Appalachian Today

On this episode of Appalachian Today, University Communications’ Dave Blanks provides a quick rundown of some of the latest news stories available at today.appstate.edu. 
 
 
Transcript:
This is Appalachian today. A quick rundown of some of the stories you'll find online at today.appstate.edu. From Anne Belk Hall on Appalachian’s Boone campus, I'm Dave Blanks.  Appalachian State University held its annual Memorial Day commemoration on May 24th, paying tribute to those who died while serving in the U.S. military. The observance took place at the Veterans Memorial, located next to the B.B. Dougherty Administration Building on the Boone campus. Interim Chancellor Heather Norris selected U.S. Army Reserve veteran and App State alumna Caitlin Langley to lay a wreath at the memorial, an App State tradition. Langley, from Prospect Hill, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2018, serving as a heavy equipment operator and eventually achieving the rank of specialist. She was deployed twice during her time at App State. A first generation college graduate, Langley graduated in May, earning a bachelor's degree in sustainable development, environmental studies. She completed her military service in January.
If you've been down River Street in Boone lately, you may have noticed a new sculpture in front of John E. Thomas Hall. The sculpture is of the former chancellor himself, John E. Thomas, seated on a bench outside the building named in his honor. Thomas first came to App State in 1974 as vice chancellor of academic affairs, before serving as the university's fourth leader for 14 years from 1979 to 1993. After retiring, Thomas returned to App State in 94 to teach in the Department of Management in the Walker College of Business for the next decade. Thomas died at the age of 90 on September 2nd, 2021. The sculpture was unveiled on May the 9th. The ceremony included comments from Thomas's close friend. 1985 App State alumnus C. Philip Byers, a member of the UNC System Board of Governors and the sculpture benefactor. Byers shared stories of his time as a student at App State under Thomas's leadership, and the lasting impact the Chancellor made on his life, calling Thomas a hero and a mentor. Several of Thomas's family members were present at the event, including his wife Jan Thomas and their sons, both App State alumni, Brandon Thomas and Department of Physics and Astronomy lecturer Dr. Scott Thomas, along with the structures creator, local artist Suzie Hallier, and members of the App State Board of Trustees.
Appalachian State University recently announced the Student Teacher of the year. The honor went to Mount Airy’s Gracie Bullington, who earned a Bachelor of Science in history social studies education in December of 2023. Bullington said as long as she could remember, she had dreamed of working as a teacher, saying that she was honored to be recognized by state for the work and love she poured into her students and the school during her student teaching time. As an undergraduate, Bullington took advantage of the accelerated master's program at App State. She's currently completing her Master of Arts in history with a concentration in teaching, all while substitute teaching for Watauga County Schools.
Appalachian State student athletes extended their streak of 24 consecutive semesters with a cumulative GPA over 3.0. The Mountaineers ended the spring with a 3.20 semester GPA for all student athletes. In September, when the Sunbelt Conference last announced academic honors for its members, App State ranked in the top four among the 14 football playing member institutions.
More news from Athletics. For the third consecutive year, App State has sold out of football season tickets. Home games this coming season include matchups against East Tennessee State, South Alabama, Liberty, Georgia State, Old Dominion and James Madison. All five FBS teams traveling to Boone made bowl appearances a year ago. According to ESPN, the mountaineers returned 68% of their overall production from a nine win season that included a Sun Belt East Division title and Cure Bowl victory under the direction of head coach Sean Clark in 2023. App state set program and Sunbelt season attendance records for the third straight year in 2023, with an average crowd of 34,734 fans at the Rock, with official capacity listed at 30,000, App State led the nation by filling the stadium to 116% capacity. For the most up to date ticket information, go online to appstatesports.com.
You can see some fantastic pictures of the John E. Thomas sculpture and the ceremony, find the link for the 2025 football season ticket waitlist and get complete details on these and other app state stories, podcasts and videos by going online to today.appstate.edu. For Appalachian Today, I'm Dave Blanks.
 

On this episode of Appalachian Today, University Communications’ Dave Blanks provides a quick rundown of some of the latest news stories available at today.appstate.edu. 
 
