A new endowed distinguished professorship at Western Carolina University has been named for Chancellor John W. Bardo in recognition of his contributions to the field of educational leadership.
Western Carolina University will honor its fall graduating class, and recognize another group of graduates who received their degrees after this year’s summer school sessions, as the university holds fall commencement at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19.
A career in nursing can be just a year away for individuals who enroll in Western Carolina University’s new 12-month Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program.
Ron Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at Western Carolina University, is recipient of the 2009 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction for his fourth novel, “Serena.”
Western Carolina University senior Jaymi Michelle Jeffery has been named the Western Region Outstanding Mathematics Education Student for 2009 by the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Bids were opened Tuesday, Dec. 8, for construction of a new building designed to broaden the educations of Western North Carolina health care providers and facilitate the dissemination of information promoting healthy lifestyles.
Alexander Macaulay, assistant professor of history, has written a book that examines The Citadel’s response to shifts in life after World War II.
Western Carolina University’s board of trustees approved proposed tuition and fees for 2010-11, including a 6.5 percent increase in campus-based tuition that would fund programs providing additional support to students during their freshman and sophomore years to help keep them on track to graduate.
The developing partnership between Western Carolina University and Dillsboro took another step forward recently as town merchants and leaders visited campus to tour campus laboratories and other facilities, and to find out how WCU students are engaged in assisting the region.
A Western Carolina University student team placed third nationally and won “Outstanding New School Award” at the 10th annual Intercollegiate Mediation Tournament recently held in Chicago.
Western Carolina University will hold “The Great Timesaver: Make Meetings Work” from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Jan. 21, in Room 143 of the Camp Building.
Two Asheville-area executives have been named to the advisory board of Western Carolina University’s College of Business.
Western Carolina University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center has sold out of tickets for a March appearance by Garrison Keillor, host of the popular public radio show “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Catamounts could be seen running along the Blue Ridge Parkway over the weekend of Nov. 14-15, but these weren’t of the four-legged variety. It was a contingent from Western Carolina University’s athletic training program completing the second annual Mountain Jug Run for Research.
Everything’s coming up roses for Western Carolina University’s marching band these days, as the 360 members of WCU’s Pride of the Mountains learned Saturday, Oct. 24, that the band has been selected to participate in the 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade.
Anna Fariello of Hunter Library's Craft Revival Project has written a book on Cherokee basketry.
Shawna Hipps, a Western Carolina University senior, is a recipient of the North Carolina Campus Compact Community Impact Student Award for 2009.
Western Carolina University will sponsor its fifth annual Mountain Dulcimer Winter Weekend beginning Thursday, Jan. 7, and continuing through Sunday, Jan. 10, at the Terrace Hotel in Lake Junaluska.
Justin Caudell, a junior at Western Carolina University and editor-in-chief of the Western Carolinian student newspaper, has been appointed to Global Newswire’s U.S. national editorial board.
Officials at Western Carolina University today (Thursday, Oct. 15) announced that the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in university history has netted a grand total of – drumroll, please – $51,826,915 in private giving for endowed scholarships, professorships and programmatic support.
Record enrollments at Western Carolina University in recent years have produced corresponding increases in graduating students, and now university officials have set a strategy of holding three spring commencement ceremonies as a way to deal with crowd capacity issues at Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
With the help of Western Carolina University’s Small Business and Technology Development Center, The Chalet Inn near Dillsboro was able to acquire a loan sufficient to double its size.
Plans are under way for the 2010 edition of the Western Carolina University Alumni Directory, and representatives of Harris Connect soon will be contacting WCU alumni seeking updated information for the popular resource book.
The Carl Harrison High School marching band of Kennesaw, Ga., is grand champion of Western Carolina University’s 2009 Tournament of Champions.
Western Carolina University will receive $420,000 in federal funding over three years to develop a center that synergizes and expands efforts at WCU to help innovators and companies transform their ideas into marketable products.
Western Carolina University’s master’s degree program in social work has received full accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education, a nonprofit national association that is recognized as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the nation.
Western Carolina University honored three distinguished alumni – a geological researcher, the chief operating officer of a grocery store chain and an award-winning pharmaceutical sales representative – and recognized the contributions of a former trustee as part of 2009 Homecoming activities Saturday, Oct. 17.
The campus community at Western Carolina University is pitching in to raise money for a family whose child is sick with cancer.
Western Carolina University students Elizabeth Camp and Elaine Tolbert were recently announced as 2009-10 Emerging Scholars for the university’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi honor society.
Western Carolina University crowned Brittany Gleaves, a senior secondary chemistry education major from Fayetteville, as queen and Nick Frenette, a junior business law major from Winston-Salem, as king of the 2009 Homecoming Court during halftime activities at WCU’s football game against the The Citadel on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The American Society for Engineering Education has appointed Ken Burbank, head of the department of engineering and technology at Western Carolina University, to serve as an interim director of the national Engineering Technology Council.
Western Carolina University’s Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology recently established a materials microscopy research laboratory made possible by a donation from the US Conec Corporation in Hickory.
Retired Greensboro businessman Wesley R. Elingburg, a 1978 graduate of Western Carolina University whose $250,000 contribution to the university in 2006 enabled the creation of a new endowed professorship in business innovation, has issued a gift challenge to fellow benefactors.
Five newly elected members of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, and one almost-new member of the board, visited Western Carolina University recently to learn about university initiatives from Chancellor John W. Bardo and tour the campus.
A book published recently by The Princeton Review lists Western Carolina University’s College of Business as among the nation’s best schools at which to earn a master’s degree in business administration.
A new exhibit focusing on the legendary Plott hound hunting dogs of Haywood County is now on display at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Western Carolina University’s Public Policy Institute is sponsoring a collaborative effort to recruit more students and citizens with diverse backgrounds to serve as poll workers in county elections.
A book co-authored by Ron C. Michaelis, a faculty member in the biology department at Western Carolina University, was cited multiple times in a recent opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Western Carolina University presented its 2009 Mountain Heritage Awards on Saturday (Sept. 26) to Amanda Swimmer, a Cherokee woman who has demonstrated traditional pottery making for more than 40 years, and to Great Smoky Mountains National Park – specifically, to the National Park Service and the thousands of individual who have helped create and preserve the park throughout the decades.
The National League for Nursing’s Foundation for Nursing Education recently selected Linda Comer, assistant professor of nursing at Western Carolina University, as a protégé for its Johnson & Johnson Faculty Leadership and Mentoring Program.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day, held Sept. 26 on the campus in Cullowhee, gave local residents a chance to show off their foot speed, chain saw prowess and other skills in a variety of contests.
Fans of traditional mountain culture from around Western North Carolina and adjacent states gathered at Western Carolina University on Saturday (Sept. 26) to get a taste – make that a “wet” taste – of Southern Appalachian music, dance, food, and arts and crafts.
Bob Buckner, director of Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band, is one of the first two recipients of the Award for Excellence in Marching Music Education presented by MENC: The National Association for Music Education and Drum Corps International.
Brad Ulrich, trumpet professor at Western Carolina University, will return to Russia in October to teach and perform and to recruit students for a week of study at WCU this spring.
A contribution of $10,000 from Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice and part-time resident of Waynesville, has created a Western Carolina University scholarship fund.
Six Western Carolina University students majoring in environmental health have been selected to present their research at the regional American Society of Safety Engineers professional development conference in Myrtle Beach in late September.
Western Carolina University’s student body has grown to 9,429 students – the largest total student enrollment in the university’s history and a 4 percent increase from last year.
Against an acoustic backdrop of bulldozers and bagpipes, Western Carolina University officially “broke ground” Thursday, Sept. 3, for its new $46 million health sciences building scheduled to open in 2012.
The latest U.S. News & World Report guide to “America’s Best Colleges” ranks Western Carolina University 10th among public universities in the South that offer master’s degrees.
A low-enrollment, high-expense program in the School of Health Sciences previously slated for curtailment as part of Western Carolina University’s response to the North Carolina budget crisis instead will be temporarily placed in a holding pattern.
Several of the historic photographs that will be shown in the six-part Ken Burns series on American's national parks are from the Special Collections of Hunter Library at Western Carolina University.
An article by Jennifer Doyle-Corn, a graduate student in the English literature program at Western Carolina University, has been accepted for publication in the 2009-10 issue of the Sigma Tau Delta Review, a journal of the prestigious international English honor society Sigma Tau Delta.
Jack Summers, assistant professor of chemistry at Western Carolina University, has been working with the Asheville-based Bent Creek Institute for the past two years in a study hoping to identify compounds from Appalachian plant life that help in fighting cancer.
A special project designed at Western Carolina University to help economic development professionals approach their jobs from a regional perspective was featured at the National Meeting of Economic Developers Aug. 29-Sept.1.
Western Carolina University graduate student Tracy Bochnak Kirchmann recently received an honorable mention in the 2009 Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture competition from the International Sculpture Center. The competition featured 441 students from more than 176 college and university sculpture programs in North America and abroad.
Asheville attorney Steve Warren is back behind the gavel as chair of the board of trustees at Western Carolina University.
Thanks to a contribution of $20,000 from the Barstow Foundation, Western Carolina University has created a scholarship and fellowship fund in tribute to the late Bob Zahner, former trustee of Highlands Biological Station.
David Westling and Karena Cooper-Duffy, professors of human services, recently received an $800,000 grant from the Department of Education to increase the quantity and quality of special education teachers of students with severe disabilities in Western North Carolina.
Western Carolina University will offer a SAT preparation workshop from 6 until 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, in Room 137 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
A new luncheon series being launched this fall by Western Carolina University is designed to give alumni and friends in the Asheville and Hendersonville areas an opportunity to hear about the latest developments at the university – straight from the people who are directly involved.
Western Carolina University has been named a top “military-friendly school” for 2010 by G.I. Jobs magazine and will be listed in the magazine’s Guide to Military Friendly Schools, to be published in September.
Western Carolina University must refocus on helping North Carolina recover from a lingering economic downturn. As part of that effort, the university will marshal its resources to provide additional assistance to the nearby municipality of Dillsboro, suffering after the recent departure of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.
Brittany Hill, a senior clinical laboratory sciences major at Western Carolina University from Waynesville, has won the Dorothy Morrison Memorial Scholarship from the national Alpha Mu Tau fraternity for clinical laboratory sciences professionals.
The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers returns to Western Carolina University at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, with “Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records,” a trip into Los Angeles’ underground punk scene in the late 1970s.
Western Carolina University’s 2009-10 Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series brings the world to Cullowhee with a diverse selection of jazz, contemporary dance, a seminar on Appalachian culture, slam poetry, and the music and theater of Shakespeare.
The chief executive officer of a Haywood County financial institution, a former Cherokee County economic development official, and a Cherokee tribal leader are the three newest members of the Western Carolina University board of trustees.
A new endowed scholarship fund will benefit Western Carolina University students in educational leadership and foreign language programs, and honor the memory of beloved professors Dixie L. and Miles S. McGinty.
The 2009-10 Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series at Western Carolina University is expanding its popular Foreign Film Series with six more films than last year, featuring overseas classics such as 1979’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock” from Australia and the 1987 French motion picture, “Au Revoir les Enfants.”
Western Carolina University professor Rob Young and his friend and mentor from Duke University, Orrin H. Pilkey, have an “urgent message” for society about the threat posed by global sea-level rise.
Although Western Carolina University is weeks away from holding an official groundbreaking celebration to mark the beginning of construction on its $46 million health sciences building, the project already is attracting the attention of possible partners from the health care industry.
One of the nation’s top experts in the area of adult neurological communication disorders, Nancy Helm-Estabrooks, has been appointed the first Catherine Brewer Smith Distinguished Professor of Communication Disorders at Western Carolina University.
Western Carolina University will offer the workshop “Learning for Fun: Stained Glass” from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, Aug. 27 through Oct. 1, in the south lobby of Cordelia Camp Building.
The department of stage and screen is kicking off Western Carolina University’s 2009-10 “Mainstage” theater season with the hip, dark comedy “Manuscript.” This season also will feature productions of Shakespeare’s classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning “A Chorus Line” and the futuristic “Natural Selections.”
Tad Daggerhart, a 2008 graduate of Western Carolina University, has been awarded an Annenberg Graduate Fellowship to continue his studies in the writing program at the University of Southern California Film School.
Western Carolina University will offer an aqua fitness class Aug. 31 through Dec.10. Participants will engage in a variety of aqua exercises designed to increase cardiovascular endurance.
Students enrolled in entrepreneurship and civil engineering technology programs at Southwestern Community College will be able to transfer seamlessly to complete related bachelor’s degree programs at Western Carolina University in just two years of study under a pair of articulation agreements recently signed by leaders of the two institutions.
Western Carolina University has made academic course and housing provisions to meet the needs of 1,600 first-year students – a freshman class more than 30 percent larger than last year’s.
Robert J. Conley, the Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University, is the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award winner from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.
Brenda H. Manning and Dr. Donald C. Mullen were welcomed as new members of the Western Carolina University Honors College Advisory Board as the board met recently for a luncheon at Highlands Falls Country Club near Highlands.
The American Council for Construction Education recently awarded Western Carolina University’s construction management program full accreditation.
Western Carolina University has been recognized by the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars for the “extraordinary strength” of its civic engagement initiatives.
Western North Carolina high school students bicycled 300 miles to the nation’s Capitol on one trip and canoed along the route of Lewis and Clark on another as part summer activities sponsored by Talent Search at Western Carolina University.
The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University will present the student- and faculty-curated exhibit “George Masa (1881-1933): Vision of the Mountains” Aug. 1 through Sept. 18 in conjunction with the 75th anniversary celebration of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Western Carolina University joined Duke University and the University of North Carolina – Charlotte in a collaborative project to develop strategies to integrate innovative educational technologies into each institution’s nursing programs.
The spring edition of The Magazine of Western Carolina University will be available only in electronic format, one of several cost-savings steps taken by the university in response to the state’s budget crisis as the 2008-09 fiscal year is winding down.
Craig A. Fowler, an information technology executive with more than 20 years of private-sector experience with several Fortune 500 companies, is Western Carolina University’s next chief information officer.
A Stanback fellow assisting the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University this summer has been identifying funding sources for a coastal management project in Long Island, N.Y., updating a comprehensive beach nourishment database and analyzing coastal project statistics.
The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University launches its 2009-10 season with three exhibits that, while grounded in Western North Carolina, demonstrate a wide scope. The exhibits will run from Saturday, Aug. 1, through Friday, Sept. 18.
Western Carolina University senior Patricia Graham of Whittier has been awarded a 2009-2010 Triangle Club Scholarship from the Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society.
John E. Wells, studio engineer with Western Carolina University’s School of Music, was part of a team that won an Emmy award for coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Ron Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at Western Carolina University, is winner of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance book award in the category of fiction for his novel “Serena.”
Ron Davis, Western Carolina University assistant professor of geosciences and natural resources management, received a grant of $3,250 from Balsam Mountain Preserve to continue data collection on wildlife species, including eastern box turtles and rattlesnakes.
A group of Western Carolina University filmmakers and actors won five awards including Best Film and Best Directing at the Asheville 48 Hour Film Project.
Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band is the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Sudler Trophy, the nation’s highest and most-coveted award for college and university marching bands.
Guests of Western Carolina University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center can savor the relaxed feel of the Sunday matinee with the 2009-10 Galaxy of Stars Series, presented by the College of Fine and Performing Arts.
Western Carolina University’s Cherokee Language Program received a $199,540 grant to continue its efforts in developing and revising Cherokee language coursework.
Former Western Carolina junior defensive back Ja'Quayvin Smalls, who died suddenly following a voluntary off-season workout last week, was laid to rest on Monday afternoon (July 13) in his hometown of Mount Pleasant, S.C.
The Western Carolina Catamount football family met Thursday, July 9, as it continued to cope with the sudden loss of Ja'Quayvin Smalls. The junior defensive back collapsed during a voluntary workout session on Wednesday evening and passed away at the Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva.
The Cherokee Preservation Foundation recently awarded $87,700 to Western Carolina University’s Craft Revival Project to continue the university’s Cherokee crafts documentation project.
The Small Business and Technology Development Center at Western Carolina University recently announced that Clark Fields has been appointed to the position of government procurement counselor with the North Carolina Procurement Technical Assistance Center.
Two recent graduates of Western Carolina University, Robert Brown and Sam Venable, have been accepted into one of only seven electro-optics programs in the United States at the University of Dayton in Ohio.
Western Carolina University has been awarded $299,593 through the NC QUEST grant program for a project to build a strong network of teacher leadership for mathematics and science.
The Partnership for Defense Innovation opened an office at Western Carolina University on Thursday, May 28, as part of a growing collaboration between PDI and WCU on research, development and testing for projects that have applications in the defense and security industries.
Catherine Carter, an assistant professor of English at Western Carolina University, has won the 2009 Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
The Mountain Heritage Center, Western Carolina University’s museum of Appalachian culture and history, recently implemented a new schedule of visiting hours that includes being open on Saturdays for five months of the year.
Brenda Mills, a student in Western Carolina University’s master’s degree program in public affairs, has been named to NC Magazine’s 2009 list of exceptional women leaders.
A log cabin auctioned off as surplus property by Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will be put to new use in a Tennessee museum that depicts the life of the legendary Cherokee statesman Sequoyah.
Evan Daniel Clapsaddle, a graduate of Western Carolina University, is the winner of a prestigious 2009 James Madison Fellowship, a national award he will use to return to the university and pursue graduate-level academic work.
The Western Carolina University board of trustees welcomed Josh Cotton, president of the WCU Student Government Association, as its newest member and said goodbye to three departing trustees as part of the board’s quarterly meeting Friday, June 5.
Work by recent graduates of Haywood Community College’s professional craft program will be on exhibit from Friday, May 22, through Saturday, July 25, at the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University.
