Profess

Dear Ferrum Community,

As we count down the last days of 2020, it is hard to believe all we have experienced this year. Last January, what feels like a lifetime ago, I challenged the College to develop 20/20 vision for our future. While I did not anticipate 2020 unfolding as it did, it nevertheless revealed why Ferrum College is wellsuited for the challenges that lie ahead.

In response to COVID-19, we transitioned to remote learning that will be a component in our teaching moving forward. We held the College’s first virtual commencement ceremony, raised a glass in an online #PantherToast, and watched our faculty, staff, and students live our motto, Not Self, But Others, by volunteering in their home communities.

We launched the College’s first graduate programs, a nursing program, and rolled out the Ferrum Promise – a guarantee that transfer students will graduate in two years, or we will pay for any remaining coursework.

This pandemic has forced every college to examine who they are and who they want to be. We have used this opportunity to amplify how Ferrum’s mission and values focus on the whole person. We have reaffirmed our commitment to one another and to an education that fosters curiosity and that prepares our students to be thoughtful leaders in society. In short, we achieved 20/20 vision. So while I will join all of you in saying “good riddance” to 2020, I do so with a deep appreciation to each of you who supported the College this past year in so many ways.

With Panther Pride,

David L. Johns, Ph.D. President

“...with a deep appreciation to each of you who supported the College this past year in so many ways.”

–President David Johns