 
Transcript
New Atlantic Contracting hosted representatives from Appalachian State University and distinguished guests, including North Carolina Sen. Ralph Hise and state Rep. Ray Pickett, at a Feb. 22 topping out ceremony — a centuries-old tradition — for the Holmes Convocation Center Parking Deck, which is scheduled for completion this summer. The six-level parking deck will offer 600 stalls, increasing the number of parking spaces available for faculty, staff and students by 460. This additional parking will also support special events at the Holmes Convocation Center and the 30,000-seat Kidd Brewer Stadium. App State selected New Atlantic and Little Diversified Architectural Consulting to design and build the deck, breaking ground on the project the week of June 12, 2023. The deck replaces the former Holmes surface parking lot and is located adjacent to the Holmes Center’s Northwest and Southwest entrances. One of the planned features of the project is a covered pedestrian bridge that will be available from the deck’s second level and connect to the paved concourse area outside the Holmes center’s Southwest entrance.
 
Appalachian State University has been recognized by Fortune in its list of “Best Master’s in Data Science Programs for 2024.” App was ranked 11th in the nation for its Master of Science in applied data analytics program. The 36-hour degree program, offered by App State’s Walker College of Business, was created in 2016 and provides students with the technical skills to work with data — and to do so within a business context. Graduates of the program understand and can apply data analytics concepts, techniques and tools to promote effective organizational decision-making and problem-solving. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, data science is the third-fastest growing occupation in the country, and many companies are willing to pay competitive salaries even for entry-level candidates. The bureau reports that the current mean salary for data scientists is $115,240.
 
App State’s Office of Community-Engaged Leadership (CEL) held its second annual Mobilize the Mountains Day of Service on Feb. 24. Dozens of student and faculty volunteers contributed over 111 hours of community service to two local nonprofit organizations: Volunteers assisted the Volunteers-in-Parks program with work at Sims Pond on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The work included trail maintenance along the overlook trail. Also, at Grace Builders Woodlots, volunteers collected, cut and split wood and distributed firewood to community members — identified and vetted by the Hunger and Health Coalition — to heat their homes during the winter months. During the 2022–23 academic year, six Days of Service provided 699 volunteer hours to 16 local organizations whose missions directly impacted Watauga County. According to a recent economic impact study, App State student and employee volunteers generated an annual impact of $3.4 million in added income to the local five-county region of Watauga, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell and Wilkes counties — and $5.2 million statewide — in fiscal year 2021–22.
The Mebane Charitable Foundation has donated $100,000 to Appalachian State University to fund the expansion of reading assistance services for K–3 students in Watauga and Catawba counties. These services will provide critical literacy resources to local families, building on the model established at the Anderson Reading Clinic — which is located in the Reich College of Education (RCOE) on the university’s Boone campus and is the oldest university-based reading clinic in North Carolina. RCOE Dean Melba Spooner said the gift will allow the college to improve literacy outcomes for greater numbers of children across North Carolina. The funding is being used to purchase technology and reading materials, as well as to provide professional development opportunities for staff. In addition, this donation will support the development of a digital learning channel, which will be a repository of literacy education materials. The content will be designed for education students at App State but will also be made available to the more than 10,000 App State alumni working in education across the state.
Former North Carolina Poet Laureate and Appalachian State University Professor Joseph Bathanti has been named to this year’s class of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for five of the state's most beloved and accomplished writers. Established in 1996 under the leadership of Poet Laureate Sam Ragan, the NCLHOF is a program of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. The program celebrates and promotes the state’s rich literary heritage by commemorating its leading authors and encouraging the continued flourishing of great literature. The Hall of Fame is located at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities in Southern Pines. Professor Bathanti—along with groundbreaking essayist and educator Anna Julia Cooper, bestselling novelist Kaye Gibbons, poet and professor Lenard Moore, and Appalachian bard Ron Rash—will be inducted into the hall during a special ceremony on Oct. 6 at the Weymouth Center.
 