What do Heath Ledger and Ben Harper have to do with Western Carolina University? They both were artistic partners in the creative team that designed a new Web site for the Beachcare program, located at WCU.
Twenty Western Carolina University students recently were inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society.
Sean O’Connell, associate professor of microbiology at Western Carolina University, has been named one of the best teachers in the University of North Carolina system for the creative ways he transforms students into not only scientists but also citizens aware of the world’s delicate environmental balance.
Western Carolina University will donate a set of used books to Better World Books and the Friends of the Library in Sylva as part of a service-learning project.
Rainy skies outside didn’t dampen the enthusiasm inside Western Carolina University’s Ramsey Regional Activity Center as the university held a pair of commencement ceremonies to honor a record-breaking spring class of approximately 1,150 graduating students, and another group of about 100 students who will complete requirements for their degrees later this summer.
Western Carolina University recently announced winners in a contest in which students created videos to illustrate how WCU provides opportunities for students to change their world.
Two teams of Western Carolina University seniors majoring in computer information systems recently worked with local organizations to solve information technology problems as a part of a service learning-based capstone class, “Applications Development.”
Western Carolina Athletic Director Chip Smith today (May 15) announced Karen Middleton, who has served the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Illinois, as the 10th Head Coach of the Western Carolina women's basketball program.
A collaborative Western Carolina University program that encourages high school students to further their education and consider careers as teachers is one of 16 projects that N.C. Bev Perdue has recommended for funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Beginning in the fall 2009 semester, Western Carolina University’s Office of International Programs and Services will offer an intensive English program for international students and non-native speakers.
An exhibition of gelatin silver photographs chronicling the early days of rock ‘n’ roll music that debuted at Western Carolina University’s Fine Art Museum was recently named best cultural exhibition by Northern Ohio Live during its 2009 Awards of Achievement celebration in Cleveland.
A poem by professor Catherine Carter will enjoy a new life as a musical creation on the London stage this summer.
Western Carolina recently presented its top faculty and staff awards for teaching, research and service for the 2008-09 academic year.
A group of Western Carolina University students and faculty members will bicycle 870 miles to visit 88 Buddhist temples this summer during an educational pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku in Japan.
Western Carolina University student Leeanne Deaver will intern with five-time Tony Award-winning costume designer William Ivey Long on Broadway this summer.
Western Carolina University graduate student Tonya Carroll is among a prestigious group of scholars chosen to participate in the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts’ summer institute in Winston-Salem this July.
Thanks to nearly $1.5 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Western Carolina University and the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville are establishing a new partnership to provide more nurses qualified to serve the region and its veteran population.
Amber Jones practiced her Spanish, which she was studying in a Western Carolina University course, and spoke in English as she helped a Cullowhee Valley School first-grader from a Spanish-speaking family with her reading and writing skills.
Vicki Szabo, associate professor of history at Western Carolina University, was recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to continue creating a database to identify whale species from artifacts and examine historical whale-hunting patterns.
Installation of groundwater wells at three sites at Western Carolina University as part of the state’s Groundwater Resource Evaluation Program could begin as early as this summer.
The Great Life Series, a collaboration between Western Carolina University and Pardee Hospital, will offer “Getting a Good Night’s Sleep: Understanding the Risk of Sleep Apnea” from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, May 12.
Western Carolina University junior music education major Andrew Blair recently was accepted to a prestigious percussion class to be held in New York later this spring under the direction of the world’s foremost marimba virtuoso.
The photographs of three Western Carolina University students will be on display from Monday, May 4, through Saturday, Aug. 1, in the media center of Hunter Library on the WCU campus. The exhibit will launch with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. May 4 at Hunter Library.
Western Carolina University will offer “Catamount Adventure Camps” for students in grades six through nine this summer, with activities including kayaking, whitewater rafting, hiking and rock climbing.
Twenty-five contestants from five colleges competed for top honors on April 25 at the 2009 Cullowhee Rock & Rumble Fest hosted by Western Carolina University’s Base Camp Cullowhee program at the Campus Recreation Center’s climbing wall.
Fred Hinson, senior associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at Western Carolina University, was named an honorary member of the Mu Epsilon chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda national honor society during the annual induction ceremony, held recently at WCU’s A.K. Hinds University Center.
Eighteen Western Carolina University students majoring interior design, along with four Smoky Mountain High School students and three adults, will travel to Greece, Spain and Italy for 12 days in May.
The Western Carolina University School of Music faculty reached into their pockets to the tune of $3,200 for the School of Music Faculty Scholarship Fund.
Western Carolina University will offer a special evening program in beginning swimming for children Monday through Friday, May 11-22.
“Decoration Day in the Mountains," a major exhibit at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center that explores the area’s “decoration day” tradition, is now open for public viewing.
Travis Halbrook, a business administration major from Cornelia, Ga., has been named this year’s recipient of Western Carolina University’s Malcolm J. Loughlin Scholarship Award.
Students with an interest in learning how to integrate technical knowledge and the skills necessary to improve and manage technology intensive systems are invited to join Western Carolina University faculty for two upcoming information sessions.
Six students from Western Carolina University were among 15 students from across the nation selected to present case studies during the 2009 Southeastern Athletic Training Student Symposium recently held in Atlanta.
Jim Costa, biology professor at Western Carolina University and director of Highlands Biological Station, has authored an annotated edition of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” that is now available from Harvard University Press.
Western Carolina University students recently helped deputies with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office learn and practice basic “survival Spanish” phrases that could help them on the job.
For the sixth time since 2006, a Western Carolina University broadcasting student has been selected to attend the prestigious Media Sales Institute at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
Western Carolina University ceramics students will donate to the Community Table’s annual “Empty Bowl” fundraising event from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 24.
The 11 student members of Western Carolina University’s Trumpet Ensemble have been selected by taped audition to perform the prelude to the Washington Symphonic Brass Concert at the 2009 International Trumpet Guild Conference in Harrisburg, Pa., in May.
The popular Tiny Tot and Youth swim programs will be offered throughout spring and summer at Western Carolina University.
A faculty member in Western Carolina University’s department of communication who is a much-sought-after expert on outlaw motorcycle clubs will be featured in two upcoming programs on the National Geographic Channel.
Twelve Western Carolina University graduate students were honored for the quality of their research during a recent competition held in conjunction with the university’s annual Graduate Research Symposium.
A physical limitation doesn’t have to mean life without competitive and recreational sports, majors in Western Carolina University’s recreational therapy program learned during a workshop in March.
Members of the Tribal Council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians recently welcomed publication of a new book, titled “Spearfinger,” based on a traditional Cherokee story and intended to bolster revitalization of the Cherokee language.
For the second year in a row, Ron Rash, Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at Western Carolina University, has been named one of four finalists for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the largest peer-juried prize for fiction in the United States.
Paul Dezendorf, an instructor in Western Carolina University’s master’s degree program in public affairs, won a J. William Fulbright Scholarship grant to conduct research and teach two courses at the State University-Higher School of Economics in Moscow in the fall.
Western Carolina University student Daniel Davis Brown II of Durham recently received one of three North Carolina Athletic Trainers’ Association Presidential Scholarships for Leadership.
Students studying Spanish through Western Carolina University’s modern foreign languages department are working in partnership with the Macon County Public Health Center to reach out and help bridge the communication gap with the Hispanic population.
Residents of Western North Carolina who want to experience the wild areas of the region while learning new skills will have a chance to do that later this spring as Western Carolina University offers a course in kayaking and a Wilderness Education Association Steward expedition course.
With a record number of applications for the freshman class for the 2009 fall semester in hand, Western Carolina University’s enrollment management office is instituting a “wait list” to enable admissions counselors to properly evaluate every prospective student.
Some 200 high school students from across Western North Carolina and from two schools in northeastern Georgia gathered at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, March 24, to test their knowledge of French and Spanish in the university’s 27th annual Foreign Language Contest.
Western Carolina University will offer a series of workshops titled “HIV/AIDS and Other Communicable Diseases and Ethics” for social workers and other professionals beginning in April.
Two Western Carolina University psychology professors have partnered with Isaac Dickson Elementary School in Asheville on a project that will feature “courageous conversations” about race relations in the community.
Students from several Western North Carolina school systems recently took top honors at Western Carolina University’s annual Western Regional Science Fair and are on their way to the state competition in March.
Western Carolina University’s summer commencement ceremony scheduled for Aug. 7 has been suspended in preparation for projected cuts in state-appropriated funding for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
The Corporation for National and Community Service has named Western Carolina University to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for “exemplary commitment to service and civic engagement” on WCU’s campus and beyond.
Western Carolina University’s Center for the Support of Beginning Teachers recently received a $50,000 grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation to help expand an online support program for beginning educators to include second- and third-year teachers in Western North Carolina.
More than 200 middle school students from across Western North Carolina were introduced to the teaching profession Tuesday, Feb. 10, as Western Carolina University hosted its annual Middle School Teachers of Tomorrow Conference.
Staff members in Western Carolina University’s Office of Public Relations have been honored by a national higher education organization for their work in producing the university magazine and a video titled “What is a Catamount?”
Jill Manners, associate professor and clinical education coordinator for Western Carolina University’s athletic training program, has been named the 2009 North Carolina Athletic Training Educator of the Year by the North Carolina Athletic Trainers’ Association.
Robert Conley, the Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University, is winner of the 2009 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Oklahoma Center for the Book.
As North Carolina attempts to deal with a chronic shortage of child welfare social workers, Western Carolina University has received a boost in helping to alleviate that problem with its inclusion in the state’s Child Welfare Education Collaborative.
Twenty-six high school seniors from Smoky Mountain High School and Cherokee High School recently attended a College Access mini-conference at Western Carolina University where they met WCU student mentors who will collaborate with them on their graduation or senior projects, and learned about opportunities at WCU.
Western Carolina University’s Center for Mathematics and Science Education will hold professional development workshops throughout the spring semester for kindergarten to high school teachers.
A poem by Catherine Carter, director of Western Carolina University’s English education program, was recently selected to be published in “The Best American Poetry 2009.”
Rob Young, director of Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, has been appointed to serve on the N.C. General Assembly’s Offshore Energy Exploration Study Committee.
To borrow a phrase from the U.S. Navy, for junior Kelli Baer, finding employment as a student caller for the Loyalty Fund Phonathon is more than just a job. It’s an adventure.
Kenneth E. Flynt, longtime banking executive and former governor’s economic adviser, was recently appointed to the new position of associate dean of advancement in Western Carolina University’s College of Business.
Louis E. Buck, director of Western Carolina University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, has announced the appointment of business executives David Woodcock and Michael Bradshaw to leadership positions on the center’s advisory board.
“Inside/Inside Out: A Profile of Awareness,” a solo exhibition by ceramicist James L. Tanner, and “Inspired Design: Jacquard and Entrepreneurial Textiles," a traveling exhibit comprising national and international artists, will run from Thursday, Jan. 22, through Saturday, March 7, at the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University.
Michael Hubble, director of the emergency medical care program at Western Carolina University, recently received a $91,510 grant to conduct an assessment and analysis of North Carolina’s emergency medical services workforce and provide recommendations to improve recruitment and retention.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized Western Carolina University’s emphasis on community engagement and its link to engaged teaching, research and service by selecting the university for its “community engagement classification.”
A marketing major from Western Carolina University’s College of Business recently captured first place in a regional sales competition, marking the first time a WCU student has earned the top honor in such a contest.
Dirk Herr-Hoyman is the new director of the Office of Web Services at Western Carolina University.
Health sciences students at Western Carolina University recently contributed more than 800 nonperishable food items to the Community Table in Sylva.
Trevor Jones, a native of St. Cloud, Minn., is the new curator at the Mountain Heritage Center, Western Carolina University’s museum of Southern Appalachian natural and cultural history.
It’s a “like-father, like-daughter” scenario for Western Carolina University Honors College Dean Brian Railsback and Cadence Railsback when it comes to raising money for worthy causes at WCU.
Patricia Bricker, assistant professor of elementary and middle grades education, received the 2008 Jo Duckett Wallace Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Service in Science Education at the Elementary Level, an award given by the North Carolina Science Teachers Association.
Western Carolina University paid tribute to a graduating class of approximately 710 students on Saturday, Dec. 13, as the university held fall commencement exercises at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
Perry L. Schoon, senior associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas at Arlington, is the next dean of the College of Education and Allied Professions at Western Carolina University.
Western Carolina University’s board of trustees unanimously approved proposed tuition and fees for 2009-10, including an increase in local tuition to improve the quality of undergraduate education by giving students opportunities to apply what they have learned in the classroom in real-world settings.
Amanda Hayes, a first-year student in Western Carolina University’s physical therapy program, is among eight recipients nationwide of a $1,000 scholarship from the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions.
Mary Deck, professor of counseling at Western Carolina University, received the 2008 Ruth McSwain Distinguished Professional Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to the School Counseling Profession, the highest award given by the North Carolina School Counselor Association.
Western Carolina University evening classes at all Asheville locations are canceled today, Wednesday, Feb. 4.
The Western Carolina University board of trustees welcomed Betty L. Siegel, president emeritus of Kennesaw State University in Georgia, as its newest member, filling a vacancy created when Bob Burgin, retired president and chief executive officer of Mission Hospitals in Asheville, stepped down as a trustee earlier this year.
Jayne Zanglein, assistant professor of business law, is co-author of the third edition of “ERISA Litigation,” an 1,800 page book about Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation recently published by the Bureau of National Affairs.
Researchers conducting a dialect study at Western Carolina University are seeking lifelong residents of Western North Carolina between the ages of 9 and 13, and age 50 and older to volunteer to participate.
Kefyn M. Catley, an associate professor of biology and head of the secondary science education program at Western Carolina University, recently secured a $665,247 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to research ways of improving high school and college biology curricula.
The verdict is in – book critics across the country are falling in love with “Serena,” the latest novel penned by Ron Rash, Western Carolina University’s Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture.
It took Western Carolina University students Drew Tolliver of Atlanta, Ben Plowman of Waynesville, and Josh Kirkland of Hendersonville just 10 days and dozens of discarded plastic bottles to design and build a product that is original, innovative, creative, useable – and award winning.
A $10.4 million investment in the construction management program sparked three years ago by a pledge of nearly $7 million by Joe and Cynthia Kimmel has funded scholarships, professorships and academic opportunities.
Western Carolina University is among American colleges and universities featured in the 2008-09 edition of “Colleges of Distinction,” a guide for prospective students that focuses on four areas of academic quality – student engagement, great teaching, vibrant communities, and successful outcomes.
Western Carolina University recently named 20 top faculty members as recipients of the 2008 Chancellor’s Meritorious Award for Engaged Teaching.
Keith Wells, an assistant professor of health sciences in Western Carolina University’s emergency medical care program, recently won the 2008 Founders Award from the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine.
Western Carolina University junior Kerri Elizabeth Bernhardt has been named the Western Region Outstanding Mathematics Education Student for 2008 by the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
In response to the ongoing national economic crisis, Western Carolina University’s Institute for the Economy and the Future is launching WNC Pulse, a new Web-based initiative, to help solve regional problems by identifying Western North Carolina’s major economic, social and political issues and trends.
A WCU pennant will hang in a classroom at rival institution Appalachian State University for the rest of the semester because WCU nutrition students won a food drive competition with ASU.
Scott Higgins, dean of the Graduate School and Research at Western Carolina University, is the new president of the North Carolina Conference of Graduate Schools.
Chancellor John W. Bardo convened a town hall meeting Tuesday, Nov. 11, to discuss the impact of the economic downturn on the state of North Carolina and Western Carolina University.
A Western Carolina University faculty member and 10 of her students will use a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to travel to South America in early 2009 to work on a project testing the remote sensing applications of a new type of radar satellite technology.
Best-selling novelist Kathy Reichs shared with Western Carolina University students on Tuesday, Nov. 18, highlights of a career that has taken her from behind the scenes in crime laboratories to in front of the cameras in a cameo role in “Bones,” the popular television show inspired by her books.
Western Carolina University students may have played a small part in Western North Carolina’s record-breaking voter turnout for this year’s elections, with help from a 2008 North Carolina Campus Compact Vote Initiative grant the university recently received.
Two years after relocating to Western Carolina University from its longtime home at Duke University, a program known worldwide for its use of science to influence public policy affecting management of U.S. shorelines is establishing a permanent beachhead in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
Western Carolina University student Adrian Rose, a 2005 graduate of McDowell High School, is featured on a series of billboards introducing the university’s new logo and the theme, “Your climb starts here.”
If you can’t go to Broadway, bring Broadway to you. Such is the thinking behind the Western Carolina University musical theater program’s new initiative to bring working theater professionals into the classroom.
Artists from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians recently were able to harvest river cane needed for baskets through the revival of a 60-year-old agreement by staffers with the Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources, an initiative operated through Western Carolina University’s Cherokee studies program.
The second annual Jingle Bell 5-K race, sponsored by Western Carolina University’s Sport Management Association and held on the WCU campus Tuesday, Nov. 4, raised more than $1,100, organizers said.
Gordon E. Mercer, professor of political science and public affairs, has been re-elected president of Pi Gamma Mu international honor society.
Richard Starnes, head of the history department at Western Carolina University, was appointed to the North Carolina Historical Commission.
The latest survey of the Healthy Campus 2010 campaign at Western Carolina University turned up some surprising contrasts between student perceptions and their behaviors.
Ron Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at Western Carolina University, has been named recipient of the 2008 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award for his compilation of short stories, “Chemistry and Other Stories.”
Two Western Carolina University students were charged Thursday, Oct. 23, with misdemeanors in connection with the discovery of the body of a dead bear near the catamount statue at the main entrance of campus earlier in the week.
Western Carolina University Chancellor John W. Bardo apologized to the campus and community for what he called the “inappropriate behavior” and “poor judgment” of seven students who admitted to leaving the body of a dead bear beneath a statue on the WCU campus.
