Homecoming 2019 tailgate at Bassett Field
9/9/2021
After the cancelation of last year’s homecoming events in an attempt to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Ferrum College is excited to once again welcome alumni, students, parents, families, faculty, staff, and friends back to campus to enjoy the 2021 festivities.
Picnics, music, sports, reunions, awards, and more will begin Friday, October 15 and continue through Sunday, October 17. Weekend highlights include a family friendly bike tour at 4 p.m. on campus on Friday, a Ferrum Takeover event at Mellow Mushroom in Roanoke at 5 p.m., and events concluding at 9 p.m. with homecoming court announcements and s’mores on campus at Daniel’s Field.
Tailgating at Bassett Field will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, with the Bassett Field beer garden opening at 11:30 a.m., brought to campus by Chaos Mountain Brewery. The Norton Outdoor Canoe and Kayak Experience happens at Adams Lake at 11:30 a.m. and will feature a float for kids ages 10 and up (under 16 must be accompanied by an adult). And of course, the homecoming football game between Ferrum College’s Panthers and Shenandoah University’s Hornets will begin at 1 p.m. at W.B. Adams Stadium. Saturday evening features a Young Alumni Gala, hosted by alumnus Ra’meer Roberts at Corinthian Ballroom in Roanoke from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Homecoming weekend will end with a worship service at Vaughn Chapel on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. There will also be outdoor activities available all weekend including hiking, fishing, and disc golf.
For more information regarding homecoming events, please visit here or call the Alumni Office at 540-365-4216. Register for events here.
Commemorate this year’s on-campus homecoming celebrations (October 15-17) by pre-ordering the officially licensed 2021 homecoming t-shirt by Champion. Pre-order your shirt here.
7/8/2021
Ferrum alumni enjoyed a Washington Nationals game (2018).
After more than a year of solitude due to COVID-19, Ferrum College alumni are now able to safely gather and reconnect per updated CDC guidance for fully vaccinated individuals.
“Ferrum alums are ready to get back together,” said Director of Alumni and Family Programs Tracy Holley. “We’ve all missed each other and are excited to put into action the plans we’ve been making over the last year.”
A list of upcoming alumni events follows. Some details are not finalized yet. Holley reminds everyone to continue watching the Alumni and Alumni Association Facebook pages for updates.
Additionally, the College is pleased to introduce a Build Your Own Event (B.Y.O.E.) option, in which alums are invited to create their own events, and Alumni and Family Programs will help spread the word. “We want to get reconnected with each other and our community,” explained Holley. Interested participants should email Holley at alumni@ferrum.edu to get started.
Upcoming Alumni Events:
July 15, noon: Alumni Lunch at Mac & Bob’s, Salem
July 15, 7:00 PM: Salem Red Sox Game
July 27, noon: Alumni Lunch at Golden Leaf Bistro, Danville
July 27, 6:30 PM: Greensboro Grasshoppers Game
July 21 – 25, all day: FloydFest21~Odyssey
July 30 – 31, all day: Float Trip down James River
August 12, 7:00 PM: Alumni Virtual Wine Tasting with Beliveau
August 19, noon: Alumni Lunch at P.F. Chang’s, 9212 Stony Point Pkwy, in Richmond
August 19, 6:00 PM: Alumni Event at Topgolf, Richmond
September 17: Alumni Event in Hampton (more details to come)
September 18, 4:00 PM: CNU Tailgate & Game
October 8: Alumni Event in Bridgewater Area (more details to come)
October 15, 5:00 – 8:00 PM: Alumni Kick-Off at 202 Social House, Roanoke
October 16, 8:30 AM: Homecoming & ABOD Meeting
October 16, 11:00 AM: Golden Panthers Induction
October 23, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM: Blue Ridge Folklife Festival
October 30, 11:00 AM: Alumni Awards and Sports Hall of Fame
Ferrum College will celebrate the inauguration of its twelfth president, David L. Johns, Ph.D., on Friday, October 19 at 10 a.m. The ceremony will be held in Vaughn Chapel located on the College’s campus. Phyllis Karavatakis ’76, chair of the Ferrum College Board of Trustees, will install Johns. Beth Rushing, president of the Appalachian College Association, will bring the keynote address. The ceremony may be watched streaming live online here.
Johns became president of Ferrum College on January 1, 2018. Prior to arriving at the College, he served as vice president for academic affairs and dean of college at Union College in Kentucky.