Keith Werner has been named chief information officer at Appalachian State University, effective March 18. Werner currently holds the position of vice president of information technology strategy and cybersecurity at the University of North Carolina System Office, a position he has held since 2022. From 2018 to 2022, he was vice president for IT and chief information officer for the UNC System Office. In his role as CIO at App State, Werner will lead a team of more than 100 information technology professionals in the areas of academic technologies, enterprise applications, IT support services, information security, infrastructure and systems, and project management. 
 
For a video of the parking deck topping off ceremony and the complete details on these and other App State stories, go online to today.appstate.edu. For Appalachian Today, I’m Dave Blanks 
 

On this episode of Appalachian Today, University Communications’ Dave Blanks provides a quick rundown of some of the latest news stories available at today.appstate.edu. 
 
 
Transcript
Recently released numbers concerning App State’s economic impact. According to a study conducted by labor analytics firm, Lightcast, in fiscal year 2021–22, the university generated an estimated $573 million in added income for  Watauga, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell and Wilkes counties. Statewide, the estimated economic impact of App State was $2.2 billion.
Some interesting takeaways from the study-
For every dollar invested by App State students they will gain $5.80 in higher lifetime earnings. 
Also for each dollar $1 public funding that taxpayers invest in App State in 2021–22, over the course of students’ working lives, North Carolina taxpayers will gain $3.20 in increased tax revenue and public sector savings from reduced demand for government-funded social services.
App State Chancellor Sheri Everts said the statistics demonstrated the power of higher education to change lives. 
 
Following 12 years of care and anticipation, Appalachian State University’s rare corpse flower,  graced observers with a long-awaited bloom on Friday, Nov. 24.
Officially classified as titan arum,the corpse flower’s bloom was its first since arriving at the Department of Biology Greenhouse in 2011.
The public was invited to view the flower lovingly referred to as Mongo by the greenhouse staff, firsthand or via livestream and shared updates on social media during the weeks leading up to the bloom.
It was estimated that approximately 3,000 people visited the corpse flower at the greenhouse, and at times, the waiting line extended all the way around the greenhouse and past the adjacent compost shed.
Most corpse flowers require seven to 10 years to produce their first blooms. Once it reaches maturity, it has an unpredictable blooming cycle, typically blooming once every few years. The average bloom lasts only two to three days, with the peak growth and odor occurring at night into early morning.
The Department of Biology Greenhouse located on Dale Street beside the state farm parking lot. has more than 1,400 species of plants from around the world, and Mongo is just one of more than 100 species in the facility’s collection that are considered threatened in their natural habitats. Mongo will be moved to the new Conservatory for Biodiversity Education and Research at App State’s Innovation District upon the facility’s completion, which is slated for 2025.
 
This fall, the National Science Foundation awarded three faculty at Appalachian State University a three-year, $531,000 grant to support aerosol research at App State’s Appalachian Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research facility and Applied Fluids Laboratory.
The project is funded by NSF’s Major Research Instrumentation Program and supports the development of an Aerosol Chemical Speciation System (ACSS) at AppalAIR.
According to associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and principal investigator, Dr. Robert Swarthout, “Having an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor at the AppalAIR site will improve the world-class data set that App State already produce and it will allow us to figure out how the chemicals that make up aerosols are changing as our country changes the way we use our land and generate energy. Knowing more about changes in aerosol chemistry, along with the other measurements of aerosol size and interactions with sunlight, will help scientists understand how aerosols are impacting our health and climate.
Currently, the team also includes contributions from four App State physics students and additional undergraduate and graduate students will have the opportunity to contribute to the projects.
Swarthout added that the project will provide opportunities for App State students to train in atmospheric science using state-of-the-art instrumentation which will make them more competitive for high-quality careers in this growing field.
 