A book published this week by The Princeton Review ranks Western Carolina University’s College of Business among the nation’s best schools at which to earn a master’s degree in business administration, with WCU’s program earning a top-four spot among schools offering the greatest opportunity for women and receiving high marks for small class sizes.
Ramona Dowdell, a Western Carolina University senior, is a recipient of the North Carolina Campus Compact Community Impact Student Award for 2008.
Western Carolina University will offer “Aqua Fitness” from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Nov. 8 through Dec. 4 in the Reid Gym Pool on campus.
Western Carolina University faculty scholarly and creative work will be displayed during the week of Feb. 16 in Hunter Library as part of Faculty Scholarship Recognition Week.
W. Dee Nichols, past coordinator of a University of North Carolina at Charlotte doctoral program in literacy, recently joined Western Carolina University as head of the department of elementary and middle grades education.
WCU’s grants office announced more than $325,000 in funding recently awarded to faculty and staff.
More than 150 students from Western Carolina University’s Honors College dedicated hours of service this fall to revitalizing Cullowhee, from painting over graffiti to volunteering at a fundraising concert.
Western Carolina University has been selected to participate in the American Democracy Project’s Civic Agency Initiative, a three-year effort to develop national models for successfully preparing and motivating undergraduates to be leaders in their communities.
Armed with a year’s worth of research conducted by one of the nation’s leading higher education marketing firms, Western Carolina University unveiled a new institutional branding campaign Wednesday, Oct. 1, with faculty and staff the first to see new concepts for university marketing and promotions.
Morgan Snyder, a sophomore majoring in elementary education at Western Carolina University, was recently awarded multiple scholarships from the New York Life Insurance Company and the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education.
Three Western Carolina University students recently swept the competition at a regional conference of the American Society of Safety Engineers Foundation.
Kellie Angelo Monteith, director of campus recreation and wellness, was recently named assistant vice chancellor for student affairs at Western Carolina University.
Trina Frizzell Orr, associate director of financial aid at WCU, has been appointed director of the office, filling a position left open by the retirement of Nancy Dillard earlier this fall.
Western Carolina University’s grants office announced more than $1 million in funding recently awarded to faculty and staff.
Western Carolina University paid tribute Saturday, Oct. 4, to five highly distinguished alumni – a national award-winning after-school programs director, a recently appointed college vice president, an international business leader for Pfizer Inc., and a couple who are longtime supporters of WCU.
Valuable lessons for everyday life can be found in the world of contemporary politics, Don Livingston, professor of political science and public affairs, told a standing-room-only crowd assembled for WCU’s inaugural Last Lecture Series address Friday, Oct. 3.
Western Carolina University crowned Jessica Steel, a senior from Concord, the queen and Andrew Bishop, a junior from Penrose, the king of the 2008 Homecoming Court during halftime activities at Western’s football game against the Samford University Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 4.
A group of Western Carolina University students who underwent some unusual professional training in the snowy Teton Mountains last spring gathered recently to be presented with certificates designating them as “wilderness stewards.”
The dean of Western Carolina University’s Honors College is ready to hang up his cycling shorts after completing his seventh and final bicycle ride to raise pledges for the college’s student scholarship fund.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day, held Sept. 27 on the campus in Cullowhee, gave local residents a chance to show off their foot speed, chain saw prowess and other skills in a variety of contests.
If you hold Mountain Heritage Day, they will come. Despite a gasoline crunch and forecasts for a rainy day, a healthy crowd turned out Saturday (Sept. 27) for the 34th edition of Mountain Heritage Day, Western Carolina University’s annual celebration of Appalachian culture.
Western Carolina University presented its Mountain Heritage Awards for 2008 on Saturday (Sept. 27) to a fiddle and guitar duo that performs “Appalachian swing” and to a clogging troupe that has been kicking up its heels in its own unique style for 37 years.
A team of students from the master’s degree program in nurse anesthesia at Western Carolina University recently took first place in the 2008 North Carolina State Anesthesia College Bowl, beating teams from five other N.C. schools for the title.
Western Carolina University is among 302 public four-year colleges and universities taking part in a new initiative designed to provide high school students, parents and guidance counselors with access to basic, comparable information about student characteristics, costs, student experience and learning outcomes, presented in a user-friendly online format.
Images of extensive damage to the Texas Gulf Coast by Hurricane Ike captured by Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines are now available for online public viewing.
Western Carolina University has announced its three winners for the 2008 U.S. Constitution Day Essay Contest.
A Western Carolina University undergraduate student will present his research paper at the 80th annual Southern Political Science Association conference.
Western Carolina University’s School of Art and Design will continue its fall 2008 Visiting Artist and Event Series with featured artists’ lectures throughout October.
Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo announced today that classes and offices are open for business as usual, in spite of the severe gas shortage in the western part of the state.
Twenty-five Western Carolina University student teams are among a total of 578 Western North Carolina college students participating in Juicy Ideas, a collegiate competition that challenges students to combine entrepreneurship with environmental responsibility.
Western Carolina University students are invited to participate in a campuswide project to create works of original art intended to raise awareness about the importance of registering and voting in the November election.
Mark Rogers, a Western Carolina University senior, recently represented the Kappa Alpha Order, a national men’s fraternity headquartered in Roanoke, Va., when he presented a check totaling $165,931 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association during its 43rd annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.
Western Carolina University alumna Beth Tyson Lofquist, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, has been named the university’s associate provost.
If there’s a silver lining to be found in the lack of rain clouds during an extended period of dry weather across the mountains of Western North Carolina this spring and summer, it may come in the form of above-average leaf color this fall.
Western Carolina University’s in-house mosquito expert is warning residents of some Western North Carolina counties to be on the lookout for a species of mosquito known for its painful and persistent bites.
Jack Sholder, director of the motion picture and television production program, will present a workshop and introduce “The Hidden,” a movie he directed, on Oct. 9 at the Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia held near Barcelona.
The Western Carolina University board of trustees unanimously re-elected Joan MacNeill of Webster to a second term as chair as part of its first meeting of the 2008-09 academic year.
“Cherokee Pottery: People of One Fire,” a collection of Cherokee pottery that spans centuries of cultural change, will be on display at Western Carolina University's Mountain Heritage Center through Sunday, Nov. 16.
Invoking the words of President John F. Kennedy, who urged Americans to ask what they could do to help their country, U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler challenged Western Carolina University students to get involved in their campus and home communities, instead of simply sitting back and letting government do all the work.
Cyndi Margiotta, who recently began her job as an eighth-grade mathematics teacher at Canton Middle School in Haywood County, had been waiting for the first day of school for a long time.
Western Carolina University will offer “Learning for Fun: Stained Glass” from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 9 through Oct. 21, in the Cordelia Camp Building.
WCU is the new home to the offices of the Santa Aguila Charitable Trust, an international organization devoted to the protection and preservation of beaches around the world, and recent WCU graduate Adam Griffith has been hired as director of the trust’s Beachcare program.
A new tailgating policy at Western Carolina University will be in effect beginning this fall football season, with designated tailgating areas for students, Catamount Club members, returning alumni and visiting fans.
Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions has unveiled a new Web site designed to provide prospective teacher education students with the information they need to get them on the path to earning a degree in education.
Western Carolina University’s online master’s degree program in project management has been given a No. 1 national ranking in quality and affordability by the distance education information clearinghouse GetEducated.com.
With $825,000 in federal funding over the next three years, Western Carolina University is starting a new online master’s degree program to help nurses gain the necessary skills for management roles in health care facilities and to prepare them to work in today’s environment of increasing cultural diversity.
Ready….set….WHOOP! On the fourth Tuesday of every month at noon, beginning Aug. 26, police at Western Carolina University will be testing the university’s new siren system. During each test, people on and around the WCU campus should hear a high-pitched, repetitive whooping sound for about three minutes.
Western Carolina University student Stephen Page was chosen from among hundreds of volunteers across the country as the August “Volunteer of the Month” by American Whitewater, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Sylva.
Winford Gordon, assistant professor of psychology, delivered the keynote address at WCU's annual Freshman Convocation on Friday, Aug. 15, focusing on themes from the summer reading selection “Three Cups of Tea.”
P. Bradley Ulrich, professor of trumpet at Western Carolina University, will travel to Russia in October to teach a trumpet clinic and perform recitals.
Western Carolina University’s grants office recently announced more than $1.6 million in new funding for faculty and staff initiatives.
Western Carolina University’s Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series will show classic movies from around the world as part of a foreign film series that runs select Thursdays from September through April. Movies begin at 7 p.m. at the A.K. Hinds University Center
Japanese drumming, contemporary dance, politically charged spoken word and more are on tap for Western Carolina University’s 2008-09 Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series.
A performance by Fushu Daiko, a Japanese drumming ensemble, will launch Western Carolina University’s 2008-09 Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series. Fushu Daiko will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center on the WCU campus.
There’s a whole new breed of cat on the prowl at Western Carolina University these days after the university unveiled a fresh look for Catamount athletics Wednesday, Aug. 13, just in time for the 75th anniversary of the selection of the Catamount as the official mascot for Western’s intercollegiate sports teams.
Western Carolina University’s new $16.7 million Campus Recreation Center opened for the first time on Sunday, Aug. 17.
Walker and Scott residence halls will be the busiest places on Western Carolina University’s campus Friday, Aug. 15, as freshmen unpack their bags and prepare for their first year as Catamounts. Upperclassmen will begin arriving the morning of Saturday, Aug. 16, with fall semester classes beginning Monday, Aug. 18.
Former astronaut Dr. Bernard Harris Jr. told students in Western Carolina University’s College of Business on Aug. 21 that he believes entrepreneurs in the private sector will propel the space industry to achieve its fullest potential.
Eight students recently completed WCU's new Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, an eight-week total immersion research experience.
As Western Carolina University gets ready to welcome the best prepared freshman class in its history, the university must focus attention in the coming year on aligning four separate yet related strategic activities so that it can continue to improve academic quality and serve the needs of the people of North Carolina.
David A. Shapiro, professor of communication sciences and disorders at Western Carolina University and one of the nation’s top speech-language pathologists, is the first faculty member to hold the university’s newly created title of Madison Professor.
Thomas M. Salzman, past chair of the performing arts department at the College of Santa Fe, recently joined Western Carolina University as head of the stage and screen department.
Brittany Haskett, daughter of Mark Haskett, university photographer, and Tammy Haskett, director of WCU orientation programs, won scholarships including three specifically for Western Carolina University students – the Staff Forum Scholarship, Deborah J. Bardo Employee Scholarship and a Kimmel Foundation Scholarship.
The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University will open its fall season with the first retrospective exhibition of work by Lewis Buck, a lifelong artist and longtime Asheville-area resident with what critics describe as unique artistic vision.
The College of Fine and Performing Arts at Western Carolina University presents the lineup for the 2008-09 Galaxy of Stars Series, eight shows of theater, music and dance from September to May in the performance hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center on Western’s campus.
Western Carolina University’s department of modern foreign languages will present its second annual Spanish/Latin American Film Festival, which will run from Tuesday, Sept. 9, to Tuesday, Oct. 21.
Students and community members will have the opportunity to engage movie directors about their work as part of the 2008-09 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, the nation’s only regional tour of independent filmmakers and their films, running from September through April at Western Carolina University.
Western Carolina University’s Small Business and Technology Development Center helped local companies create 175 jobs and retain an additional 287 employees who would have been laid off in 2007.
Subscribers to the University Theatre’s 2008-09 Mainstage season at Western Carolina University have a full menu of laughs, love, tragedy, song and dance. This season’s productions include the comedy “Plaza Suite” by Neil Simon, Shakespeare’s “Othello,” the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof” and contemporary vignettes on love with “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani.
Western Carolina University’s grants office recently announced more than $450,000 in new funding for faculty and staff initiatives.
Interested in a volunteer opportunity requiring a little time and a big love of the arts? The Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University seeks community members to donate time for everything from taking tickets to public outreach.
Western Carolina University graduate student Karen Dodson was just completing an ordinary assignment for an English class last spring when she transcribed and edited several Civil War-era letters, but her work soon will be published in a prestigious journal that focuses on the life and work of American literary icon Walt Whitman.
The strength of home and family ties were common themes heard Friday (Aug. 1) as Western Carolina University held summer commencement exercises for approximately 430 graduating students at Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
Robert J. Conley, the newly appointed Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University, has been selected to receive the 2009 American Indian Festival of Words Author Award.
Award-winning novelist Rick Boyer of the English department faculty is author of the newly published “The Quintessential Sherlock Holmes,” a collection of five full-length stories based upon the legendary detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Cheryl Stacy, a Troutman resident enrolled in Western Carolina University’s family nurse practitioner program, is one of 22 graduate students from across the nation recently named recipients of academic scholarships by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Foundation.
A new agreement makes it easier for students in Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College's new entrepreneurship program to transfer to Western Carolina University and earn a four-year business degree.
Christopher Pratt, former dean of career education at Columbia University, is the new associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Business at Western Carolina University.
The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University has announced winners in its exhibit “Fragile Earth: Reflections on the Environment.”
Students in programs within Western Carolina University’s department of stage and screen excelled in the Asheville leg of an international competition that gives participants two days to make a short film.
A new book edited by two WCU political scientists examines the changing face of politics in North Carolina and revisits the state’s long-standing progressive reputation in light of transformations in Old North State politics over the past 50 years.
Western Carolina University is seeking official recognition of its emphasis on community engagement and its link to engaged teaching, research and service.
For the first time since its formation, there is a changing of the guard for Western Carolina University’s Public Policy Institute as founding director Gordon Mercer hands over the reins to fellow political science and public affairs faculty member Christopher Cooper.
Gas prices are soaring, and so is enrollment in academic programs offered online by Western Carolina University.
Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, associate professor of history, has been elected to membership in the Historical Society of North Carolina.
The Western Carolina University Trumpet Ensemble recently participated in an intensive, weeklong program in Italy in connection with Orvieto Musica, an international chamber music festival.
David Dorondo, associate professor of history, has been elected as an at-large member to the board of the North Carolina Association of Historians.
WCU employees, their children and spouses are getting a financial incentive to earn degrees from the university under a recently approved scholarship program.
Brill publishing house recently released the book “Monstrous Fishes and the Mead-Dark Sea: Whaling in the Medieval North Atlantic” by Vicki Szabo, associate professor of history.
Smoking is prohibited within 50 feet of buildings on Western Carolina University’s campus under a policy that took effect Tuesday, July 1.
Chancellor John W. Bardo presented the 2008 Judy H. Dowell Outstanding Support Staff Award to university photographer Mark Haskett at a service awards luncheon.
Two students in WCU’s athletic training program recently received scholarships from the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association as part of the organization’s annual symposium.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center is among the first facilities in the nation chosen to receive the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a set of books relating to artifact conservation and proper museum practices.
Western Carolina University student William Styles will get a first-hand look at the political process above and beyond what he is learning in the classroom as a senior majoring in political science when he attends the Democratic National Convention in August.
WCU has just installed and tested a new, combination siren and public address system, which features a variety of alert tones, a library of prerecorded messages that can be used to respond to natural or manmade emergencies, and a manual override to enable spoken messages from campus police.
Chancellor John Bardo on Thursday, June 5, committed Western Carolina University to joining a community-university partnership focused on revitalizing the Cherokee language.
Twenty-one Western Carolina University students were recently inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society.
Noted Cherokee scholar Robert J. Conley, a prolific author with 80 books to his credit during a career spanning 40 years, is the new Sequoyah Distinguished Professor in Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University.
Western Carolina University’s new director of health services is alumna Pamela M. Buchanan, former director of planning and operations at WestCare Health System.
The history and culture of Western North Carolina are being presented to a worldwide audience through the Web site of the Digital Heritage Project at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Western Carolina University’s board of trustees welcomed its newest member and bid farewell to a longtime friend as part of its regular quarterly meeting Friday, June 6.
John Q. Hodges, associate professor of social work at the University of Missouri, is the new head of Western Carolina University’s social work department, effective June 15.
WCU’s grants office recently announced more than $660,000 in new funding for faculty and staff initiatives.
WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center has opened an exhibit focused on furniture handmade in Western North Carolina during the 1800s and early 1900s. The exhibit will be on display through December 15.
Pat Brown, dean of educational outreach at Western Carolina University and president of Alpha Sigma Lambda, the national honor society for nontraditional adult students, delivered the keynote address as the society’s chapter at Villanova University recently its celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Western Carolina University will offer the popular Tiny Tot Swim Program and the Youth Swim program throughout spring and summer.
Twelve middle school students from a Western Carolina University effort to broaden the pool of children who may pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics recently competed in a statewide solar vehicle race, with one of the teams winning first place for technical merit.
The Fine Art Museum on the campus of Western Carolina University will begin its summer series with an exhibit featuring the fine furniture of three regional artists. “Contemporary Furniture: Innovation in Wood from Appalachian Traditions” will run from Tuesday, June 3, to Saturday, June 28, at the museum, in WCU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Ronald D. Hunter, professor of applied criminology at Western Carolina University, was recently honored by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences after completing a one-year term as president of the international organization.
More than 40 historically significant quilts from the collection of Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center are now on display for a worldwide audience following the launch of the Quilt Index, an online resource catalog.
A scholarship fund started from scratch slightly more than a decade ago to benefit students enrolled in Western Carolina University’s Honors College has been growing substantially, just like the college’s enrollment, and recently achieved a major point in its development – “endowed” status.
Jessica Funke, an athletic training and sports medicine student from Marion, said the $400 she won in a raffle designed to reward Western Carolina University students who complete online course evaluations was the easiest $400 she ever earned.
Students entering Haywood Community College's new entrepreneurship degree program this fall will be able to transfer seamlessly to Western Carolina University and complete a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship two years later under an articulation agreement recently signed by leaders of the two institutions.
