to creating communities of belonging for the people, organizations and places that [philanthropist, businesswoman, and community steward] Jessie Ball duPont knew and loved.” Visit here to learn more.
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.
Despite a spring semester that was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the cancelation of the spring athletic season, Ferrum College is celebrating a substantial increase in unrestricted giving to the Ferrum Fund and to Ferrum athletics.
“We asked our alumni and friends for support, and they responded in an overwhelming way,” said Vice President for Institutional Advancement and External Relations Wilson Paine ’07.
For fiscal year 2020 (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020), the College saw a 33% increase in giving to the Ferrum Fund compared to last year, with close to 900 donations totaling over $400,000. Additionally, donations to athletics increased by 40% with gifts exceeding $140,000 from over 500 donors, which is double the donors from last year.
“It is extremely exciting to achieve this accomplishment during such a difficult and unexpected year,” said Director of Athletics John Sutyak, who arrived at the College in January of this year. “I’m continually impressed by our loyal supporter base and their commitment to Ferrum athletics and our student-athletes.”
Along with Ferrum’s dedicated donors and the addition of corporate sponsorship opportunities, Sutyak credits the increase in athletic giving to his coaching staff; Assistant Director of Athletics and Sports Information Director Gary Holden, and the institutional advancement staff, particularly Paine, Director of Development Bart Smith, and Director of Annual Giving Crystal Gibson.
Gifts to the Ferrum Fund go to a variety of programs at the College, including scholarships, academic programs, and student support. Ferrum Fund dollars help provide aid to students who may no longer have the means to continue their education due to financial hardships created by COVID-19.
“This is a great victory for Ferrum College and Ferrum athletics. We are grateful to our alumni, parents, and supporters who made gifts despite the shortened spring season and other challenges,” said Paine.
To learn how to support Ferrum athletics and the Ferrum Fund, and for more information about corporate sponsorship opportunities, please contact Wilson Paine at wpaine@ferrum.edu or 540-365-4211.
Learn more about the Ferrum Fund here, and more about Ferrum athletics here.
Alumnus Ra’meer Roberts ’13
Alumnus Ra’meer Roberts of Richmond, VA, has established a scholarship for African-American students at Ferrum College.
The Black American Scholarship for Empowerment, or B.A.S.E., will give an annual gift of $250 to one male and one female African-American student at Ferrum College, to be used for books and supplies. Recipients must live on campus, be enrolled full-time, be in good academic standing with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and demonstrate a financial need.
“According to national studies, African-Americans have the lowest graduation and retention rates in higher education among other ethnic groups. This statistic is primarily due to two factors: financial stability and first-generation status,” explained Roberts. “Based on the current social climate of our country and the financial strain on our colleges and universities from the [novel coronavirus] pandemic, I felt a need to assist African-American students in their pursuit of a good, quality education.”
Roberts has firsthand knowledge of these statistics because he has worked in higher education for over six years, currently serving as the coordinator for Student Conduct at Virginia State University.
Originally from Paterson, NJ, Roberts graduated from Ferrum College in 2013 with a degree in business administration. He went on to earn his Master of Educational Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently pursuing his doctoral degree with the intention of continuing his career in higher education as a dean of students. Roberts’ long-term goal is to become a vice president or provost for student affairs.
“It’s been an honor to work with Ra’meer in establishing this important scholarship. I’ve been so impressed with his compassion and the responsibility he feels towards our students and Ferrum’s future,” said Vice President for Institutional Advancement and External Relations Wilson Paine. “His commitment to turn words into action is an inspiration to us all.”
Learn more on the B.A.S.E. Facebook page.
To make a gift to B.A.S.E., click here, then click the ‘give now’ button, designate ‘other’ in the dropdown menu and type ‘B.A.S.E.’ in the designation box.
On May 5, 2020, Ferrum College invites donors to make a gift to the Ferrum Fund to keep #FerrumStrong.
The Ferrum Fund provides current and future students with:
Visit www.ferrum.edu/ferrumstrong to support students by keeping #FerrumStrong.
This effort is an extension of #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving and unity, set to take place on May 5, 2020 as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. Learn more about #GivingTuesdayNow here.