To celebrate this historic moment, Ferrum College invites members of the College, community and Ferrum alumni to join in the festivities surrounding the inauguration. These events begin on Thursday evening, October 18, when the College hosts Rev. Anna Woofenden, visiting pastor of peace and spirituality at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mount Vernon, Ohio, as part of the Rev. Dr. Wasena F. Wright, Jr. ’60 and Mrs. Patricia G. Wright Endowed Lecture Series. She will speak about “Food and Faith: Conversations from the Soil and Around the Table” at 7 p.m. in the Panther’s Den located in lower Franklin Hall on campus. This event is free and open to the public.
Following the inauguration on Friday, October 19, the community is invited to participate in a family-friendly bike tour hosted by Ferrum Outdoors at 1 p.m. Also at 1 p.m., the 27th Annual Corron Classic Panther Open Golf Tournament will commence at Great Oaks Country Club in Floyd. Registration at www.ferrum.edu/homecoming is required for both events.
Community members are also invited to bring a lawn chair and enjoy the following outside events that are free and do not require registration: The Homecoming parade will process down Wiley Drive on campus beginning at 4 p.m., followed by food trucks and children’s activities, plus live music by Twin Creeks Stringband at 5:15 p.m. and The Blue Crawdads at 7 p.m. Fireworks over Adams Lake at 9 p.m. will conclude the evening’s events with s’mores immediately following outside Stanley Library.
Homecoming and Family Weekend festivities will continue on Saturday, October 20, with reunions, tailgating, and a 4 p.m. football game showcasing the Ferrum College Panthers versus the Washington and Lee Generals at W.B. Adams Stadium. Football game tickets are available at the gate for $10 cash only. The weekend festivities will conclude with a 9:30 a.m. worship service at Saint James United Methodist Church in Ferrum on Sunday, October 21.
For more information regarding Dr. Johns’ inauguration, Rev. Woofenden’s presentation, Homecoming events, and to register for events, please visit www.ferrum.edu/homecoming or call the Alumni Office at 540-365-4216.
For more information regarding Dr. Johns’ inauguration, Rev. Woofenden’s presentation, Homecoming events, and to register for events, please click here or call the Alumni Office at 540-365-4216.
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More information about Dr. Johns: Johns graduated from Malone University in Canton, Ohio in 1985, then earned an M.A. in Theology from the Earlham School of Religion, an M.L.S. from Kent State University, and a Ph.D. in Theology from Duquesne University in 1999. He taught at Wilmington College and the Earlham School of Religion; worked as a college chaplain and an academic librarian; lectured at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Puebla, Mexico, the Instituto de Jorge Fox in Ocotepeque, Honduras; and was a scholar-in-residence at the Centro de Estudios Ecuménicos in Mexico City.
Ferrum College will host Rev. Anna Woofenden as part of the Rev. Dr. Wasena F. Wright, Jr. and Mrs. Patricia G. Wright Endowed Lecture Series on October 18 at 7 p.m. in the Panther’s Den on campus. Rev. Woofenden’s presentation, “Food and Faith: Conversations from the Soil and Around the Table,” is free and open to the public.
According to her website, Rev. Woofenden strives to “re-imagine church as an interconnected organism, worshiping, loving, and serving together while transforming a plot of land into a vibrant urban farm and sanctuary.” She is a proponent of the “food and faith movement” with an emphasis on liturgy and entrepreneurial ministry.
Currently of Saratoga Springs, NY, Rev. Woofenden is the founder of The Garden Church and Feed and Be Fed Farm in San Pedro, CA. She is now consulting, teaching, writing, speaking, and coaching across the country and recently began “The Food and Faith Podcast.” She serves as the visiting pastor of peace and spirituality at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mt. Vernon, OH.
The late Rev. Dr. Wasena F. “Buddy” Wright, Jr. was a 1960 graduate of Ferrum College, a recipient of the College’s highest alumni honor, the Benjamin M. Beckham Medallion, and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees. Rev. Wright served in United Methodist churches throughout the Virginia Conference, including his last pastorate as a senior pastor of Annandale United Methodist Church (UMC). He was Council Director for the Virginia Conference of the UMC until his death in July of 2003. Through gifts from Rev. Wright, his family and many friends, an endowment was created to assist Ferrum College students pursuing church-related vocations in study abroad, and to establish a biannual lecture series to bring prominent theologians, authors and scholars to the campus.
Rev. Woofenden’s lecture comes as a lead-up event to the inauguration of the College’s twelfth president, David L. Johns, Ph.D., which takes place on October 19 at 10 a.m. in Vaughn Chapel on campus. Festivities following the inauguration include food trucks, children’s activities, live music and fireworks. Click here to learn more.
