THE
IRON BLADE Vol. 60, No. 9
SINCE 1955
60 Years of Ferrum College News
March, 2017
President Spooner Holds First Ferrum Town Hall Meeting
by Patrick Duggan chapel and spiritual life. All other employees who President Joseph Spooner hosted Ferrum currently answer to the vice presidents of student College’s first town hall meeting on Thursday, affairs and academic affairs will be reassigned to Feb. 16 in Vaughan Chapel, where a smattering the dean of the college. This model is not a new of faculty and students asked questions about his concept; Spooner says his ideas are comparable vision for Ferrum’s future. Spooner hopes to hold to systems at schools such as Bard and Carlton town halls monthly to encourage discussion and colleges, both of which also feature a dean of transparency between himself and the rest of the Ferrum community. “We don’t have a set agenda for what this is supposed to be, except that we come together and share ideas in a sacred place,” he said. “I very much want this community to know that I’m willing to stand in front of people and share ideas.” Most of the discussion was focused on a massive reformation of Ferrum’s administrative structure, which was first introduced to the faculty in an email several weeks before the meeting. The plan merges some administrative positions, does away with others, and creates several new ones. The changes are designed to tackle two overarching goals: Spooner plans to host monthly Ferrum town hall meetings. to “strengthen a culture of collaboration and cooperation” and achieve “long term college position. economic stability.” Spooner says both are Spooner said another major new position, the essential to boosting Ferrum’s recent economic vice president for strategic advancement, will be challenges, including low enrollment and missioned to “cultivate lifelong engagement with dwindling retention, which have led to hiring Ferrum College among our current and prospective freezes. His strategy is to strengthen collaborative students, our employees, our graduates, and the success on campus by emphasizing faculty- communities that we serve.” Its jurisdiction student engagement and uniting departmental covers four major categories: admissions and organization in an interwoven system. student recruitment, campus and community The current positions of vice president engagement, career development and alumni of academic affairs and vice president of affairs, and communications and marketing. The student affairs will be combined to create a school will be conducting national searches to new dean of the college, who will be joined fill both the dean of college and vice president of by five specialized assistant deans to “support strategic advancement positions. The new system and mentor the essential faculty and staff who will take effect on July 1 of this year. Spooner shape and influence the daily educational and said the plan is malleable and will change as new life experience” of Ferrum students: dean of the challenges and goals arise.“The culture of higherfaculty, dean of academic affairs, dean of student ed changes so fast that something you build today development and wellness, dean of residential may be ancient tomorrow,” Spooner said. “Our life and title IX coordinator, and the dean of the community needs the ability to adjust.”
In the email to faculty, Spooner wrote, “I am confident that these changes will allow all of us who are committed to realizing the mission of Ferrum College to work more effectively and more collaboratively with one another within a sustainable organizational structure.” He explained and expanded on that promise in the town hall meeting, specifying what he needed from the faculty to ensure the success of his new staff layout. “We all share an equal responsibility and value in our students’ success,” Spooner said. Promoting cooperation among various departments, he urged that faculty members work together for a common goal, rather than prioritizing their own departments and programs. “We need not be territorial, not be afraid to take care of our own,” he said. Addressing questions and concerns from town hall attendees, Spooner emphasized student engagement and understanding as a primary step in healing Ferrum’s enrollment and retention rates. “We must find relevance in all the work we do and realize that what is relevant to us isn’t always relevant to our students,” Spooner said. “How do we show value to students and their families? What makes [Ferrum College] a worthwhile investment? How can we create leadership that’s engaging to our students from the moment we first come into contact with them? We have to make sure that we look at the range of student activities and the way in which we engage them. It’s not that our students are unwell, it’s that the majority of them come from vulnerable backgrounds.” Spooner also expressed interest in highlighting and expanding Ferrum’s unique advantages in the market of higher-ed, advertising campus diversity, welcoming community-college transfers, and promoting Ferrum’s exceptional outdoor opportunities were all on his checklist. Be on the lookout for communications concerning the next town hall meeting, which will most likely be held sometime this month.
by AnnGardner Eubank Each Wednesday in the LEAP studio of the Stanley Library, there is an hour long information session on various topics from week to week. Most recently, Inquiring Minds showcased their information session, Around the World in 60 Minutes: Perspectives on Living in a Foreign Culture. The session was presented by a panel of four international students currently studying at Ferrum and two Ferrum students who previously spent time learning abroad. The students compared the differences between their country and the United States in regards to the people, education, and senses of humor, and also shared what they would miss the most when they head home. Photo couresy of Ferrum College Facebook page Niamh Sammon, 21, from Northern Ireland, Katya Semenova poses with the Ferrum College attends University in Belfast but came to Ferrum Panther Mascot.
to study business for a year. Sammon said, “Being thrust into the middle of nowhere was a big change.” She also mentioned that while it was not a big deal or a problem with her, she thought it was funny that at 21 old, she could not drink alcohol. She noted the legal drinking age in Ireland is 18, so she thought the small difference was a bit quirky. With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, Sammon also talked about the major differences in how the holiday is celebrated in the US. She said that while in Ireland it is a very big festivity with dancing and socializing, it is also a religious holiday and family oriented. She said it gives the Irish great pride to see how enthusiastic the United States is in general during the holiday. Katya, also called Kate, is a student from Russia studying education at Ferrum. She noticed Cont. on Page 4
Around The World In 60 Minutes With Inquiring Minds