A first-year student at Appalachian State University has been named the newest recipient of the Jerri Kent Heltzer and Harry Heltzer Endowed Scholarship for the 2023–24 academic year. Nathanael Cox, a native of Boone who is majoring in history, joins a group of three students who received the scholarship last year.
The scholarship — which covers approximately 75% of the students’ tuition and is renewable annually — honors longtime friends of the university, Elizabeth “Jerri” Kent Heltzer and Harry Heltzer, and provides assistance to students who demonstrate financial need.
Established in 2021 from funds bequeathed to the university by the estate of Jerri and Harry — who passed away in 2021 and 2005, respectively — the scholarship is a capstone of the couple’s long-standing investment in the App State Community.
Appalachian State University has been recognized among the top schools nationwide for military service members and veterans, according to Military Times, which named App State to its 2023 “Best for Vets: Colleges” rankings list, released Nov. 6.
The university ranked as No. 99 out of 325 nationwide schools included in the overall rankings list, or within the top 30% of schools recognized. Additionally, App State placed as No. 21 among “Best for Vets” schools in the Southeast, or within the top 35% of schools recognized in this category.
Of the 173 four-year, public schools named to the list, App State secured the No. 70 spot, placing the university within the top 40% of schools recognized.
App State Chancellor Sheri Everts.  Called it a privilege to serve military-affiliated students, veterans and their families — and said the recognition affirms App’s universitywide commitment to their success.
Military Times compiled the rankings based on surveys sent to colleges and universities about their programs for veterans, as well as public data obtained from the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Veterans Affairs.
 
Class of 1976 alumnus, Robert Thomas "Tommy" Sofield Jr., his wife, Debbie, and the Sofield family have donated a significant gift to Appalachian State University in support of athletics facilities enhancements, including a new multipurpose indoor practice facility.
 
Tommy Sofield, who played football for the Mountaineers and was captain of the 1975 team that went 8-3 with wins over East Carolina, Wake Forest and South Carolina, has been a successful businessman and real estate developer in Boone since graduating from App State. He also currently serves as Vice Chair of the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees among other leadership positions in the community.
 
The Sofields' lead gift will help fund a new indoor practice facility – with a 100+ yard artificial turf surface – to replace the current Sofield Family Indoor Practice Facility that opened in October 2007, for which the Sofields also donated the lead gift.
 
 With his latest gift, the university has raised $41 million toward the $100 million goal for the All for App initiative to invest and build for the future of App State Athletics. Other current athletics facility plans include the construction of a fieldhouse, outdoor tennis courts, softball field and indoor tennis courts at the Appalachian 105 facility.
 

A quick rundown of some of the stories you'll find at today.appstate.edu. 
 
 
Transcript:
This is Appalachian Today, a bimonthly rundown of some of the stories you’ll find online at today.appstate.edu. From Anne Belk Hall on Appalachian’s Boone Campus, I’m Dave Blanks.
New renovations, services and staff positions at Appalachian State University’s Campus Dining facilities are designed to enhance the culinary experience, build community and improve food safety and access.
The upgrades include recent renovations at Rivers Street Cafe in Roess Dining Hall and Park Place at the Pond in Trivette Hall, both located on App State's Boone campus. The $3.8 million renovation project began in May and was completed in August, with funding coming from dining receipts.
According to Campus Dining’s director of residential dining, Stan Chamberlain, the renovations to Rivers Street have created a more open concept allowing for easier access and movement throughout the space. 
All Access dining — formerly known as All You Care to Eat — is available at both Rivers Street and Park Place and allows diners to have buffet-style access to a rotating menu, as well as comfort foods such as pizza, burgers and chicken tenders.
Each dining hall has introduced Nutrislice, a service providing diners with updated menus in real time to help them navigate special diets or allergy restrictions. 
Nutrislice includes an iPad at the entrance of All Access dining spaces, through which students can view the menu and filter out their dietary restrictions. Students can also download the Nutrislice phone app to view and filter menus in advance. The changes were made for students with special diets or other restrictions and allergies.
Campus Dining also has staff members trained and designated as “Allergy Resources” available during all mealtimes, who can be identified by a purple lanyard, apron or badge.
Also, this semester, Campus Dining began offering reusable to-go containers. The program, available as a free mobile app, allows students to check out reusable trays and bowls with a QR code and return them within a few days.
According to App State’s Office of Sustainability, the containers accomplished the following achievements in just the first two weeks of the semester:
326 pounds of waste was avoided.
4,038 single-use containers were saved from going to the landfill.
2,503 gallons of water was saved.
 
