News

Four members of the campus and local community, as well as a team from Mount Airy City Schools, are the recipients of App State’s 2023 Inclusive Excellence Awards, which recognize individuals’ active, intentional and ongoing commitment to inclusive excellence.

Each Memorial Day, App State commemorates those who died while serving in the U.S. military with a wreath laying at the Veterans Memorial on the Boone campus. Chancellor Sheri Everts selected Marine Corps veteran and assistant professor Dr. Seth Grooms to lay the wreath for this year’s observance.

App State has been designated as a Military Friendly School for the 14th consecutive year, ranking among the top 10 in the large public schools category for the 2023–24 academic year.

Dr. Sharon Contreras is a lifelong advocate for ensuring all children can access a high-quality, public education. Drawing from her own childhood experiences, her tenure as a high school English teacher and her career progression, which includes being the first woman of color to lead one of New York state’s largest school districts, she is a consistent innovator in public education. On this episode, she relates some of her guiding principles and beliefs that have helped her have a powerfully positive impact on public schools across the country. Find out why every day is a great day to be an educator.

App State operates two lab schools — one in Walkertown and one in Elkin — where K–5 students can gain an education in a nontraditional classroom setting. Learn more about lab schools and their innovative approaches to teaching.

On this episode of Appalachian Outdoorosity, Dr. Joy James, professor in App State’s Department of Recreation Management and Physical Education, interviews Lauren Moody, who shares the outdoor activities she enjoyed while a student at App State — including her love of backpacking — and how to make the great outdoors an inclusive space for all. Moody has since graduated from App State, earning her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Find more App State podcasts and subscribe at podcasts.appstate.edu.

The App State-affiliated Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) is a valued asset in the economic development infrastructure of North Carolina, serving as an advisory resource for growing and developing businesses. Learn more about two Hickory area small businesses that have worked with SBTDC to pursue their business goals.

This Women’s History Month, learn more about a few of the App State administrators, alumni, students, faculty, staff and campus visitors who are leading the way and inspiring others, as well as university events and initiatives focused on women’s history.

Appalachian State University recognized and honored the nearly 60,000 members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and their history on Feb. 27 with the unveiling of the Lumbee tribal flag in Plemmons Student Union.

From his childhood on a rural Nebraskan farm to the negotiating tables in our nation’s capital, Daniel Dawes has combined his lifelong passion for health equity, political acumen and confidence in a collaborative process to create real and powerful changes in the American health care system. With contagious hope and a non-partisan process, the widely respected health equity and policy expert leverages his understanding of the root causes of America’s health care problems to advance solutions. Daniel Dawes joins host Megan Hayes on this episode of SoundAffect.

Find more App State podcasts and subscribe at podcasts.appstate.edu.

App State’s Office of Diversity offers a monthly read-aloud program to students at the university’s two lab schools: the Academy at Middle Fork and the Academy at Elkin. Reading themes include Black history, disabilities awareness, military appreciation and more.

This spring, App State will host five esteemed authors — including a former U.S. poet laureate — as part of its 2022–23 Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series. The authors will read from their work and deliver talks on the craft of writing.