65
YEARS OF SERVING FERRUM COLLEGE
www.ferrum.edu/campus-life/THE-IRON-BLADE/ | February 10, 2020 | Vol. 66, Issue 1
INSIDE Remembering Carolyn Thomas p. 3
In memory of Carolyn, January 18, 1948 - January 14, 2020. “Her impact and efforts were recognized beyond the Ferrum community.”
New Track Program p. 7
“I’m really excited to start this program. I love Ferrum and it’s had an important role in my life.”
Ferrum’s
First Two Master’s Programs Begin This Summer By Mary Stoudt
Recently, the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) approved Ferrum College to be a level four school, meaning the highest degrees the college now offers is master’s degrees and specialist degrees. The new master’s degrees fall under the School of Graduate and Online Education Studies, which is directed by Dr. Sandra Via ‘04. Via is also the Associate Professor of Political Science at Ferrum College. Beginning in May 2020, Ferrum will offer its Master of Science in Psychology degree and a Specialist in Education (EdS) in teacher leadership and coaching. The Master of Science in Psychology will be taught by current faculty as well as adjunct faculty. The EdS in teacher leadership and coaching is a post-masters degree and focuses on classroom leadership and coaching for teachers. The new programs will both be entirely online and applications will begin to be accepted in the coming weeks. Both programs are three semesters with 30 credits and eight-week sessions. Dr. Aimé Sposato expressed her excitement about the new programs. “There has been a buzz on campus [about the master’s program],” said Sposato. Senior Cayla Stephens, a psychology minor shared her thoughts about offering a graduate degree in psychology. “I think giving students a chance to gain a masters degree in psychology is a great step forward in our school. It gives students a chance of achieving a masters degree
Ferrum’s two master’s programs are now taking applications. Photo courtesy of Ferrum College.
without going to another school with a new program,” said Stephens. Additionally, the new programs being added focus directly on the need of Franklin County. In August 2018, the Franklin County Community Health Assessment report was released. Franklin County was designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) and a mental health Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). The region of Franklin County has also been experiencing a teacher shortage, according to The Hunt Institute’s statistics. Franklin County falls under region six and as of 2018, there were 83 unfilled teaching positions across the region. The two new master’s degree programs combat both the lack of mental health providers and the lack of teachers in Franklin County. “We wanted to fill a need in our community with our new degrees, which then connects to our mission [not self, but others],” said Sposato. It was a century of revolutionary changes that have advanced Ferrum to where it is today. In 1913 Ferrum Training School was founded and it began to offer classes in 1914. By 1939 the Virginia Department of Education accredited the school, which later became known as Ferrum Junior College. Twenty-one years later, in 1960, the Southern Association of College and Secondary Schools accredited the junior college and in 1976 Ferrum College awarded its first bachelor’s degree. In 1991 Ferrum College awarded its final associate degrees and then fully focused on four-year bachelor’s degrees. In May 2020, the new master’s programs at Ferrum will be formally introduced at this year’s graduation ceremony, with the unveiling of a new banner.
This is an important and historic moment for Ferrum College. - Dr. David Johns