Western Carolina University’s School of Music recently initiated its own chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honor fraternity, in a ceremony in the recital hall of the Coulter Building.
Kevin Schilbrack, professor and chair of the philosophy and religious studies department at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga., will become head of Western Carolina University’s philosophy and religion department effective July 11.
WCU presented its top faculty and staff awards for teaching, research and service for the 2007-08 academic year Friday, April 25, at its annual spring General Faculty Meeting and Awards Convocation.
Three WCU interior design students recently took top honors at the annual National Kitchen and Bathroom Association’s Carolinas Chapter student design competition in Flat Rock.
A Western Carolina University faculty member who organized a trip to help the impoverished people of rural Honduras has been honored for her efforts by the WCU office that oversees service learning.
It was commencement-times-two on the campus of Western Carolina University on Saturday, May 10, as the university held two ceremonies to accommodate the largest graduating class in its history.
Western's Honors College presented the first-ever RODIN Awards this spring to three faculty members for their support of undergraduate researchers. RODIN stands for the Recognition of Distinguished Instruction and Nurturing.
Will Peebles, professor of music at Western Carolina University, has been named one of the best teachers in the University of North Carolina system, earning praise for helping students discover how to teach themselves.
Two Western Carolina University students recently received awards for their interior design entries in the first biennial Waters for Life student-design competition.
The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University seeks artist entries for a summer art exhibition titled “Fragile Earth: Reflections on the Environment.”
Elementary and middle school students from the Western North Carolina region are invited to attend the sixth annual Cullowhee Creativity Camp, to take place in the Killian Building on the campus of Western Carolina University from Monday, June 16, through Friday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Madison County resident Carey Burda, a Western Carolina University senior majoring in natural resource conservation and management, recently presented a poster at the National Association of American Geographer’s meeting in Boston.
Western Carolina University’s grants office announced nearly $350,000 in funding was awarded to faculty and staff in March for projects ranging from mediation in agriculture disputes to developing a microbiology and molecular biology teaching laboratory.
Western Carolina University is among the recipients of the state’s first Energy Efficiency Reserve Fund grants designed to help state agencies, University of North Carolina system campuses and N.C. community colleges implement power-saving projects.
Kyle R. Carter, provost of Western Carolina University, was inducted as the first honorary member of the Mu Epsilon chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda national honor society during the annual ceremonies held recently at WCU’s A.K. Hinds University Center.
The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center has tapped Western Carolina University-based disaster recovery counselor Adrianne Gordon to manage the state’s two disaster recovery loan programs.
Western Carolina University’s Last Minute Productions will host a series of free concerts Tuesdays and Thursdays this summer on the lawn of the A.K. Hinds University Center. All performances are at 7 p.m. The rain location is Club Illusions, on the third floor of the University Center.
Western Carolina University is inviting community members to join incoming freshmen this summer as they read New York Times bestseller “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time.”
Rob Young, director of WCU's Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, was recently appointed to the advisory board of the Santa Aguila Charitable Trust, an international organization devoted to the protection and preservation of beaches around the world.
Eleven geology faculty members and students from Western Carolina University recently presented their research at the Geological Society of America’s southeastern section meeting in Charlotte.
The Catamount Academic Tutoring Center at Western Carolina University recently earned an international certification awarded to tutoring programs that meet or exceed the College Reading and Learning Association’s standards of quality.
A Western Carolina University student recently received one of 30 undergraduate scholarships from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.
Dave Young, a senior majoring in philosophy, won the North Carolina Political Science Association’s award for best domestic politics and policy paper for his entry “Inevitable City, Inexorable Storm: How the Failure of Communication, Courage and Common Sense Doomed New Orleans.”
Stephen E. Brown, director of the honors-in-discipline program of the criminal justice and criminology department at East Tennessee State University, will become head of WCU's department of applied criminology, effective July 15.
Lynda Bates Elliott, an elementary education major from Franklin, has been named this year’s recipient of Western Carolina University’s Malcolm J. Loughlin Scholarship.
“A Quilter’s Garden,” an exhibit of traditional and non-traditional quilts, wall hangings and pillows created by Jackson County textile artist Laura Nelle Goebel, will be on display at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center through Friday, May 23.
A number of recent contests have engaged Western Carolina University’s entrepreneurial-minded students in “real world” experiences outside the classroom.
Robert F. Mulligan, associate professor of economics, received the Ludwig von Mises Institute’s O.P. Alford III Prize in Libertarian Scholarship for “Property Rights and Time Preference,” which was published in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics.
Thirty-six Western Carolina University students loaded up their research projects and headed to Maryland on Wednesday, April 9, to represent the university at the 22nd annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Chilly April rain and wind didn’t dampen the enthusiasm Thursday (April 3) as Western Carolina University broke ground for a pair of residence halls – facilities described by WCU trustees vice chair Steve Warren as “a place where friendships are forged and the power of thought is tested.”
Jennifer Veilleux, an English graduate student at WCU, recently received a scholarship from an international English honor society.
The Western Carolina University chapter of First Book, a non-profit organization, has awarded $2,500 in Borders Books gift cards to a Jackson County school and an after-school program in Haywood County as part of a literacy promotion program.
Western Carolina University’s biology department recently awarded scholarships to six students at its awards banquet.
“Know Your Region,” an educational program developed by Western Carolina University’s Institute for the Economy and the Future, has been recognized as a national model by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and will be featured in the EDA’s 2007 annual report as one of its top investments from that year.
Notice has just gone out to 17 people who have been accepted into Western Carolina University’s new, accelerated nursing program for adults who already have degrees in other fields. They will have to be quick if they want any tips from the program’s first 10 students, because those students graduate in August – just a year and three months after they started.
Officers with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office have been returning to the classroom recently to learn basic “survival Spanish” taught by a group of students and their professor from Western Carolina University’s department of modern foreign languages.
Artwork by students in Western Carolina University’s art education program is on display through July on the main floor of Hunter Library on the WCU campus. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Western Carolina University is accepting applications for its ninth annual Mountain Dulcimer Week, to be held June 22-27.
More than 350 high school students from across Western North Carolina, and from one school in northeastern Georgia, gathered at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, March 18, to test their knowledge of French and Spanish in the university’s 26th annual Foreign Language Contest.
Ron Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at Western Carolina University, has been named one of four finalists for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the largest peer-juried prize for fiction in the United States, for his compilation of short stories, “Chemistry and Other Stories.”
For the third year in a row, Western Carolina University students rank among the nation’s leaders in the number of their research projects that have been accepted for presentation at the country’s most-prestigious undergraduate research conference.
A Western Carolina University student will receive a national award for radio production work from the Broadcast Education Association Convention Festival of Media Arts to be held Las Vegas.
Western Carolina University’s grants office announced more than $490,000 in funding was awarded to faculty and staff in January and February.
Western Carolina University’s communication and media relations efforts recently received four awards of recognition from a national higher education organization.
New York sculptor Emily Thompson will show images of her work in a presentation in Room 130 of Western Carolina University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18.
A photo exhibit on display at Western Carolina University introduces viewers to the story of the Appalachian craft revival, a movement to produce and sell handcrafted items during the early part of the 20th century.
Jack Sholder, director of the program in motion picture and television production, will serve on the international jury for the film competition at the Fantasporto Oporto International Film Festival.
A study by WCU counseling faculty suggests health care providers could help parents who are hiding symptoms of postpartum mood disorders by talking with all obstetric patients about the disorders, assessment, support groups and treatments, even if a patient does not disclose symptoms.
As part of an international service-learning initiative, Western Carolina University students will be traveling to Costa Rica and Panama during spring break to volunteer their time while exploring the Central American landscapes and cultures.
Rather than spending spring break at parties or on the beach, 35 students from Western Carolina University will travel to Chicago to help children and the homeless. From Saturday, March 1, to Friday, March 7, the group will volunteer with community service projects.
Beginning Tuesday, April 1, all credit card payments on Western Carolina University student accounts will be made through a new option called PayPath Tuition Service, the WCU controller’s office has announced.
The 2007-08 old-time and bluegrass music jam session series at Western Carolina University will continue Thursday, March 6, with a performance by Charles Shuler and Friends, followed by a jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate.
A series of 10 vitreographic prints by artist Erwin Eisch depicting scenes from a Nazi attack on Germany’s Jewish population will show from Thursday, March 27, through Thursday, May 1, at the Fine Art Museum on the campus of Western Carolina University.
Students from several Western North Carolina school systems recently took top honors at WCU's annual Regional Science Fair and Festival and are on their way to the state competition in March.
Western Carolina University’s “Wired Wednesdays Series” will feature a class in Advanced Microsoft Excel from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, in Room 137 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
The N.C. Agriculture Mediation Program at Western Carolina University has been recertified by Gov. Mike Easley as the agricultural mediation service provider for the state of North Carolina and has received a grant in the amount of $144,066 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue operation.
Western Carolina University will host one of America’s premier memory trainers during “What Was Your Name Again” from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, March 14, in the Hospitality Room of the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
As spring and summer quickly approach the mountains of Western North Carolina, Western Carolina University is offering an array of travel courses where the world will be the classroom. Students may pick from an extensive variety of classes and destinations, including business survival skills in China, art classes in Europe, and the biological and political sciences of the Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone national parks.
Sarah Nunez is Western Carolina University’s new assistant director of admission housed in the Transfer Advising Center at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
What does it mean to be an American? The production “Inspired by America,” coming at 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 29, to Western Carolina University, explores that complicated question with a combination of history-driven documentary film, spoken word and live music.
Dana M. Sally, who had served as dean of university libraries at the University of West Florida in Pensacola since 2005, joined Western Carolina University on Feb. 11 as the university's first dean of library services.
The January issue of Public Purpose magazine, published by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, features an article on “Regional Development, Regional Leadership.” In that article, Western Carolina University, Northern Kentucky University, the University of Northern Iowa and California State University are cited for taking regional economic development to an exciting new level.
Bonnie Singer, who co-developed the EmPOWER step-by-step method for helping school-age children understand, plan and successfully complete writing assignments, will be the featured speaker at WCU’s 15th annual Cullowhee Conference on Communicative Disorders.
Letters are going out to 555 graduates of WCU’s College of Business to inform them that personal information stored on a server used by the College of Business may have been compromised. There is no reason to believe the information has been used for unauthorized or illegal purposes.
Western Carolina University will host a literary panel discussion on Monday, Feb. 25, examining Willa Cather’s classic novel, “My Antonia,” and the works of other writers in cooperation with “Together We Read,” Western North Carolina’s regionwide reading and discussion program, and “The Big Read,” a reading revitalization program of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Western Carolina University is the only North Carolina institution among the 91 colleges and universities selected for a pilot study of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System recently developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Nine student teams participating in Western Carolina University’s WISE Challenge have progressed to the final round of the competition and are busy re-imagining everyday products, developing services and inventing technologies in the name of entrepreneurship.
The Corporation for National and Community Service named Western Carolina University to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service-learning efforts and leadership in building a “culture of civic engagement.”
WCU recently hosted a campus forum and launched a Web site as part of an effort to respond to the needs identified in the University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission's report.
WCU has received notice of reaffirmation of accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the recognized regional accrediting body for institutions of higher education in 11 states in the Southeast.
Thomas C. Johnson, chief of WCU’s police department, recently joined a small group of police executives who hold doctoral degrees when he was awarded a doctorate in instructional systems and work force development from Mississippi State University.
Professors and students from Western Carolina University’s forensic anthropology program assisted law enforcement agencies in their search for clues in a remote area of national forestland where the body of a hiker missing since October was discovered on Saturday, Feb 2.
Tickets are still available for the University Players production of the Broadway musical “Guys and Dolls,” showing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-23, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, in the performance hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University.
Students in Eric Hendrix’s English composition classes at WCU fine-tune their writing and research skills through assignments designed to give them a closer look at global issues. They recently went beyond the books and helped a children’s advocacy center in Franklin.
Cathryn Griffin, professor of photography, will judge a photography contest themed "A Sense of Place" and sponsored by the WCU Baptist Student Union.
The “Living with the Land” folk life series will continue at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, Feb. 12, with a presentation on the Center for Cherokee Plants by Sarah McClellan and Kevin Welch.
Students from 16 Western North Carolina counties will come together at Western Carolina University on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 13 and 14, to showcase science projects and compete for the opportunity to exhibit at the North Carolina State Science Fair in Raleigh.
Paul Heckert, professor of physics at Western Carolina University, and his astronomy class will host an eclipse-watching party at the Jackson County Airport on the night of Wednesday, Feb. 20.
Western Carolina University recently honored several WNC school system representatives for their help in preparing university students for careers in the classroom.
“Chemistry and Other Stories,” a compilation of 15 short stories by Ron Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at Western Carolina University, has been named one of 15 “notable books” of 2007 by The Story Prize committee.
Cynthia Cooper, the whistleblowing accountant responsible for exposing one of the largest corporate scandals in U.S. history, will visit Western Carolina University in March as part of the Chancellor’s Speaker Series for a conversation with Western students and an evening presentation open to the general public.
A Western Carolina University faculty member’s research into “outlaw” motorcycle clubs recently led to an opportunity for a group of WCU broadcasting students to gain valuable experience working behind the scenes on documentaries being filmed for The History Channel and Arts & Entertainment Network.
Stephanie Harwood, a survivor of lymphoma and freshman from Franklin, will share her story at the campus Relay For Life kickoff on Wednesday, Feb. 13, and Newton Smith, associate chief information officer and honorary event chair, will speak April 11 at the all-night American Cancer Society event.
Robert K. McMahan Jr., the North Carolina governor’s senior adviser for science and technology, and executive director of the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology, will be leaving those posts to become dean of Western Carolina University’s Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology.
Stage and screen actor and director Terrence Mann will direct the University Players in a production of the Broadway musical “Guys and Dolls” from Feb. 21-24 in the performance hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University.
The internationally recognized All-American Boys Chorus will perform “A Salute to America and Her Music” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 14, in the Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University.
An all-campus forum to discuss the University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission Final Report was held in the A.K. Hinds University Center Grandroom from 2 until 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31.
Free French films will show at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through April in Room 121 of the McKee Building on the campus of Western Carolina University. Students and the public are welcome.
A former executive at one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies is now using his expertise to help Western Carolina University energize new ideas for business ventures in Western North Carolina.
The 2007-08 old-time and bluegrass music jam session series at Western Carolina University will continue Thursday, Feb. 7, with a performance by Chuck Norris and Daybreak, followed by a jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate.
Accounting profession leader Barry Melancon will speak at the Western Carolina University Graduate Center in Asheville during “Students’ Night” on Monday, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m.
Author Casey Clabough will be featured on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 12:20 p.m. during the first of three literary presentations that will be held as part of the 2007-08 Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
You can’t blame the admission counselors and application processors at Western Carolina University if they appear a bit bleary-eyed these days. After all, they’ve been working extra hours trying to keep up with a 62.6 percent increase in the number of applications for undergraduate admission.
Western Carolina University’s School of Music will host the 2008 Western Regional All-District Band festival on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 8-9.
Patrick Gardner, a former U.S. Air Force engineer, has joined Western Carolina University’s Center for Rapid Product Realization as principal scientist.
Faculty and students from Western Carolina University are part of an effort to restore the historic Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro.
WCU and the Women’s Center will present Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” at the Fine and Performing Arts Center as part of a global movement to stop violece against women and girls.
WCU will present a variety show and choir performance on Friday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the recital hall of Coulter Building as a benefit event for a group of 30 students, alumni and sponsors who will travel to Europe this spring on a 10-day concert tour.
Longtime FBI special agent Mark R. Wilson, one of the nation’s foremost experts in the use of DNA evidence in criminal investigations, has joined Western Carolina University to lead its academic program in forensic science.
Western Carolina University’s 2008 Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series has been forced to cancel Henry Rollins’ “Provoked – An Evening of Quintessentially American Opinionated Editorializing and Storytelling” scheduled for March 27.
Western Carolina University will offer “Wired Wednesdays,” a series of computer software classes, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the spring semester in Room 137 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
The illusionist duo The Spencers will present their “Theatre of Illusion” on Friday, Feb. 1, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University as part of the center’s third annual Galaxy of Stars Series.
The workshop “Hi-Definition Workflow – From Stage to Screen” will be held Saturday, Feb. 16, in the sound and television studios of the Center for Applied Technology at WCU.
Quilts donated by Western North Carolina families to Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will be on display at the museum through March in the biennial exhibit “Airing of the Quilts.”
WCU will host round-table discussions, movies, live music and other activities designed to spark dialogue about global warming as part of the Focus the Nation initiative on Thursday, Jan. 31.
Ken Sedberry, a potter from Loafers Glory, will hold demonstrations and speak about his art during a daylong workshop Thursday, Feb. 14, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University.
WCU will host the third annual Community Service-Learning Fair on Tuesday, Jan. 29, to make students, faculty and staff more aware of community service opportunities in Western North Carolina.
The creative work of faculty members at Western Carolina University’s School of Art and Design is the focus of a show from Jan. 23 through March 15 at the Fine Art Museum on the WCU campus.
Mathematical ecologist Louis J. Gross, director of The Institute for Environmental Modeling at the University of Tennessee, will deliver two lectures at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
The Western Carolina University School of Music will be presenting a “Faculty Showcase” concert with its first-ever sponsor, Heinzelmannchen Brewery of Sylva, on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. in the recital hall of the Coulter Building.
Thirty-three Western Carolina University students were recently inducted into the Mu Eta chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education.
Benjamin Chavis, president and chief executive officer of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, will deliver the keynote address Tuesday, Jan. 22, for Western Carolina University’s celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Bob Buckner, director of athletic bands at Western Carolina University, won the 2007 Music Education Advocate Award from the North Carolina Music Educators Association.