This Fall, 27 Appalachian State University students are gaining career experience in emergency medical services (EMS) and supporting campus events as part of a new program, Mountaineer Medics.
Through the program, undergraduate and graduate students with Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) credentials work part time to provide basic life support services to the App State Community.
Chancellor Sheri Everts said the new Mountaineer Medics are gaining practical experience in pre-hospital care, making our response times faster and our campus safer for students, employees and visitors.
Mountaineer Medics are managed by full-time staff members in App State’s Environmental Health, Safety and Emergency Management (EHS&EM) office, led by Director Jason Marshburn. Students working in the program are credentialed EMTs within the Watauga County EMS system.
Students in the program have already delivered EMS care at App State’s first three home football games and dozens of other campus events, serving a total of 110,495 stadium visitors since the program’s inception on Aug. 21.
Mountaineer Medics can use EMT skills from the program to continue their education as paramedics, firefighters, dispatchers or forensic technicians, but their experience also creates a practical foundation for nursing and many other medical career paths, shared Marshburn. 
 
Appalachian State University has launched a new mentoring and networking platform, Ask a Mountaineer, to help students and alumni connect for career guidance and professional development.
The online tool — managed by the Office of Alumni Affairs — allows students and alumni to submit questions and solicit advice from the nearly 146,000 members of the App State Alumni Association.
The platform, created in response to student and alumni interest, is available free of charge to all App State students, alumni, faculty and staff and does not require users to register or create an account. Anyone affiliated with App State is encouraged to submit questions.
 
This fall, the Appalachian State University Police Department placed its first two electric patrol vehicles in service — among the first for North Carolina police departments. The department plans to gradually replace its gas-powered patrol cars with electric vehicles (EVs), a strategic move to reduce carbon emissions and cut costs.
Two Tesla Model 3 sedans are currently on the road, while four Tesla Model Y sedans have been delivered and are being equipped for service. In planning for patrol car replacements, App State Police worked with the university’s Office of Sustainability and Facilities Operations to compare EVs with gas-powered vehicles, assessing estimated emissions and costs. Experts from these areas calculated that phasing out App State’s gas-powered police cars and replacing them with EVs will save more than $16,000 per vehicle over five years, and each EV will avoid nearly 35 metric tons of carbon emissions over the same time period.
As Andy Stephenson, App State’s director of public safety and chief of police pointed out, the savings over time are significant.
Stephenson added that the impact to the police department budget will be both immediate and lasting. “The switch of our entire fleet to EVs will equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings,” he said.
He noted that App State Police’s decision to transition to EVs was further influenced by challenging supply chain issues, as the Ford Explorer Police Interceptors are not expected to be available until 2025 and the company no longer makes its Taurus Police Interceptor sedan. In comparison, the Tesla Model 3 EVs were available within one month after App State Police placed an order, and the Tesla Model Y sedans were available even faster — within three days.
 
Lastly a word on a word. That word? Appalachian!
At Appalachian State University, Mountaineers have a preference in the pronunciation of Appalachian: “appa-latch-un.”
According to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary and several others, both “appa-latch-un" and “appa-lay-shun,” an alternative pronunciation, are acceptable. The history behind the region’s name — both its spelling and how to say it — spans cultures, centuries and languages.
Dr. Sandra Ballard, professor in the Department of English and the Center for Appalachian Studies at App State, said, “The way you pronounce ‘Appalachian’ probably reveals where you learned to pronounce it. According to Ballard Appalachian is the word applied by early mapmakers to eastern U.S. mountain ranges, stretching from northern Georgia to Canada.Spellings on maps from the 1500s suggest 'appa-latch-uh' as the older pronunciation.”
According to Ballard “When you travel to Appalachia, you carry your homeplace in your mouth and will likely say the word the way you learned to say it. Then it doesn’t take long to learn how the locals say it.”
You might consider the proverb, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” it is recommended: When at App State, say “appa-latch-un.”
For these and other Appalachian State stories as well as podcasts and videos go online to today.appstate.edu. For Appalachian Today, I’m Dave Blanks. 
 
