Teaching and learning constitute the central mission of Western Carolina University. The University seeks to create a community of scholarship in which the activities of its members are consistent with the highest standards of knowledge and practice in their disciplines. The commitment of the community to service, research, and creative activities complements the central mission and extends the benefits of its scholarship to society. As a major public resource for western North Carolina, the university promotes regional economic development through its teaching, research and service. Western Carolina University seeks to provide an environment in which students, faculty, and staff jointly assume responsibility for learning, where free exchange of ideas, intellectual challenge, and high standards of scholarship prevail.

Brief Description
A comprehensive university offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, intermediate, and doctoral (education) levels. Its instructional programs are organized in six undergraduate colleges (arts and sciences, business, education and allied professions, fine and performing arts, health and human sciences, and Kimmel School of construction management and technology) and a graduate school. Offers resident-credit undergraduate, and graduate-level courses and programs on the main campus in Cullowhee and in Cherokee and Asheville. In Asheville, some of the undergraduate programs are offered in cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Asheville.  Western Carolina University is committed to equality of opportunity.

History
Founded in 1889 and chartered in 1891; became Cullowhee State Normal and Industrial School in 1905.  Designated Western Carolina Teachers College in 1929.  Renamed Western Carolina College in 1953 and designated a regional university in 1967.  Became a part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972.  Became a College Sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in 2000.

Location
Located in a beautiful valley near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, Cullowhee (population:  6,700) is 52 miles southwest of Asheville and 6 miles south of Sylva.  Situated at the southern end of Cullowhee Valley along the Tuckasegee River, the campus is unusually attractive and easily accessible.