A Web site for a WCU organization developed by student Kyle Perkins, a junior from Raleigh majoring in entrepreneurship, won a 2007 Web site design award in a regional Association of College Unions International graphics competition.
James Contratto, assistant director for programs at Western Carolina University’s A.K. Hinds University Center, has won a regional New Professional Award for 2007 from the Association of College Unions International.
Western Carolina Director of Athletics Chip Smith today (Dec. 31) announced the hiring of Dennis Wagner, former offensive line coach at the University of Nebraska and head coach at Wayne State, as the twelfth head coach of the Catamount Football program.
The Talent Search Program at Western Carolina University has scheduled a series of free workshops to provide information to local students and their parents about applying for federal financial aid for college with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.
Western Carolina University bestowed a posthumous honorary doctorate upon a former chairman of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors at fall commencement exercises, which honored more than 500 candidates for graduation.
Research conducted by a doctoral student at Western Carolina University may help train future human rights investigators and is already drawing the attention of international organizations.
Students in two Western Carolina University political science classes in “Active Citizenship” took the title of their courses to heart this semester as they participated in a series of fundraising activities to benefit a pair of local charitable organizations.
Legendary trumpet virtuoso Allen Vizzutti will be the featured performer at the sixth annual Western Carolina University Trumpet Festival, the largest event of its kind in the United States, taking place on the WCU campus during the Jan. 18-20 Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
Western Carolina University will offer “Aqua Fitness” in the Reid Gymnasium pool on campus Jan. 22 through May 1.
The “Living with the Land” folk life series will continue at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, Jan. 15, with a presentation on “Sustainable Approaches to Forest Management” by forester and WCU faculty member Peter Bates.
Auditions are under way as Western Carolina University offers an opportunity for young artists to experience the art and craft of musical theatre performance with Broadway stars Terrence Mann and Charlotte D’Amboise this summer during the Triple Arts Broadway Series.
Winter weather conditions have resulted in a change to the normal WCU schedule today (Thursday, Jan. 17). Students, faculty and staff will find updated university schedule information at this site:
Weather-Related Schedule Changes at WCU.
The enslaved cooks who prepared food at Monticello, the Virginia home of President Thomas Jefferson, will be the focus of a presentation at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center on Tuesday, Jan. 15.
Western Carolina University will offer an asthma management workshop for nurses and other interested health care professionals from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, in Room 143 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
Western Carolina University will offer “Time on Your Side,” a time management workshop, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 18, in the Cordelia Camp Building.
A former WCU administrator who served as chairman of Mountain Heritage Day for 18 years and his wife have established a $10,000 endowed fund that will help the annual event continue to thrive as one of the premier folk festivals in the Southeast.
Prospective students can learn about the 100 spring semester courses Western Carolina University will offer in Asheville during an information and registration session set for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10.
Western Carolina University will offer “Learning for Fun: Stained Glass” from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, through Tuesday, Feb. 12, in the Cordelia Camp Building.
The biggest challenge facing Western North Carolina emergency responders during times of crisis is inadequate communication among agencies at the local, state and federal levels, a problem often exacerbated by antiquated equipment and a lack of communication interoperability.
Western Carolina University will offer the third annual Mountain Dulcimer Winter Weekend, Thursday, Jan. 17, through Sunday, Jan. 20, at the Lambuth Inn in Lake Junaluska.
Three Western Carolina University students recently received citations for their internship work with the U.S. Public Health Service during the summer.
The Institute for the Economy and the Future, the regional think tank and economic development unit of Western Carolina University, has a new home and a new leader, Daniel Ostergaard, former executive director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Advisory Council.
Western Carolina University’s board of trustees unanimously approved proposed tuition and fees for the 2008-09 academic year, including increases to support operational costs for a new indoor recreation center currently under construction and to begin meeting student requests for enhanced campus health services.
A Western Carolina University faculty member was honored Tuesday (Dec. 4) for assistance he has provided to Western North Carolina municipal leaders as they deliberated the long-term management of their towns’ watersheds.
Anna Fariello, curator of the craft revival digital collection and visiting associate professor at WCU, recently was named museology specialist peer reviewer for the United States Fulbright Commission.
The 2007-08 old-time and bluegrass music jam session series at Western Carolina University will continue Thursday, Jan. 3, with a performance by the McDowell Family, followed by a jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate.
The North Carolina Literary and Historical Association awarded the 2007 Roanoke-Chowan Prize for Poetry to Catherine Carter, director of WCU's English education program, for “The Memory of Gills,” her first published book of poetry.
Western Carolina University Chancellor John W. Bardo extends season's greetings to the Western community.
Western Carolina University, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Jackson County Department of Public Health are partners in the first project in the nation funded through a $417 million federal effort to expand health care access to rural America through the creation of broadband “telehealth” networks in 42 states and three U.S. territories.
It is imperative that leaders at the local, state and federal levels take steps today so that they are better able to deal with the emergencies and disasters of tomorrow. That was the message heard repeatedly Thursday, Nov. 15, as Western Carolina University hosted a day of dialogue about emergency preparedness.
WCU's efforts to ensure that students are fully engaged in the process of learning, both in and out of the classroom, earned high marks on a national survey measuring the quality of undergraduate education based upon student involvement with their studies, professors and campus communities.
Western Carolina University’s Small Business and Technology Development Center now offers financial analysis reports from ProfitCents at no charge to business owners.
Brian Gastle, associate professor of English at Western Carolina University, will become associate dean of the Graduate School, effective Jan. 1.
Although it’s too early to start making predictions about the likelihood of a white Christmas in 2007, the nation’s retailers can look forward to a green Christmas this year, as holiday shoppers will be hitting stores and Web sites armed with larger sums of disposable income than ever before.
Western Carolina University will offer beginner swing and salsa workshops for teenagers and adults Monday, Dec. 17, through Wednesday, Dec. 19, in Breese Gymnasium.
The Asheville Symphony Orchestra will perform at Western Carolina University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
WCU and members of the Canton community will host the Canton Connection Faire on Monday, Dec. 10, to identify ways Western can help the town.
The 33-member drumline from Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band will share the stage Thursday, Dec. 6, with country music superstar Keith Urban in a concert at the BiLo Center in Greenville, S.C.
The 2007-08 old-time and bluegrass music jam session series at Western Carolina University will begin Thursday, Dec. 6, with a performance by Don Pedi and Bruce Greene, followed by a jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate.
The fall “Living with the Land” folk life series will continue at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, Dec. 4, with a program featuring music scholar Betty Smith.
An educator from South Carolina will lead a program focusing on the female photographers of World War II during her visit to the Western Carolina University campus on Thursday, Dec. 6, and Friday, Dec. 7.
Western Carolina University’s School of Music will present its annual “Sounds of the Season” concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, in the performance hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Santa Claus is scheduled to make an appearance when Western Carolina University’s Sport Management Association sponsors a 5-kilometer “Jingle Bell Run” on Wednesday, Dec. 5.
The Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, resident brass quintet at Western Carolina University, will perform in a faculty showcase in the recital hall of the Coulter Building at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27.
Western Carolina University will offer “You Can Get Sued for That?: Five Most Common Employment Law Violations” from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, in Room 141 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
A group of students from Western Carolina University recently received a finalist award at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s College Fed Challenge competition.
Western Carolina University will host a display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt from Monday, Dec. 3, through Thursday, Dec. 6, in the A.K. Hinds University Center Grandroom.
The inaugural winners of the Chancellor’s Meritorious Award for Engaged Teaching have involved students in activities from development of a combination stretcherwheelchair to visiting death row as part of a discussion of capital punishment.
Students from Western Carolina University recently took top honors at the American Democracy Project south regional district’s Third Annual Conference, held at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
The American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive on the Western Carolina University campus Tuesday, Dec. 4, through Thursday, Dec. 6, in the A.K. Hinds University Center multipurpose room.
“Holiday Crafts” will be the topic of an Arti-Facts! program on Sunday, Dec. 2, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
The student team called “Almost Perfect Strangers” narrowly won WCU's first College Bowl tournament earlier this month and is preparing for regional championships to be held at Virginia Tech in February.
WCU students in an elementary education methods and curriculum class are hosting “Who’s Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” – an event inspired by the TV show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
WCU’s Craft Revival Project, with its Internet-accessible collection of digitized images centered at Western’s Hunter Library, recently received a grant of $100,000 from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services through the North Carolina State Library. That brings the project’s three-year total to nearly $350,000.
The third time proved the charm for Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions, 2007 co-winner of the Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award presented annually by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Mary Lehmann of Hendersonville, a student who is earning a certificate in gerontology from WCU, designed a survey for her final project to find out if people know what palliative care is, what it covers, where it is offered and who can get it.
The Wind Ensemble of Western Carolina University will perform its second concert of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m. in the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
A research project led by a WCU psychology professor indicates that jokes about blondes and women drivers are not just harmless fun and games; instead, exposure to sexist humor can lead to toleration of hostile feelings and discrimination against women.
Western Carolina University’s most unusual musical group, the Low Tech Ensemble, will perform a concert of “gamelan” music on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m.
Western Carolina University’s Art Education program will offer the second annual Art Days from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 12, Monday, Jan. 21, and Wednesday, Jan. 23.
Seven students representing Western Carolina University will deliver presentations at the North Carolina Campus Compact Student Conference in Greenville on Saturday, Nov. 10.
Western Carolina University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center will continue its “Galaxy of Stars” series with a performance by The Animal Band on Thursday, Nov. 29.
The Western Carolina University Trumpet Ensemble has been invited to perform at the Orvieto Musica Trumpet Festival in Italy in June 2008.
Frank Brannon, an artist and printer who specializes in fine limited editions, will be visiting Western Carolina University’s School of Art and Design on Monday, Nov. 19, to deliver a public lecture about his work and conduct a workshop with students in the book arts studio.
Although high school marching bands from four states attended the competition, only Dobyns-Bennett High School from Kingsport, Tenn., was named grand champion of Western Carolina University’s Tournament of Champions, an invitational event hosted by Western’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band on Saturday, Oct. 13.
Western Carolina University has announced its three winners for the 2007 U.S. Constitution Day Essay Contest. The topic for this year’s contest was “Could You Improve the U.S. Constitution?,” and 28 undergraduate students entered essays into the contest.
The fall “Living with the Land” folk life series will continue at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, Nov. 13, with a presentation by Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranger Brad Free titled “Trade, Timber and Tourism: The Trans-Mountain Road of the Smokies.”
A senior analyst with the CIA will discuss the 21st-century intelligence community at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
The Pride of the Mountains Marching Band at Western Carolina University will hold its annual indoor concert on Friday, Nov. 16, in the Ramsey Regional Activity Center, as part of the WCU Alumni Band weekend.
An official from a national emergency telephone number advocacy group has joined the list of speakers scheduled to share their insights in a daylong summit examining emergency and disaster preparedness at WCU on Thursday, Nov. 15, in the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
A Massachusetts college professor will present a musical lecture, “The Commonwealth of Toil: Folksongs and the U.S. Labor Movement,” when he visits the Western Carolina University campus on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
WCU will celebrate its second annual Geographical Information System Day on Wednesday, Nov. 14, with presentations and workshops to showcase GIS and remote sensing projects by faculty, staff, students and off-campus individuals.
Western Carolina University will sponsor an information session in Asheville on Tuesday, Nov. 13, for individuals interested in earning a doctor of education degree with a concentration in community college/higher education leadership.
Kathleen Cummins, a senior nursing major from Clemmons, is a recipient of the North Carolina Campus Compact 2007 Community Impact Student Award.
Nine WCU faculty and students shared information about their research at the annual Geological Society of America meeting in Denver.
Author Robert Morgan will discuss his most recent work, a biography about legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone, as the 2007-08 edition of the Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series continues Wednesday, Nov. 7, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
The Southern Fried Chicks Comedy Tour will make an appearance at Western Carolina University at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
The dean of Western Carolina University’s Honors College hopped back aboard his mountain bike on Saturday, Oct. 27, and completed the final 24 miles of his 110-mile pledge bicycle ride to benefit the college’s student scholarship fund.
Western Carolina University will offer “Learning for Fun: Shag Dancing” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays Nov.19 through Dec.10 in Room 204 of Breese Gym.
Two grant proposals prepared by Cynthia Brown, assistant professor of applied criminology, won more than $2.4 million in federal funding for projects to aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The University Players at Western Carolina University will present “Lucky Stiff,” a comedic musical of farce and suspense, Thursday, Nov. 8, through Sunday, Nov. 11.
Bhutanese painter Kama Wangdi will visit the campus of Western Carolina University on Monday, Nov. 12.
The fourth annual Great Smoky Mountain Book Fair, a fundraiser for the Jackson County Library building fund, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at Sylva’s First United Methodist Church.
Western Carolina University expanded the traditional day of service as part of Homecoming events to a month and exceeded a goal of completing 10,000 hours of community service.
WCU paid tribute Saturday, Oct. 20, to four highly distinguished alumni – an Asheville attorney who chaired the WCU board of trustees, the president of the largest veterinary distribution company in the country, a biological researcher in the Congo Basin, and a professional baseball management consultant.
Western Carolina University will host an information session for its online graduate gerontology certificate program from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, at the Haywood County Administrative Office and Community Connections Building, 81 Elmwood Way in Waynesville.
Aprons will be the topic of an Arti-Facts! program for children on Sunday, Nov. 4, at Western Carolina University's Mountain Heritage Center.
The dean of Western Carolina University’s Honors College had to pull the plug on his 106-mile bicycle ride for pledges just 16 miles short of his goal, but he plans to return to the Blue Ridge Parkway this coming weekend (Oct. 27-28) to complete the effort.
Rob Young, professor of geosciences and director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, has been selected to the Olympic Park Institute board and an advisory panel to the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission.
Hip-hop dancer and choreographer Bill Shannon will perform at Western Carolina University at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in the A.K. Hinds University Center.
Three students from Western Carolina University’s environmental health program recently presented their research projects at a safety and health conference in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Bruce Henderson, professor of psychology, is serving on the Scholars Council formed to support and advise the University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission.
The Southeast Section of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology selected a WCU faculty member and student to represent the region at the national conference to be held in Houston this spring.
WCU crowned Ramona Dowdell, a senior from Mebane, the queen and Joshua David Thompson, a senior from Lincolnton, the king of the 2007 Homecoming Court.
Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band will travel to the Charlotte area on Friday, Nov. 2, and Saturday, Nov. 3, for two special performances.
Western Carolina University’s first Spanish/Latin American Film Festival will continue through the end of November with the screening of five thought-provoking films.
Ten students and faculty members from Western Carolina University traveled to Johns Island, S.C., during the university’s fall break to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.
Western Carolina University will offer two “Tech Thursdays” classes with a focus on the family during November. “Making Memories Using PowerPoint” will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 1, while “Designing Family Web pages” is offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 8.
Western Carolina University’s International Programs and Services Office has developed a Japanese Outreach Program, designed to increase the community’s awareness and knowledge of Japanese culture, history and language.
Western Carolina University will host a fall gathering of about 500 educators who teach English to speakers of other languages, as the Fall 2007 Carolina TESOL Conference is set for Thursday, Nov. 1, through Saturday, Nov. 3, in downtown Asheville.
The School of Music at Western Carolina University will present “An Evening of German Romantic Music for Clarinet and Piano” on Friday, Nov. 2, and Tuesday, Nov. 6, as part of the Catamount Concert Series.
An Asheville teacher recognized as one of the region’s best told a gathering of high school students who are considering a career in the classroom that they can become teachers right now by living a full life and learning as much as they can.
The dean of Western Carolina University’s Honors College hopes to replicate a successful fundraiser from a decade ago when he begins a three-day bicycle ride to Mount Mitchell to raise scholarship money for the college’s students.
Western Carolina University’s 2007 Homecoming theme is “Heritage: A Catamount Never Forgets,” and the planning committee has lined up new and traditional events from community service to fireworks to create a celebration worth remembering.
Western Carolina University’s Tech Thursdays series will offer “Learning to Harness the Power of Google” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 25, in Room 137 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
Last Minute Productions at WCU will host a performance by actor and comedian Jamie Kennedy at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26.
Western Carolina University's Staff Forum raised $10,000 to start an annual scholarship and awarded the first $500 scholarship to the daughter of a staff member.
The College of Business at Western Carolina University is offering a series of graduate-level seminar courses during the fall, spring and summer semesters, beginning Friday, Nov. 9.
For decades, American colleges and universities have rewarded faculty members with promotion and tenure based upon their professorial performance in the areas of classroom teaching, traditional research activities and public service. An innovative reward system adopted this fall at WCU adds an additional element designed to move faculty promotion and tenure decisions into the “real world.”
Western Carolina University, in partnership with Isothermal Community College, will offer students an opportunity to earn a bachelor of science in education degree beginning fall semester 2008. An information session for the program will be held at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the library auditorium at ICC on its campus in Spindale.
A “Nature’s Tracks” program on gourds will be held from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
A four-day display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, an international monument to those who have died of AIDS, will open Monday, Dec. 3, at Western Carolina University. Organizers of the display are seeking volunteers to assist with several aspects of the event, including guarding the Quilt and greeting visitors during display hours.
The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University will feature “To Rise and Begin Again,” an exhibition of illustrations to be published in two Cherokee children’s books, beginning Thursday, Nov. 1, and continuing through Saturday, Dec. 1.
Students from 16 Western North Carolina high schools will gather at Western Carolina University to learn about the teaching profession as WCU’s Office for Rural Education hosts the annual Teachers of Tomorrow Day on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
The launch of Western Carolina University's Branding and Marketing Initiative will be streamed live today (Monday, Oct. 22) from 1-2 p.m. (approximately).
View the live stream Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day, held Sept. 29 on the campus in Cullowhee, gave local residents a chance to show off their foot speed, chain saw prowess and other skills in a variety of contests.
