News
Student Scholarship Fundraising Campaign to Honor Dr. Terry Ferriss
December 11, 2019
Fundraising Effort
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.
Terry Ferriss, Professor of Horticulture, in the Greenhouse.
Kathy M Helgeson/UWRF Communications
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.
A New Scholarship
Following Terry’s 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. “Dr. 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,” said Dr. Chad Miller, professor at Kansas State University and UWRF alumnus. “She 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.”
Terry was a devoted faculty advisor and supporter of the AFE’s 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.
The Terry and Ron Ferriss Horticulture Scholarship
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.
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. “With 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,” says Miller.
Make a contribution to the Dr. Terry Ferriss Scholarship Fund by visiting www.endowment.org/donate and then specify the Ferriss Scholarship Fund. Contributions to AFE are tax-deductible.
