Ferris State University has a world of activity and academic opportunities to offer. Evolving from its beginnings as Big Rapids Industrial School in 1884, the University now offers more than 170 degrees within eight academic colleges. The university’s main campus is nestled in the heart of Mecosta County’s Big Rapids, while it also offers instruction at Ferris-Grand Rapids, Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in Grand Rapids, and more than 26 sites throughout Michigan through the University Center for Extended Learning.

The institution today also remains true to its founders’ Woodbridge N. and Helen Gillespie Ferris’ vision of education for all the people all the time.

Growth

More students filled classroom seats in the fall of 2007 as 13,087 students attended classes systemwide – a record for the university. The record enrollment represents an increase of 512 students over last fall’s enrollment of 12,575 students.

The campus also is becoming more diverse, with increasing numbers of African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American students enrolling. Trends indicate that more students are continuing their education at Ferris after their first year as evidenced by a record 70 percent retention rate. Students are also enrolling in more classes, with 158,793 credit hours reported this fall compared to 154,048 last fall.

Diversity

Ferris State University’s commitment to diversity was recognized in 2007 by Minority Access, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to improving minority opportunities in the pursuit of higher education, professional and managerial goals. The annual award is presented to institutions that demonstrate a university-wide commitment to diversity through planning and programming.

The university was recognized for its Martin Luther King Jr. week events and activities, the Disabilities Spring Ball and its aggressive recruitment activities such as the Office of Multicultural Student Services-sponsored Student Life Bus Tour, a recruiting trip designed to expose young people in the Saginaw, Flint and Detroit areas to glimpses of what Ferris State University has to offer. Various mentoring programs such as the SCHOLAR program and the TIPS SCHOLARS office also were cited for their work as represented by the diversity planning committee and through the creation of a diversity planning document.

Leadership

Faculty and students in Ferris State University’s Michigan College of Optometry are ahead of the curve. Dean Dr. Kevin Alexander is serving as president of the American Optometric Association, Dr. Mark Swan, professor of Optometry, is president of the Michigan Optometric Association, and Optometry senior Mary Phillips is vice president of the American Optometric Student Association.

Alexander’s leadership of the AOA puts him at the head of an organization with 35,000 members in 6,500 communities across the country whose mission is to improve the quality and availability of eye and vision care. Alexander’s academic background includes teaching ocular disease and pharmacology at Ohio State University as an assistant professor. He has written numerous articles and lectured internationally on the topic of ocular disease, and is principal author of the AOA’s Clinical Practice Guideline for Care of the Patient with Anterior Uveitis in addition to editing the influential textbook, The Lippincott Manual of Primary Eyecare. Prior to leading the AOA, Alexander was Ohio’s Optometrist of the Year in 1989 and president of the Ohio Optometric Association from 1995-96. A fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, he has been MCO dean since July 2000.

As leader of the MOA, Swan helps the organization advance the quality and accessibility of optometric services throughout the state. He has also advanced that mission by serving on several MOA committees, including children’s vision care, environmental vision, legislative, Medicaid and industry relations.  At Ferris, Swan combines his optometry training with a master’s degree in reading disabilities and is heading up a new collaborative service with the College of Education and Human Services to provide care for children with visually related reading disabilities. He also is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and has served the group in several capacities.

As vice president of the American Optometric Student Association, Phillips is gaining experience at the national level in an organization that helps promote optometric professions, enhance the education and welfare of optometry students, as well as advance the vision and ocular health of the public. The AOSA represents more than 6,000 students attending the 19 schools and colleges of optometry throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

Innovation

The Ferris State University Rube Goldberg team won first place in the national Rube Goldberg competition held at Purdue University. The team won first place over Purdue University, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, Penn State University, University of Cincinnati, Hofstra University and Washington State Community College. The College of Technology students incorporated such items as a toy train, a Slinky, a jack-in-the-box, dominoes and a hobby horse, among other items, into a 345-step machine to make freshly squeezed orange juice, thereby setting a world record and beating out previous record holder and four-time defending champion Purdue University.

Purdue had previously held the world record for most elaborate device with a machine that incorporated 125 steps. Ferris’ effort, in which the team invested more than 3,000 hours, is being submitted to Guinness World Records, which officially recognized Purdue’s previous effort for “Largest Rube Goldberg.”