WCU will host “The Sublime Nine,” an art exhibition by nine art seniors, that will open Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Fine Art Museum on campus.
Western Carolina University will offer a Cherokee health symposium, designed for nurses, health care professionals and others interested in learning about the intersection of Cherokee culture and health care, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, in the Hospitality Room of the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
An exhibit of photography chronicling the life of migrant workers in Western North Carolina will open Thursday, Oct. 18, at the Fine Art Museum and continue through Saturday, Dec. 1.
The Catamount Club’s Second Annual Western Carolina University Basketball Rouser will tip-off Thursday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. at Broadmoor Golf Links in Fletcher.
A retired academic and athletic leader, Bobby N. Setzer, and his wife, Anne, have established an endowed scholarship fund that will generate an annual $500 award for football student-athletes, with preference given to engineering technology majors.
The inaugural “WHEE Walk for Women,” a community event organized to show support for breast cancer survivors and fighters, will be held Saturday, Oct. 6, on the campus of Western Carolina University.
WCU is expanding a traditional day of volunteer service as part of Homecoming events to a month of service spanning from Thursday, Sept. 20, to Saturday, Oct. 20.
Twenty-three top high school marching bands from four states will assemble for WCU's seventh annual Tournament of Champions, an invitational competition hosted by Western’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band at E.J. Whitmire Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 13.
Children will have a chance to learn about the history of photography during an Arti-Facts! program on Sunday, Oct. 7, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
The 33rd edition of Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day on Saturday (Sept. 29) was “another resounding success,” attracting one of the largest crowds in the festival’s history.
The fall “Living with the Land” folk life series will continue at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, Oct. 9, with a presentation by ethnographer Tom Sheridan on “Wilderness and Working Landscapes: Putting People Back in Nature.”
A new exhibit exploring Southern food traditions, “Southern Stews: Traditions of One-Pot Cooking,” opens Thursday, Oct. 4, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Western Carolina University presented its Mountain Heritage Awards for 2007 on Saturday (Sept. 29) to the “dean” of Western North Carolina fiddlers and to a traditional dance group that is re-creating the ancient dances of the Cherokee in performances throughout the United States and overseas.
Several area youths recently attended Western Carolina University’s Construction Camp for Middle Schoolers hosted by The Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology, and the Division of Educational Outreach.
WCU is home to a new institute that will bring together scientists, policymakers, economic development experts, natural resource managers and other interested parties in an effort to preserve regional water resources while trying to ensure economic prosperity.
Asheville photographer and author Tim Barnwell will discuss his latest book, “On Earth’s Furrowed Brow: The Appalachian Farm in Photographs,” as the 2007-08 edition of the Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series continues Wednesday, Oct. 3, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
WCU's Hunter Library will present “A Celebration of Librarians in Film” in honor of Banned Books Week, which will be held from Saturday, Sept. 29, to Saturday, Oct. 6.
Professors at Western are part of a multi-institutional research team organized to develop tools for improving water quality in South Africa.
The American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive on the WCU campus Monday, Oct. 8, through Wednesday, Oct. 10, in the A.K. Hinds University Center multipurpose room.
Three choral ensembles from Western Carolina University will be performing across the state on a fall tour, including stops in Waynesville, Gastonia and Hendersonville.
Western Carolina University’s Tech Thursdays series will feature “Powerful Presentations” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 11, in Room 137 of the Cordelia Camp Building. The workshop will offer a combination of PowerPoint techniques and presentation tips that will help participants improve their presentations.
Brent Kinser, assistant professor of English, is the coordinating editor of the recently launched online version of one of the most comprehensive literary archives of the 19th century – “The Carlyle Letters Online: A Victorian Cultural Reference.”
The Western Carolina University Wind Ensemble will present its first concert of the season at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2 in the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
The check wasn’t in the mail. This time, the check was in the handshake, when Catamount Club president Tobe Childers ’61 recently accepted a gift of $25,000 from E. Jerry Coleman III, executive vice president for private wealth management with SunTrust North Carolina in Charlotte.
The Western Carolina Women’s Coalition honored Sara Stoltenburg, director of Women’s Programs and the Women’s Center at WCU, as one of four “Women to Match Our Mountains” honorees for 2007.
Western Carolina University will host a series of Constitution Day events, including a debate on foreign policy issues and a re-enactment of the signing of the Constitution.
The University Players of Western Carolina University will open the 2007-08 theatre season with Larry Shue’s comedy “The Nerd” Sept. 26-30.
A varety of hardcover and paperback books will be on sale at Hunter Library on Tuesday, Oct. 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Western Carolina University will offer “Technology Thursdays,” a series of community and small business oriented computer workshops this fall.
Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines is organizing a fundraising drive for relief efforts on the coast of Nicaragua, devastated by Hurricane Felix, a Category 5 storm that swept ashore Tuesday, Sept. 4.
Student Aaron Putnam's spoof “Cosmo of 1932” carried off nine of the possible 19 awards at the recent 48 Hour Film Festival, including the Best Film Award and Audience Award.
Performance and event schedules have been announced for Mountain Heritage Day, Western Carolina University’s annual celebration of mountain culture coming up Saturday, Sept. 29.
The Honors College at Western Carolina University presented its inaugural Honors Medallion for special service to award-winning Asheville author Charles Frazier and his wife, Katherine.
WCU will be hitting the road Sept. 24-27, distributing information about undergraduate and graduate admission as well as the variety of programs and degrees offered on-campus and through distance learning.
A long spell of dry weather during the spring and summer could provide some of the most brilliant colors seen in several years for leaf-lookers headed to the mountains of Western North Carolina this autumn.
Music of a traditional tone will be echoing around the Western Carolina University campus on Mountain Heritage Weekend – Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28-29 – as an acoustic music legend pays a visit for a concert at the Ramsey Center and the university holds its 33rd annual Mountain Heritage Day festival.
“The Prince of Dark Corners,” the new film adaptation of a play written by Sylva’s Gary Carden, will be premiered at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Rare glimpses of the African-American experience in Appalachia are featured in “Let the Thunder Roar: A Pictorial History of African-Americans of Jackson County, N.C.,” a new exhibit on display through Wednesday, Oct. 17, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Overall student enrollment at Western Carolina University has topped 9,000 for the first time, with significant growth in the number of community college transfers and graduate students.
A 5-kilometer foot race and 1-mile “Fun Run” will be held on the Western Carolina University campus Saturday, Sept. 29, as part of festivities at WCU’s 33rd annual Mountain Heritage Day.
Local residents are invited to enter their canned, dried or baked goods in “A Gathering In,” the traditional foods competition that is just one of the contests held in conjunction with Mountain Heritage Day, Western Carolina University’s annual celebration of traditional mountain culture.
Tickets go on sale Monday, Aug. 27, for a pre-Mountain Heritage Day performance at Western Carolina University by acoustic music virtuoso Sam Bush.
The University Chorus will present an evening of choral and vocal music at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in the recital hall of Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.
A physical wall representing the “wall of oppression” built by discrimination, racism, sexism and other “isms” will be built and then torn down on the A.K. Hinds University Center lawn as part of Western Carolina University's eighth annual Diversity Week.
Western Carolina University is offering aqua aerobics classes in the Reid Gymnasium pool through Thursday, Dec. 6.
Western Carolina University’s online bachelor’s degree program in criminal justice has been given a No. 1 national ranking in affordability by the distance education information clearinghouse GetEducated.com.
Western Carolina University recently received its first delivery of biodiesel –1,480 gallons for a tank that fuels some Cat Tran shuttle vehicles, electric utility trucks, dump trucks, trash trucks and heavy equipment.
Western Carolina University will offer the second session of a grant-writing workshop, titled “Let’s Get a Grant,” from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in Room 143 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
The University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission will host 11 community listening forums across North Carolina during September and October to discuss how the multi-campus University can best meet the changing needs of the state and its people over the next 20 years.
Western Carolina University’s online Master of Entrepreneurship Program has been recognized as one of the five best online entrepreneurship programs in the nation by Fortune Small Business magazine.
Prospective college students who want to find out what college life is all about will have an opportunity to get their questions answered as Western Carolina University holds Open House on Saturday, Sept. 15.
The Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, the resident brass quintet of Western Carolina University, will perform a benefit “Sunday in the Park” concert on Sunday, Sept. 16, to help raise funds for Alzheimer’s disease research.
Leaders at WCU and U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler agreed Wednesday (Aug. 22) to work together whenever possible for the benefit of the people of the region that the university serves and the district that the congressman represents.
The fall “Living With the Land” folk life series will begin at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, Sept. 11, with a presentation by Dave Cooper, a Lexington, Ky., resident who travels across the nation educating communities about the effects of the mountaintop removal involved in coal extraction.
Undergraduate students at Western Carolina University are sharing their innovative product, process and service ideas in a competition that began Wednesday, Sept. 5.
The Western Carolina University accountancy program will hold its annual fall banquet at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, at the Waynesville Country Club Inn.
Joan MacNeill of Webster is the new chair of the board of trustees at WCU. The newest board member is Teresa H. Williams of Huntersville.
The Mountain Heritage Center extended an exhibit on natural history explorer William Bartram through Sunday, Sept. 30.
Michael Dougherty, dean of the College of Education and Allied Professions at Western Carolina University since July 1998, will be stepping down from the position at the end of the 2007-08 academic year.
What began at Western Carolina University seven years ago as a program of community service quickly grew into a department and is now a center – the Center for Service Learning.
The Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series at WCU will feature seven cultural arts programs during the 2007-08 academic year, including a theatrical show, spoken word and an opera.
The Carolinas Photonics Consortium formally announced the CPC Pilot Funding Program in a statewide video conference held August 14 at Western Carolina University.
Western’s new student e-mail service, Catamount Mail, will roll out this fall. All students will receive Catamount Mail accounts at the beginning of the fall semester. Existing WCU student e-mail accounts will be phased out by fall break.
Beginning Monday, Aug. 20, Western Carolina University students, faculty and staff who live in off-campus housing can take a Jackson County Transit bus to Western.
Actress and singer Linda Lavin, a star of stage and screen with a Tony and two Golden Globe awards to her credit, will be performing at WCU at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8, in the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Two employees of the city of Asheville are working toward master’s degrees in public affairs this fall through the municipality’s fellowship program with Western Carolina University.
In his annual Opening Assembly address Wednesday, Aug. 15, to kick off the academic year, Chancellor John W. Bardo told WCU faculty, staff and students that implementing the Quality Enhancement Plan (or QEP) and tenure policy changes will result in a university that is a “steward of place” for the region.
Local history writer and book critic Rob Neufeld will be the featured presenter as the 2007-08 edition of the Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series begins Wednesday, Sept. 5, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Betty Gwen Carlton, assistant professor of nursing at Western Carolina University, is the recipient of a $15,000 award presented by the North Carolina Nurse Scholars Commission.
Listeners who enjoy the classic rock ‘n’ roll hits featured on WCU’s Power 90.5 WWCU-FM radio station are getting a special treat these days, thanks to the persuasive powers of Student General Manager Kyle McCurry.
Western Carolina University is ready to raise the curtain on its 2007-08 theatre season as the University Players hit the stage with three full-length selections—“The Nerd,” “Lucky Stiff” and “Guys and Dolls”—as well as a Festival of One Acts.
Paul Heckert, professor of physics at Western Carolina University, will offer an early-morning lunar eclipse observing session Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Jackson County Airport near Cullowhee.
Two of the nation’s leading experts in the use of DNA technology in criminal investigations will visit WCU on Thursday, Aug. 30, for a pair of public presentations made possible by Tony White, a 1969 graduate of Western.
Live audio from Western Carolina University’s summer commencement was piped to the Caribbean island country of Jamaica as WCU honored approximately 460 graduating students, including 112 Jamaican teachers, on Friday, Aug. 3.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers has announced that Padraig Acheson, Western Carolina University director of television studio operations, has earned its certified television operator professional certification.
In response to a growing need for neutral mediators to resolve agricultural disputes, a course in Superior Court mediation will be offered Oct. 7-11 by the N.C. Agriculture Mediation Program at Western Carolina University.
WCU researchers are using geographic information systems technology and radio transmitters to track timber rattlesnakes to determine whether new mountain subdivisions and road-building are pushing an animal listed as a “species of special concern” toward the endangered list.
The board of trustees of Western Carolina University will hold its quarterly meeting at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 31, in the board room of H.F. Robinson Administration Building.
The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University will begin its 2007-08 season with a celebration of the life and work of acclaimed North Carolina ceramic artist Norm Schulman.
Macon Bank and The Western Carolina University Foundation recently renamed a scholarship fund that provides financial assistance to junior- and senior-level banking majors at Western.
WCU's College of Business is ready to unveil its new Graduate Certificate Program in Project Management, which will be available beginning this fall both fully online and through a combination of online work and regular class meetings in Asheville.
N.C. Gov. Mike Easley signed a $20.7 billion budget bill Tuesday, July 31, that includes $46.2 million in funding for a new health and gerontological sciences building at Western Carolina University.
WCU freshmen have not started classes, but they already have their Freshman Reading Program assignment – “The World Made Straight,” an award-winning novel by WCU faculty member Ron Rash. Before they discuss and write about the book in their fall coursework, they will hear the author speak at Freshman Convocation.
The 2007 Meet the Cats event will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22, at the E. J. Whitmire Stadium on campus at WCU. This event is free and open to the general public.
Macon County government will host an information session for students interested in learning more about Western Carolina University’s master’s degree program in public affairs Tuesday, Aug. 14.
Prospective students can learn about the 100 courses WCU will offer in Asheville this fall semester during an information and registration session set for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16.
Susan Foringer-Burk is the first recipient of a new $1,500 scholarship for graduate students studying communication sciences and disorders at WCU awarded through a fund established by Margie Gibbs Motsinger, a Western alumna and the founder of a Greensboro-based communication and rehabilitative therapy clinic.
Freshman move-in day at WCU this year will have a different twist, with the newest Catamounts scheduled to move into their residence hall rooms on Friday, Aug. 17, instead of the typical Saturday of years past.
Charlotte d’Amboise, Tony Award-nominated star of the revival of “A Chorus Line” on Broadway, is one of the visiting artists taking part in the inaugural “Broadway in the Mountains” summer camp at Western Carolina University.
Western Carolina University graduate student Jean Sitton was recently selected as one of North Carolina’s top 100 nurses.
Representatives of five universities and from private business and industry will convene – some live and in person, others via videoconferencing – at WCU for a daylong symposium Tuesday, Aug. 14, on the future of photonics in North and South Carolina.
Steep-slope development issues and farm preservation will be on the agenda as WCU hosts the Aug. 8-10 Summer Planning Institute and Leadership Conference of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association.
WCU faculty member Julia A. Barnes will deliver the primary address as the university holds summer commencement exercises at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
Western Carolina University student cyclists will ride together as “Catamounts Against Cancer” this month at the only 24-hour charity cycling event in the nation.
WCU's Helder Residence Hall will be demolished this summer as part of a group of construction and renovation projects designed to create more of a “college quad” feel on campus with green space and a pedestrian-friendly environment.
Former Georgia Tech associate head and pitching coach, Bobby Moranda, has been named head baseball coach at Western Carolina University announced today (July 16) by WCU Athletic Director Chip Smith.
Western Carolina University has been selected to appear in a service-learning guidebook for prospective college students, scheduled to be on shelves throughout the nation this fall.
WCU will offer incoming freshmen the opportunity to participate in Western PEAKS, a program designed to help students successfully make the transition from high school to college by encouraging them to make campus connections early in the fall semester.
Ninety-one rising middle school students from Western North Carolina participated in a two-week Pre-College Program at WCU designed to develop interests in science- and mathematics-based fields of higher education.
A successful effort involving a group of Highlands residents the dean of WCU's Honors College in organizing a creative writing course in Highlands over the past month has led to excitement about the prospect of WCU offering more courses next year.
The Institute for the Economy and the Future at WCU is recipient of a $171,000 contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help emergency agencies learn how to overcome jurisdictional obstacles in dealing with natural and man-made disasters.
Two WCU faculty members contribute to a new Highlands Biodiversity Scholarship to help WCU students afford to research at the nearby interinstitutional Highlands Biological Station.
For the third consecutive year, the School-University Teacher Education Partnership at WCU is a finalist for the Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award presented annually by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
WCU and Southwestern Community College announced an educational partnership agreement for SCC’s Macon County Campus in Franklin during a signing ceremony held on the WCU campus on Friday, June 22.
A new inter-institutional agreement among five universities in North and South Carolina is designed to help researchers more quickly move their ideas in the emerging high-tech area of photonics from campus laboratories to the marketplace.
Teresa Cruzan, a communication disorders student at WCU and resident of Asheville, is the recipient of the North Carolina Student Achievement Award presented by the North Carolina Speech, Hearing and Language Association.
When Mark Holliday, professor of computer science, pondered how to participate in The Campaign for Western, his thoughts turned to John Proffitt, one of his first students at Western. Proffitt started a scholarship fund two years ago to benefit computer science students.
WCU's College of Education and Allied Professions recently received a $212,000 grant from the University of North Carolina General Administration for its “2+2 E-Learning” initiative to help satisfy the state’s need for mathematics and science teachers.
WCU will offer the grant-writing workshop “Let’s Get a Grant: Insider Tips” from 9:30 a.m. to noon, Friday, July 20, in Room 143 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
WCU will host the 18th annual Mountain Artisans Summertime Fine Art and Craft Show in the Ramsey Regional Activity Center on Saturday, July 7, and Sunday, July 8.
Western Carolina University will continue with its Summer Concert Series on Tuesday, July 10, with electric violinist Tracy Silverman.
In response to a growing need for health care professionals in the Western North Carolina mountains, WCU in 1999 launched a new master’s degree program in nursing that emphasizes community and rural health issues. Since its inception, the program has produced approximately 50 graduates, many of whom are now working in the region.
