![\"Fundraising\"](\"https:\/\/endowment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/imported-files\/Terry-Ferriss-04282015-kmh-3-214x300.jpg\" "\\"Fundraising\\"")
A fundraising effort is underway to raise $50,000 to establish a new scholarship fund to honor Dr. Terry Ferriss. Dr. Ferriss retired in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF), after 36 years of teaching. She was the first tenured female faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UWRF. She was also the first woman to serve as the Plant and Earth Sciences Department chair, and the first woman to serve as an associate dean for the college.<\/p>
Terry Ferriss, Professor of Horticulture, in the Greenhouse.<\/em><\/span> Terry and her husband Ron, currently reside in Southeastern Minnesota. During their retirement, they have been enjoying more opportunities in their free time. They spend time gardening, traveling, biking, and certainly spending time with their children and grandchildren.<\/p> Following Terry\u2019s retirement, UWRF alumni joined forces with AFE to establish a new scholarship to forever honor Ferriss and her devotion to horticulture and the floral industry. \u201cDr. Ferriss was dedicated to ensuring student success through her teaching and advising. She engaged students in their education not only in the classroom but also through educational trips to experience the industry firsthand and with undergraduate research opportunities,\u201d said Dr. Chad Miller, professor at Kansas State University and UWRF alumnus. \u201cShe was instrumental in building a well-recognized and respected horticulture program at UWRF. Local, regional, and national horticulture companies regularly turned to her to recruit highly qualified horticulturists. Terry impacted hundreds of students at UWRF, who are now all over the industry.\u201d<\/p> Terry was a devoted faculty advisor and supporter of the AFE\u2019s Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship committee for 14 years. She was also a strong advocate for student internships, and she served as the director of the college internship program for many years. Consequently, Terry was instrumental in assisting students to find and apply for scholarships and internships and she provided unwavering support.<\/p> The Terry and Ron Ferriss Horticulture Scholarship will be awarded annually to a junior or senior student who is majoring in Horticulture, with a career interest in floriculture. Preference will generally be given to students particularly interested in commercial greenhouse production of non-edible crops, research related to the production, physiology or breeding of floriculture crops, and\/or the sales and marketing of floriculture crops and has a GPA of 2.6 or greater.<\/p> Scholarship funds are established with a $50,000 contribution, which will then provide a $2,000 scholarship annually. The Terry and Ron Ferriss Scholarship Fund has reached $36,000. Contributions are still needed and are being accepted. \u201cWith one final push through the end of the year, we hope we can reach the $50,000 goal, announce the new fund in January 2020, and award the first scholarship this summer,\u201d says Miller.<\/p>
Kathy M Helgeson\/UWRF Communications<\/em><\/span><\/p>A New Scholarship<\/h3>
The Terry and Ron Ferriss Horticulture Scholarship<\/h3>