Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1884 as Big Rapids Industrial School by Woodbridge N. Ferris and became a public institution in 1950. The university also has a satellite campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Ferris is classified among "D/PU: Doctoral Universities – Doctoral/Professional Universities". Over 10,000 students study on its main campus, at one of the 19 off-campus locations across the state,

In 1898, the institution was again renamed to Ferris Institute. In 1900, W. N. Ferris sold capital stock in Ferris Institute to the public, keeping a controlling interest in his own hands. It remained privately owned until August 25, 1931, when the Board of Incorporators, a group of 39 businessmen, purchased Ferris Institute from the old stockholders and selected a board of trustees from their number to govern the school.

  1. Criminal Justice/Police Science (253)
  2. Business Administration and Management (211)
  3. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (139)
  4. Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects (80)
  5. Biology/Biological Sciences (76)
  6. General Studies (63)
  7. Mechanical/Mechanical Engineering Technology/Technician (55)

Admissions

Ferris State University is considered "less selective" by U.S. News & World Report. For the class of 2025 (enrolling fall 2021), Ferris State University received 10,480 applications and accepted 8,884 (84.8%), with 1,405 enrolling. The middle 50% range of SAT scores for enrolling freshmen was 910–1050. The middle 50% ACT composite score range was 19–26.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"

|+ Fall first-time freshman statistics

!scope="col"| Measure

!scope="col"| 2021

!scope="col"| 2020

!scope="col"| 2019

!scope="col"| 2018

!scope="col"| 2017

!scope="col"| 2016

|-

!scope="row"| Applicants

| 10,480 || 8,581 || 9,175 || 10,284 || 9,926 || 10,883

|-

!scope="row"| Admits

| 8,884 || 7,076 || 7,949 || 8,320 || 7,361 || 8,455

|-

!scope="row"| Admit rate

| 84.8 || 82.5 || 86.6 || 80.9 || 74.2 || 77.7

|-

!scope="row"| Enrolled

| 1,405 || 1,540 || 1,892 || 1,882 || 1,822 || 1,830

|-

!scope="row"| Yield rate

| 15.8 || 21.8 || 23.8 || 22.6 || 24.8 || 21.6

|-

!scope="row"| ACT composite*<br />(out of 36)

| 19–26 || 18–26 || 18–25 || 19–26 || 19–25 || 19–25

|-

!scope="row"| SAT composite*<br />(out of 1600)

| 910–1050 || 1050–1110 || 980–1090 || 940–1170 || ||

|}

middle 50% range

Honors program

The Honors Program includes students from every college and school at Ferris except Kendall—students from almost every major participate in the Honors Program. About a third of the Honors students major in pre-pharmacy or similar disciplines, but a large number of students are in the College of Business, College of Health Professions, and College of Engineering Technology. Honors students live in specialized residence halls (mostly in single rooms), take enhanced general education courses, attend cultural events, and complete 15 hours of community service per semester.

Reputation and rankings

Forbes listed Ferris State University 219th in their ranking for Best Public Colleges. They also ranked the university 251th in Research Universities and 99th In The Midwest. U.S. News & World Report ranked Ferris State University's College of Pharmacy is in the top tier of graduate pharmacy programs in the nation, ranking in 60th in a list of 141 schools and colleges offering Doctor of Pharmacy degrees accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. The school was also listed among the nation's Best Value College for the 2023–24 seasons, basing the institution for their academics, student success outcomes, financial aid and net price.

Campus

Ferris State University joined the state's higher education system in 1950. The campus was all but destroyed by fire the same year. The only building to survive was the Alumni Building, built in 1929, at the north edge of campus. Since the fire, more than 117 buildings have been built on the main campus.

Main campus

thumb|right|Ferris Library for Information, Technology and Education (FLITE)

thumb|right|Timme Center for Student Services

thumb|right|Interdisciplinary Resource Center

Located on the southern edge of the City of Big Rapids, straddling the border between Big Rapids Township and the city, the university has over for its main campus. The campus begins about four blocks south of the historic central business district. It is bordered on the north by single-family homes built in the early to middle of the twentieth century. North of Perry Street, the university is bordered by strip commercial development. The university is bordered to the south and west by Big Rapids Township. The township is mostly undeveloped and rural.

The main campus is within easy walking distance of downtown Big Rapids with its restaurants, shops, movie theater, art gallery and municipal park. Bicyclists, hikers and in-line skaters have easy access to the White Pine Trail, Michigan's longest "rails to trails" project.

The campus has undergone major changes since 1990. Several new and renovated buildings, reworked roads and parking areas, pedestrian walkways, and greenspace areas have contributed to the changes on campus.

  • The National Elastomer Center was added in 1998 to house the Plastics Engineering and Rubber Engineering Technology programs.
  • The FLITE building (FSU Library for Information, Technology and Education), located at the termination of Perry Street, reintroduced the historic front entrance to the university, and defined the adjacent quad at the campus epicenter.
  • The renovation of the Timme Library to the Timme Center for Student Services consolidated previously scattered student services in one location.
  • The Granger Center for Construction and HVACR, stimulated redevelopment of the northern part of campus. The building was designed with an open layout that left most of the mechanical components open for viewing by the students as a working lab.
  • The IRC Connector between the Business School and the Interdisciplinary Resource Center (IRC) created a collaborative meeting and lounge space which is heavily used by students at all hours.
  • Opening of the new Michigan College of Optometry building in January 2011.
  • North Hall opened in August 2017. It is a "Freshman Experience" Residence Hall, and features classrooms, study rooms, a lounge, game room, and a kitchen for residents.

The university has of building space on the Big Rapids campus, with in academic use. These locations are managed by the division of Extended and International Operations under the heading Ferris Statewide and Online.

Organization

Ferris State University is governed by a board of trustees which has general supervision of the institution and controls and directs institutional expenditures. Members of the Board serve eight-year, staggered terms as appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate.

The president of the university is appointed by the board of trustees as its principal executive officer and serves at its pleasure. The president is an ex-officio member of the board without the right to vote. At present, the university is led by its 19th president, Bill Pink, who was inaugurated on June 30, 2022.

Student government

The mission of the Student Government of Ferris State University is to represent student interests in all aspects of campus life as well as maintain open channels of communication between students, faculty, staff, administration, and the Big Rapids community.

The General Assembly of Student Government is composed of two voting bodies; a House of Representatives and a Senate. Each registered student organization (RSO) in good standing is eligible to hold one seat on the House of Representatives. Senators are elected by the students in their respective academic colleges.

The leadership rests in the Cabinet; president, executive vice president, treasurer, director of finance, and director of internal assessment. In 2021 total enrollment had dropped to 10,361.

Alma mater

The adoption of the new Ferris alma mater song, "Ferris Fidelity" and its first performance under direction of composer Graham T. Overgard were at the Christmas concert in 1957.

  • Monty Brown, professional football player and professional wrestler
  • Shawn Christian, actor
  • Zach Hankins, professional basketball player
  • Jeff Hephner, actor
  • Al Jardine, musician
  • Butch Jones, college football coach
  • Dave Karpa, professional hockey player
  • Dana King, television news anchor
  • Vennela Kishore, actor
  • Chris Kunitz, professional hockey player
  • Sparky McEwen, professional football coach
  • Harry Melling, professional race car driver
  • Zach Redmond, professional hockey player
  • Blair Riley, professional hockey player
  • Andy Roach, professional hockey player
  • George Ryan, politician
  • Frederick Weston, artist

See also

References

  • Athletics website