Gibbs Knotts, a Western Carolina University political science and public affairs professor, recently teamed with the town of Sylva to create a survey for business owners about their opinions on local issues and services.
Western Carolina University is leasing a parcel of land near a dam on the Tuckaseigee River near the back entrance of campus to Duke Energy, which plans to upgrade a public recreation area and improve river access for kayakers and canoeists.
The Board of Trustees at WCU approved establishment of a new center that will serve as a regional resource for environmental education, research and service focused on the unique mountain ecosystems of Western North Carolina and surrounding areas.
The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees approved an administrative title change for one top administrator and learned of several others as part of its quarterly board meeting Friday, June 1.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will offer a “Mini-Camp for Middle Schoolers” for rising sixth- and seventh-graders from 8:30 a.m. to noon June 26-28.
The cost of parking on campus just got a little easier to handle for WCU faculty and staff. The university’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a change in previously adopted parking fees for the 2007-08 year to enable employees to pay the cost through payroll deduction.
The majority of collegiate textbooks about river contamination lacked all of the information for assessing water quality that Jerry Miller, the Blanton J. Whitmire Distinguished Professor in Environmental Science, wanted his students to have. So Miller and his wife, Suzanne Orbock Miller, decided to take matters into their own hands.
Sue Swanger, director of Western Carolina University’s master’s degree program in accountancy, recently won the Outstanding Educator Award from the N.C. Association of Certified Public Accountants.
The Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University recently opened a new exhibit on natural history explorer William Bartram.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will offer “Mountain Mysteries,” a camp for rising fourth- and fifth-graders, from 8:30 to noon June 18-22.
WCU will host a drop-in lunch and learn information session in Shelby about its graduate-level distance learning gerontology certificate program from noon to 1:30 p.m. Monday, June 11.
Western Carolina University will offer the Tiny Tot Swim Program, designed for children ages 6 months to 5 years old, June 11-15 and June 18-22 in the Breese Pool on campus.
Western Carolina University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center will offer its third annual Galaxy of Stars Series, set to premiere on September 8.
Advancing from the loser's bracket of the NCAA Baseball Championship Regional, Western Carolina was two outs away in the top of the ninth inning from forcing a deciding championship game against top-seeded North Carolina. However, down to its final two chances, the Tar Heels held on in the bottom of the frame to advance Monday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
A group of Western North Carolina high school students will fly to Montana to explore and participate in service-learning projects on two Native American reservations through a new summer enrichment experience offered by Educational Talent Search at WCU.
The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees approved multi-year contract extensions for both of the university’s head basketball coaches Friday, June 1.
The Master of Fine Arts Program at Western Carolina University will host a series of presentations by visiting artists Thursday, June 14, through Wednesday, July 25.
During Asheville Chamber of Commerce's recent "Business After Hours" event (May 24), WCU Chancellor Bardo invited chamber members to visit Western's Cullowhee campus and see for themselves how the university is helping businesses and promoting economic development throughout the region.
WCU, in partnership with the Center on Health and Aging in Erwin, will offer a free drop-in “lunch and learn” information session about its graduate certificate program in gerontology on Wednesday, June 13.
Western Carolina snapped a 13-game losing skid to the East Carolina Pirates with a come-from-behind, 9-5, victory Sunday evening in NCAA Baseball Regional action at Boshamer Stadium. WCU advances to face top-seeded North Carolina in the regional championship on Monday.
Wendy S. Zabava Ford, executive associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University, will become dean of WCU's newly reconfigured College of Arts and Sciences on July 1.
A new graduate program designed to prepare scientists for careers in the “business” of the science and technology industry marks the latest expansion of WCU's programs that support regional development and innovation.
In the last pairing of the final regional bracket announced on Monday afternoon, Western Carolina garnered the school's second at-large post-season bid all-time as the Catamounts were tabbed a three-seed in the Chapel Hill regional. WCU will face directional rival, East Carolina, at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon at UNC's Boshamer Stadium.
Marty Ramsey, alumni affairs director and 1985 WCU graduate, wanted his participation in The Campaign for Western to help academics and athletics, so he is directing his gifts to the Alumni Association Scholarship, the Loyalty Fund and summer school scholarships for student-athletes.
H. Samuel Miller Jr., associate vice president for student affairs at the University of Connecticut, has been selected as the next vice chancellor for student affairs at Western Carolina University.
Singer and songwriter Tom Fisch of Flat Rock will kick off the Summer Concert Series at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, June 5.
The American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive on the Western Carolina University campus Tuesday, June 5, to stock up on much-needed blood supplies for the summer season.
Twenty-two Western Carolina University English students recently were inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honors society.
The Craft Revival Project at WCU's Hunter Library recently hosted an all-day workshop for area school teachers to give them some hands-on experience in quilts and other handcrafts.
Jennifer Howe of Whittier recently received WCU's Malcolm J. Loughlin Scholarship during the induction ceremony of the Mu Epsilon chapter of Alpha Sigma Lamba national honor society.
Western Carolina University will offer “Learning for Fun: Construction Camp for Middle Schoolers” from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday, July 30, though Friday, Aug.3.
Sixty-four eighth-grade students from Cane River Middle School recently visited Western Carolina University for a day of scientific discovery that included DNA experiments and archeological research.
Robert C. Johnson, an instructor of music at Western Carolina University, will make two presentations at the College Music Society’s International Convention in Bangkok, Thailand, this summer.
Students from Western Carolina University’s chapter of Phi Beta Lambda honor society in business recently attended a state leadership conference and received awards for their knowledge in business fields.
Like many other working adults, Joe Hough, assistant principal at Reynolds High School in Asheville, is enrolled in online classes through WCU, using his spare time to make progress toward a graduate degree. But, these days, when Hough heads to work, instead of entering the halls of Reynolds High, he joins his fellow National Guard members in helping keep the roads open around Tikrit, Iraq.
Linda Seestedt-Stanford, assistant dean of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions at Central Michigan University, has been named founding dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Western Carolina University.
Officials from WCU and the N.C. Community College System announced Wednesday, May 9, a new cooperative agreement aligning course requirements at the university and all 58 community colleges across the state so that students know exactly what to expect when they transfer to WCU.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will sponsor a “Salamander Stroll” for families from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 20.
Two WCU nursing students, Brianna Bridges of Asheville and Leslie Elliott of Marion, claimed both of Mission Health and Hospitals’ “Extern of the Year” awards for 2006-07.
WCU's musical theatre program will hold a weeklong summer camp for high school and college students ages 16 to 22 who are interested in learning the art and craft of musical theatre performance.
“From Making Connections to Making Commitments: Improving Pedagogy, Engaging Students and Building Communities” will be the theme of the third annual Service Learning Symposium at Western Carolina University on Thursday, June 14.
The term “wetland” is not typically associated with the mountain environment that surrounds Western Carolina University, but a group of WCU students received some valuable training in how to mark a wetland boundary not too far from campus.
WCU recently presented six Western North Carolina community agencies with Service Learning Partnership Awards in recognition of exemplary collaboration with university students and faculty working on community service projects that are linked to the academic curriculum.
Western Carolina University and M7 Event Solutions will co-host Business After Hours with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, May 24, at 5:30 p.m. at Claxton Farm, 10 miles north of downtown Asheville.
Traditional and folk musicians from across the state will share the stage with the North Carolina Symphony in a performance Wednesday, May 23, in WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center.
At WCU, the first class of 11 registered nurses who are working toward their master's degrees and training as CRNAs, are learning how to use anesthetics on their patients, how to monitor their level of consciousness during various procedures, and what to watch for as they come out of anesthesia.
WCU presented honorary doctorates to Asheville businessman and philanthropist Joe W. Kimmel and to mountaineer and longtime benefactor Robert M. Failing as the university held spring commencement exercises Saturday (May 5) at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
Since the launch of the new WCU Web site last October, the Office of Web Services has been focused on further development of the pages of the initial rollout, working on the second round of site redesigns, and conforming WCU's new content management system to the needs of the university.
The board of trustees of Western Carolina University will hold its quarterly meeting at 9:30 a.m. Friday, June 1, in the board room of H.F. Robinson Administration Building.
Twenty health-occupation students from Cherokee High School recently visited Western for a daylong “nursing immersion” program as part of a project called Pathways to Our Future. The project is designed to help students explore nursing and other career possibilities in the field of health care.
Ronald A. Johnson, who holds the JP Morgan Chase Chair in Finance in the Jesse H. Jones School of Business at Texas Southern University, is the next dean of the College of Business at WCU.
Fast-moving mountain landslides called “debris flows” topped the news in September 2004 when one such slide killed five people in Macon County’s Peeks Creek community, but it is another type of less-understood slope failure that is the focus of a long-term research project involving WCU geology students and faculty, and the state’s Geological Survey and Department of Transportation.
WCU junior Jennie V. Dowdle of Franklin has been named recipient of the Rotary Foundation’s Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship and will spend the first three months of 2008 studying Spanish at a school in Costa Rica.
WCU will present honorary doctorates to Asheville businessman and philanthropist Joe W. Kimmel and to mountaineer and long-time benefactor Robert M. Failing, and also give out a major alumni award as the university holds spring commencement exercises at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 5.
A survey conducted by WCU's department of applied criminology indicates that, in spite of the lessons learned from the 2001 terror attacks and from Hurricane Katrina, Western North Carolina’s first responder agencies are not receiving the support necessary to effectively respond to emergencies.
WCU will offer the Tiny Tot Swim Program from Monday, May 7, through Friday, May 18, for children 6 months through 5 years old.
A former Cullowhee Valley Elementary School principal will lead a program on toy-making when the next Arti-Facts! program for children is held Sunday, May 6, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Don Connelly, director of WCU’s broadcasting program, and Joe Mullins, a senior majoring in broadcasting, received national awards for radio production work at the Broadcast Education Association Convention Festival of Media Arts held recently in Las Vegas.
WCU is the recipient of a $267,477 grant from the University of North Carolina Division of University-School Programs for its project designed to integrate literacy, mathematics and technology in elementary and middle school science education.
WCU recently received a grant in the amount of $125,000 for the continuation of its SCIENCES program, an 18-month project designed to improve science education in Alleghany County middle schools.
WCU's Hunter Library recently announced winners for the April 2007 Cullowhee Edible Book Festival, co-sponsored semi-annually with the university’s department of art and design.
Students in Anna Fariello’s history class on museum exhibitions are putting their final project to work at WCU's Hunter Library from April 25 through the end of the 2007 fall semester.
Three WCU broadcasting students have been selected to attend the prestigious Media Sales Institute at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University following graduation this spring.
Bob Buckner, director of WCU's Pride of the Mountains Marching Band, will serve as guest conductor when Jackson County’s first community band presents a Mother’s Day concert on Sunday, May 13, at 2 p.m.
Students and faculty at WCU will assist the town of Canton in its ongoing efforts to fully recover from the devastating floods of 2004, thanks to a grant from a national community-based research program.
On a somber day that matched the mood and with light raindrops falling from the sky accompanying the tears in the eyes of participants, the WCU community paused Tuesday, April 24, to honor the memories of nine students who died during the past year.
The heads of Southwestern Community College and Western Carolina University signed an agreement on Monday (April 23) for a new partnership that will help students who are not quite ready for college-level courses at Western to prepare for full admittance.
Julia Ann Barnes, associate professor of mathematics and computer science at WCU, has been named one of the best teachers in the University of North Carolina system, earning praise for using creative ways to help her students understand difficult mathematical concepts.
The old joke goes that the only way you can get to Carnegie Hall is to practice, practice, practice. Or, you could simply join the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet at the famous music hall for the group’s debut in New York this summer. The quintet, composed of Western music professors, will perform at Carnegie Hall on Friday, June 8.
WCU presented its top faculty and staff awards for teaching, research and service for the 2006-07 academic year Friday, April 20, at its annual spring General Faculty Meeting and Awards Convocation.
WCU's annual spring fling will take place on Friday, April 27, in the form of a carnival complete with rides, midway games and festival food. The event, open to the general public, will be held at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center from 4 until 8 p.m.
Jason Coggins, a graduate student in WCU's Master of Public Affairs Program, is the recipient of the 2007 Jake Wicker Scholarship awarded by the North Carolina City and County Managers Association.
When Susan Parrot Ward and her husband returned to Western recently for the dedication of a ceramics studio in their names, it was only the latest development in a long and rewarding association with Joan Byrd, professor in what is now the department of art and design.
WCU has chosen Microsoft’s Windows Live as its new e-mail system for WCU students. Once implemented, Windows Live will replace current server-based e-mail accounts, becoming students’ official university-business account system.
Two members of WCU fraternities have received prestigious honors, with one having returned recently from Washington, D.C., after representing his organization in meetings with Congressional representatives, and the other beginning a term as president of the governing body of men’s fraternal organizations in the Southeast.
Thanks to the work of Cynthia Brown, an assistant professor of applied criminology at WCU, the state of Mississippi is recipient of a $1.7 million federal grant to create an electronic health data system designed to prevent the type of communication problems that arose from Hurricane Katrina.
“The Connoisseurship of Collecting: Cherokee Baskets,” a program offering an in-depth look at Cherokee basket-collecting, will be held at WCU's Mountain Heritage Center at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 29.
WCU's Symphony Band, directed by Philip Morgan, and Wind Ensemble, directed by John T. West, will present a joint concert featuring student conductors and soloists at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 26, in the recital hall of WCU’s Coulter Building.
Western Carolina University Chancellor John W. Bardo and the university community react to the recent Virginia Tech tragedy.
Students and faculty members of WCU's department of communication, theatre and dance will present dance concerts on Thursday, April 26, and Friday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m.
A new breed of cat soon will be on the prowl at the Hickory Metro Convention Center, as the WCU Catamount Club moves the cornerstone event of its efforts to raise funds for student-athlete scholarships from Charlotte to Hickory.
Amanda Buchanan is the first member of her family to go to college. Now with a bachelor’s degree from WCU, she has become the first student from Cherokee County to be admitted to North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh.
The WCU student group Eco CATS (Conservation Awareness Team for Sustainability) will sponsor an Earth Day celebration Friday, April 20 and a showing of the slideshow “An Inconvenient Truth” Thursday, April 26.
Western Carolina University and the town of Sylva will host a Recycled Fashion Show that is free and open to the public on Monday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. in WCU’s Niggli Theater.
Western Carolina University’s Fine Art Museum will host a meet and greet reception for rock ‘n’ roll photographer George Shuba at about 9:15 p.m. on Friday, April 27.
British art critic and publisher Derek Guthrie will present a public lecture, “Performing Monkeys and the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg – The Artist Dances for Postmodernism,” at WCU Saturday, April 21.
Those who worked with the late Malcolm Loughlin miss the Wales native’s “Bye, love!” and how he went the extra mile – no, miles – for others and for education. To honor him, Pat Brown, dean of educational outreach, chose to participate in The Campaign for Western through supporting the Malcolm J. Loughlin Scholarship Fund.
WCU will present a series of choral concerts April 20-21, featuring WCU choral groups and students from three high schools as part of the 26th annual High School Invitational Choral Clinic.
The University Players at Western Carolina University will close the 2006-07 theatre season with the comedy “All in the Timing” staging April 18-22.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will celebrate the spring season by sponsoring a wildflower walk for families from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 22.
There is still time to sign up for Western Carolina University’s Tuckaseigee River Cleanup, scheduled for Saturday, April 21.
Three candidates for the position of vice chancellor for student affairs at Western Carolina University will visit campus in April and May for interviews, including an open forum and reception for each candidate.
Public receptions for three candidates selected as finalists for the position of dean of Western Carolina University’s newly reconfigured College of Arts and Sciences will be held on campus in April.
Western Carolina University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center will offer its second annual Sizzlin’ Summer Shorts Series with events throughout the summer, kicking off on May 23.
Five WCU students will join University of North Carolina system President Erskine Bowles and about 100 other students from UNC system schools on Tuesday, April 17, for “Research in the Capital,” an undergraduate research symposium held for the N.C. General Assembly in Raleigh.
Two historians will speak on “Color Lines: Race, Suburbs and Southern Politics” when they visit Western Carolina University on Thursday, April 19, as part of the university’s Visiting Scholars Series.
WCU will celebrate the cultures of its international students and faculty at its 28th annual International Festival, this year to be held Wednesday, April 18, from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
A national search for the next dean of the College of Business at WCU has narrowed the list down to three finalists who will take part in a series of public receptions on campus and in Sylva and Asheville as part of the selection process.
Claudia Bryant, assistant professor of political science at Western Carolina University, was recently elected president of the North Carolina Political Science Association.
Scholars, writers, musicians and enthusiasts of Appalachian culture will gather at WCU as part of National Library Week activities to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the publication of the Encyclopedia of Appalachia by the University of Tennessee Press.
WCU’s Last Minute Productions and Base Camp Cullowhee are looking for volunteers to help remove a year’s accumulation of trash from a section of the Tuckaseigee River in Jackson County Saturday, April 21.
Having followed very different paths in life, at first glance it would appear that Catherine Belair and John Greene do not have much in common. However, they both have a passion for education and working with young people and are among 23 adults preparing for licensure through the NC TEACH program at WCU.
An information session will be held in Asheville on Thursday, April 12, for individuals interested in graduate studies in business and management through WCU.
Western North Carolina school teachers can win scholarships to pay the cost of a graduate-level course in education through WCU’s “Invest in Teachers Scholarship” program.
WCU is currently accepting applications for its Mountain Dulcimer Week, to be held June 24-29. The event will feature dulcimer-playing courses for all skill levels – from those who have never played before to experienced musicians.