 

A quick rundown of some of the stories you’ll find at today.appstate.edu
 
 
 
Transcript:
This is Appalachian Today, a bimonthly rundown of some of the stories you’ll find online at today.appstate.edu. From Anne Belk Hall on Appalachian’s Boone Campus, I’m Dave Blanks.
The National Council on Aging has awarded a $481,378 grant to App State’s Blue Cross NC Institute for Health and Human Services.
In partnership with High Country Community Health, the institute will hold flu and COVID-19 vaccine clinics this fall at senior centers, libraries and other locations throughout 10 Western NC Counties. The rate of COVID vaccine participation in these counties has dropped from an initial average of 79% down to 32% for COVID boosters. Also less than half of the region’s older adult population received a flu vaccine the previous year, according to the grant application.
The Blue Cross NC Institute for Health and Human Services is part of App State’s Beaver College of Health Sciences, providing clinical services, community outreach, training programs and research opportunities related to holistic health and well-being. A team of faculty, staff, students and recent graduates from App State are participating in the grant program. Clinics are going on now through November.
 
Ten first-year students were selected as this year's recipients of Appalachian State University's Chancellor’s Scholarship —This marks the 39th anniversary of the Chancellor’s Scholars Program.
Chancellor’s Scholars have demonstrated exceptional academic performance, ambitious academic goals, leadership, service and creativity. During their time at App State, the scholars serve as leaders both within App State’s Honors College and across campus.
The four-year program of study covers full institutional costs (tuition, fees, room and board, and book rental). Additionally, Chancellor’s Scholars are provided with numerous classroom and experiential research opportunities, as well as academic mentoring in a living-learning community and study abroad opportunities.
 
Since its inception six years ago, Appalachian State University’s Appalachian Police Academy has trained 120 sworn police officers, including 24 graduates who were celebrated on Aug. 26 at Rosen Concert Hall.
The ceremony — which is the culmination of App State’s Appalachian Police Officer Development Program (APDP) — included awards of distinction, two class speakers and remarks from Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Andy Stephenson. Following the presentation of certificates and awards, graduates were sworn in on stage as North Carolina police officers. Many were pinned with their badges by family members.
This year’s graduating class was made up of 11 female and 13 male recruits, with ages ranging from 20 to 44. Though most academy recruits are criminal justice majors, full-time students pursuing any academic major are eligible for the program. 
Some of the other majors and programs represented in the academy’s Class of 2023 include psychology, sociology, political science, social work, communication, accounting, recreation management and public administration.
 
This fall, Appalachian State University has once again rolled out its Geobago recreational vehicle to bring hands-on science activities to K–12 students in Western North Carolina and beyond. The mobile classroom, which celebrates its five-year anniversary this September, is one of the many community outreach programs provided by the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences (GES).
App State’s Geogago gives students at Title I schools in low income communities a hands-on science experience in a mock lab.The vehicle is staffed by GES department faculty and students. It’s equipped with electrical outlets, water sources, environmental science probes, computer technology and microscopes.
Since its launch in 2018, the Geobago has visited numerous schools across the state and makes regular appearances at field day events, career day events, festivals and much more. The Geobago runs from September to October during the fall semester and from March to May in the spring semester. 
To request a Geobago visit, fill out the GES outreach request form. For more information about the Geobago and other GES outreach programming, visit https://earth.appstate.edu/outreach and/or contact Toran at toranml@appstate.edu.
 
Appalachian State University’s status as both a leader and an innovator in higher education has been highlighted in recent college rankings and recognitions. App was named among the ‘best’ and ‘top’ schools in the nation — and the Southeast — for 2023–24.
The national publications including Forbes Magazine, US News and World Report and the Wall Street Journal, to name a few, recognized App State for its academics, innovation, value, benefits for student veterans, programs to enhance the first-year experience and other aspects. App State Chancellor Sheri Everts called these accolades “A testament to the value of an App State education and to the efforts of the faculty and staff who work each day to enhance the quality of the student experience.”
For the complete list of App State’s 2023–24 accolades,  as well as a closer look at this year's chancellor's scholars and pictures of students learning inside the Geobago as well as many other stories, go online to today.appstate.edu. For Appalachian Today, I’m Dave Blanks