Elementary and middle school students from the Western North Carolina region are invited to attend the fourth annual Cullowhee Creativity Camp, to take place in the Killian Building on the campus of WCU from Monday, June 18, through Friday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thirty-one WCU undergraduate students and four faculty members will be traveling to California on Thursday, April 12, to join representatives from more than 300 other colleges at the 21st annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Western Carolina University will offer art workshops throughout April as a part of the “Learning for Fun” series.
WCU political science and public affairs students will hear how a major corporation lobbies state and federal government officials when Doug Bailey, a graduate of the WCU program, returns to his alma mater as keynote speaker at a departmental end-of-year banquet.
WCU's Theatre in Education Program will present “Dogwood’s Search,” a student-directed play for young audiences, at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 19, and 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, in the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
The Western Carolina University music department will present a concert by renowned flutist William Bennett at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 11.
Cane Creek Middle, Carolina Day and Roberson High schools were the top competitors Thursday, March 29, at Western Carolina University’s 37th Annual High School Mathematics Contest.
WCU political science student Chris Douglas was recently awarded the “best undergraduate paper” prize for his essay presented at the North Carolina Political Science Association conference.
A national psychological association recently honored WCU clinical psychology graduate student Lauren Drerup for her submitted work to a conference for psychopathology research.
Tickets are on sale now for an upcoming concert by rock ‘n’ roll band Hinder at WCU's Ramsey Center.The concert line-up, presented by Last Minute Productions, is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 14, and will include a special guest performance by rock band Puddle of Mudd.
Several Western Carolina University departments and student organizations will sponsor the annual “Take Back the Night” March, part of a worldwide effort to help end violence, on Tuesday, April 10.
More than 200 musicians from 50 high schools across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia will gather at WCU to participate in the 27th Annual Honor Band Festival Friday, April 13, and Saturday, April 14.
The “Galaxy of Stars: Legends on Stage” continues at WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center on Sunday, April 15, with “Amadeus,” a performance by the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada, at 7:30 p.m.
Bob Buckner, director of athletic bands for Western, has been invited by the MENC: The National Association for Music Education to help launch the first-ever, high-school All-American Marching Band and serve as show coordinator and director of the ensemble.
A student team from McDowell High School won top honors as WCU sponsored its 18th annual Computer Science Programming Contest on Tuesday, March 27.
WCU will launch the Half Frame Film Festival, a daylong celebration of documentary filmmaking, on Monday, April 9, featuring Laura Poitras, director of the Academy Award-nominated “My Country, My Country.”
Western Carolina University’s most unusual musical group, the Low Tech Ensemble, will perform a concert of “gamelan” music on Wednesday, April 11, at 8 p.m.
The “Telling Mountain Stories” folk life series will continue at WCU on Wednesday, April 4, with a presentation by Cherokee language traditionalist Nannie Taylor.
Western Carolina University’s fourth annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Faire to be held April 2-3 will center on “Making Connections.”
Relay for Life of Western Carolina University will be held on the A.K. Hinds University Center lawn Friday, April 13, at 6 p.m. and will proceed until 6 a.m. Saturday, April 14.
Western Carolina University’s Teacher Support Program recently launched a regional search to find teachers of students who are both deaf and blind to extend free support services to those teachers.
Regis M. Gilman, formerly director of the Appalachian Transition to Teaching Program at Appalachian State University and member of the ASU leadership and educational studies graduate faculty, is WCU's new associate dean of the Division of Educational Outreach.
The Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, the resident brass quintet of Western Carolina University, will be performing a recital at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, as part of the Catamount Concert Series.
The WCU Concert Choir and the Western Carolina Community Chorus will be joined by the WCU Artist-in-Residence Orchestra at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 1, for a performance of Bach’s Lenten cantata, “Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death,” and Beethoven’s oratorio on the passion of Christ, “Christ on the Mount of Olives.”
The WCU board of trustees recently approved an agreement with one of the nation’s largest wireless telecommunications companies that will mean fewer dropped calls for its Cullowhee-area customers and an additional $15,000 annually in university coffers.
It just became more expensive – and more risky – for scofflaws who regularly ignore campus parking policies at WCU. The WCU board of trustees unanimously approved changes to campus parking and traffic regulations, toughening the penalties imposed upon repeat offenders.
A student art exhibition and sale will take place at WCU's Fine Art Museum, with an opening reception and awards ceremony Thursday, March 29, from 4 until 6 p.m.
WCU will host the sixth annual Gender Research Conference from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, in A.K. Hinds University Center, with activities focusing on the theme “Gender in the Arts.”
Research conducted by WCU's undergraduate students, along with other examples of students’ creative talents, will be on display Monday, March 26, through Thursday, March 29, as WCU’s Honors College sponsors Undergraduate Expo 2007.
WCU senior Sacha Witt was recently selected to participate in the Eastern Trombone Workshop’s national solo competition.
Sir Harold Kroto, winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for chemistry, will visit WCU on Monday, April 2, to help scientists and laymen alike better understand their respective responsibilities to wisely use the tools of modern technology while preserving the world’s natural resources.
WCU's Catamount Chamber Singers and Instrumental Ensemble will present a program of jazz, popular song standards and Broadway tunes at 8 p.m. Monday, April 2, in the recital hall of the Coulter Building. The concert is free and open to the public.
Residents of the Mountain Trace Nursing Center took a trip down memory lane Friday, March 16, when students from WCU’s Recreational Therapy Association organized a “senior prom” as part of a service learning project.
Bill Gradison, a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a non-profit corporation created by Congress in 2002 following a series of high-profile accounting and bankruptcy scandals, will deliver a pair of presentations in the region on Wednesday, March 28, as a part of the speaker series of WCU's College of Business.
About 375 high school students from across Western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia gathered at WCU on Thursday, March 15, to test their knowledge of French and Spanish in the university’s 25th annual Foreign Language Contest.
Award-winning writer Charles Baxter, whose novella “The Feast of Love” inspired a movie to be released this fall starring Morgan Freeman, Alexa Davalos and Greg Kinnear, joins authors who will be featured at WCU's Spring Literary Festival.
About 40 students from five Western North Carolina high schools will gather Tuesday, March 27, for Western Carolina University’s 18th annual Computer Science Programming Contest.
More than 500 Jackson County students recently entered their artwork in WCU's exhibition in celebration of the annual Jackson County Youth Art Month and the National Youth Art Month. The artwork will be on display in the Fine and Performing Arts Center’s north hallway through Friday, March 30.
WCU will host its 37th Annual High School Mathematics Contest Thursday, March 29, with more than 500 of the region’s top high school and junior high school mathematics students competing.
Western Carolina University will offer the popular Tiny Tot Swim Program and the Youth Swim program throughout spring and summer.
Western Carolina University will offer an opportunity for adults to learn to swim from 6-6:50 p.m. April 1-5, in the university’s Breese Gymnasium pool.
John N. Gardner, an educator and student retention specialist, will talk about the challenges and issues facing first-year college students Tuesday, March 27, at 7 p.m. in the Grandroom of the University Center.
Virginia Tech scored nine-straight points as a part of a 22-to-6 run to grab a game-high, 16-point advantage en route to downing the Lady Catamounts, 74-64, Saturday night (March 17) at the Cassell Coliseum in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Western Carolina University’s communication and media relations efforts recently received several awards of recognition from a national higher education organization.
The Fine and Performing Arts Center at WCU will be the site of an arts weekend March 23-24 featuring jazz, big band, rock ‘n’ roll and "heavy metal"–an “iron pour,” an artistic activity in which iron is heated, melted and poured into molds to create sculpture.
The Public Relations Student Society of America chapter at WCU will hold its annual Crisis Communication Day on Friday, March 23. The event will take place from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on the third floor of A.K. Hinds University Center.
Western Carolina University and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College are teaming up to prepare more teachers for the area’s elementary and middle school classrooms.
WCU's annual Jazz Festival will take place Friday, March 23, and Saturday, March 24, with several jazz clinics during the weekend led by guest saxophonist Chris Cheek and guest trumpeter Rich Willey.
A task force conducting an in-depth examination of the WCU football program will hold its first meetings Tuesday, March 20, to seek input from anyone interested in Catamount football.
Nationally known financial analyst Gina Martin of Wachovia Bank will present the keynote address during a March 20-22 “Banking Kickoff” planned at WCU to celebrate a new banking concentration in WCU’s College of Business.
The scholarly research of WCU's graduate students will be showcased during the university’s 15th annual Graduate Research Symposium on Thursday, March 22, at A.K. Hinds University Center.
The board of trustees of Western Carolina University will hold its quarterly meeting at 9:30 a.m. Friday, March 23, in the Multipurpose Room of the A.K. Hinds University Center.
A historian of mathematics who researched a Harvard professor’s role in discovering the planet Neptune will deliver the keynote address at the third annual Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Research Conference on the History of Mathematics at WCU on Saturday, March 31.
Student teams from Fairview Elementary and Reynolds High schools in Buncombe County and Andrews Middle School in Cherokee County came out ahead of the pack by winning two first-place awards each during the Schuncke Memorial Odyssey of the Mind Tournament held Saturday, March 3, at WCU.
Sparked by an early 14-0 run and a season-best 54 first-half points, the Western Carolina Lady Catamounts raced to a double-digit lead six minutes into last night's game (March 15) and never let up, advancing to the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) with a 91-63 thrashing of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers.
Students from area school systems recently took top honors at WCU's regional Science Fair and Festival and earned the right to advance to the North Carolina State Science Fair in Raleigh on Saturday, March 24.
Regular season Southern Conference champion Western Carolina (23-9) will host former SoCon foe East Tennessee State (20-11) this Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Ramsey Center in the first round of the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
More than 375 high school students from across Western North Carolina will test their knowledge of French and Spanish on Thursday, March 15, in WCU’s 25th Annual Foreign Language Contest.
WCU's Mountain Heritage Center will offer a program combo on Sunday, March 18 – a presentation on “The Scottish Presence in Southern Samplers” and a program designed for families titled “What’s With the Weather?”
Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, assistant to the principal chief for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, will give a presentation about a new Cherokee writing project as the Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series continues Wednesday, March 21, at WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center.
The music department at Western Carolina University will continue with its Catamount Concert Series on Tuesday, March 27, featuring the Bremen Clarinet Quartet.
The “Telling Mountain Stories” folk life series will continue at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, March 13, with a presentation by Cherokee storyteller Tom Hill.
Area minority students interested in learning about the educational opportunities available at WCU are invited to visit the campus for “Experience Western” on Saturday, March 17, and Sunday, March 18.
A team of WCU students is currently ranked eighth among the nation's colleges in the number of student abstracts that have been accepted for presentation at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
WCU's College of Education and Allied Profession’s Center for Mathematics and Science Education is now offering a Pre-College Program for students in grades six through 12.
Rather than spending spring break at the beach, a group of WCU students are heading to Philadelphia to combat hunger and homelessness.
Thirteen undergraduate and graduate students from WCU recently participated in the annual spring auditions for the North Carolina chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
A team of four WCU students recently recorded a third-place finish in a competition that tested the skills of emergency medical service providers from college campuses across the United States and Canada.
Western Carolina University graduate student Laurel Fisher won first place in the graduate division auditions of the Charlotte Opera Guild on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Paul Basler, professor of music at the University of Florida, will present a recital on horn at Western Carolina University on Wednesday, March 14.
Two of the eight acclaimed authors to gather at Western Carolina University for the fifth annual Spring Literary Festival, set for March 26-29, have close ties to the university.
WCU's Spring Literary Festival will host a free writing workshop centered on capturing local and personal histories on Saturday, March 10, and Saturday, March 17, from 1-3 p.m. in the meeting room of the Jackson County Public Library, 755 W. Main St., Sylva.
Twenty-one seniors in the Fine Arts Program at WCU will present a thesis exhibition in the areas of ceramics, painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture from Thursday, March 1, through Saturday, March 24, in the Fine Arts Museum.
An “iron pour” will take place at Western Carolina University on Friday, March 23, as part of a weekend celebration of the arts.
The Fine Art Museum at WCU will feature photographs of famous rock ‘n’ roll musicians in the exhibit “Cleveland Rocks: The Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Photographs of George Shuba” March 15 through May 12.
The world-famous Count Basie Orchestra will perform at WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center on Friday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. as part of a weekend of activities in conjunction with the annual WCU Jazz Festival.
WCU will be celebrating the annual Jackson County Youth Art Month with an exhibit of student work beginning on Monday, March 12, and continuing until Friday, March 30.
WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo officially launched on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s 118-year history, a drive to raise at least $40 million in private support to help meet a renewed emphasis on academic quality.
The winter series of old-time and bluegrass music jam sessions sponsored by WCU's Mountain Heritage Center will conclude when local musicians get together to pick and sing on Thursday, March 15.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will offer a basket-making workshop with Cherokee basketmaker Katrina Maney from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 25.
Robert Kehrberg, longtime head of Western Carolina University’s department of music, has been appointed to the dean’s position in the university’s new College of Fine and Performing Arts, effective next July 1.
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center is offering a pair of programs on Sunday, March 4, that has a common theme – weaving.
The “Galaxy of Stars: Legends on Stage” continues at WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center with an already sold-out performance by Cirque Le Masque and a puppet extravaganza by Wood and Strings Theatre.
Some 360 students in kindergarten through 12th grade will be demonstrating their creativity and teamwork Saturday, March 3, as the Schuncke Memorial Odyssey of the Mind Tournament is held at WCU.
Three federally funded programs located at Western Carolina University observed National TRIO Day Saturday, Feb. 24, in recognition of a nationwide effort to help young people overcome barriers to educational success.
What began for WCU student Marguerite “Maggie” Belli as an interest in scouting and outdoor activities has turned into a national leadership position in the Venturing organization, a division of the Boy Scouts of America. And that position is taking her to the White House and Congress for this year’s presentation of the Scouts’ annual report.
Two books co-authored by Tom Hatley, Western Carolina University’s Sequoyah Distinguished Professor in Cherokee Studies, that focus on cultures on opposite sides of the world have recently been reissued.
Paul Heckert, professor of physics at WCU, will offer a lunar eclipse observing session Saturday, March 3, at the Jackson County Airport near Cullowhee. The eclipse will begin at moonrise, at about 6:30 p.m., and will end by 8 p.m.
Western Carolina University will charter a chapter of the national leadership honor society Omicron Delta Kappa at the A.K. Hinds University Center on Thursday, March 1.
The conversations that surfaced during a panel discussion in October about bridging the gap between academic and student services gained so much momentum that some faculty members planned a day-long event called Faculty Enrichment and Education Day, which was held Wednesday, Feb. 21.
The wintertime series of old-time and bluegrass music jam sessions sponsored by Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will continue Thursday, March 1, with a performance by local bluegrass band the Stoney Creek Boys.
Western Carolina University will offer two sessions of youth swim review March 4-8 in the University’s Breese Gymnasium pool. A beginner class will be offered from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. and an advanced beginner class runs from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.
About 200 students from Western North Carolina will get a chance to voice their opinions on a variety of local, state and federal government issues, while getting an interactive lesson on the legislative process when they convene in a youth assembly organized by WCU's Public Policy Institute Saturday, March 24.
Western Carolina University senior Kevin Moore is the recipient of a G. Herbert Stout Student Award for a final project he completed in two natural resources management classes.
An open house and reception will be held 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, for “Cherokee Baskets and Their Makers,” an exhibit currently on display at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
WCU's Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series will present an “Evening of Spoken Word” featuring poet, actor and musician Saul Williams at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
When a big-time publishing firm asked WCU's Brian Railsback to edit an encyclopedia about legendary American writer John Steinbeck, the longtime Steinbeck fan jumped at the chance. Now, 13 years after he began the 544-page book, “A John Steinbeck Encyclopedia” has been published by Greenwood Press.
Students and faculty members from the costume shop at WCU have been preparing all semester for the production “The Music Man,” set to open Thursday, Feb. 22, with the most costumes they have ever had to make for a single show.
Patrons of music and drama will have an opportunity to help fund musical theater scholarships and meet Broadway legend Terrence Mann following WCU's opening night performance of “The Music Man” on Thursday Feb. 22.
Western Carolina University students earned state awards and recognition recently at the North Carolina Association of Residence Halls annual conference, held on the WCU campus.
Western Carolina University recently named Susan Swanger, associate professor of accounting, director for the Master of Accountancy Program. Swanger replaces Philip Little, who had led the program since its inception in 1996.
Western Carolina University will offer “Learning for Fun: Portfolio Bookmaking” from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, in Room 150 of the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Science students from 16 Western North Carolina counties will come together at WCU on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 21 and 22, to display science projects and compete for the opportunity to exhibit at the North Carolina State Science Fair in Raleigh.
Western Carolina University Chancellor John W. Bardo will deliver the Spring 2007 State of the University address today (Tuesday, Feb. 20) at 3 p.m. To watch from your web browser, please go to:
http://ustream.wcu.edu/~keynote/bardo.mov .
The “Telling Mountain Stories” folk life series will continue at WCU on Tuesday, Feb. 20, with a screening of the documentary film “The Queen Family: Appalachian Tradition and Back Porch Music.”
Anne Mitchell Whisnant, author of “Super-Scenic Motorway,” a history of the Blue Ridge Parkway, will be the featured presenter as the Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series continues Wednesday, Feb. 21, at WCU's Mountain Heritage Center.
Longstanding ties that link Western North Carolina and a South Korean university were further bolstered with the signing of an agreement that will allow for the exchange of students and faculty between Western Carolina University and the Asian school.
Western Carolina University’s College of Business will offer a mediation training workshop focusing on U.S. Department of Agriculture program issues Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 22-24.
The Western Carolina University Art Club will offer “Hula Hoop Making” from 7 to 9 p.m., Monday, Feb. 19, in Room 150 of the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Prospective college students who want to find out what college life is all about will have an opportunity to get their questions answered as Western Carolina University holds Open House on Saturday, Feb. 17.
“Birds of Prey,” a program about raptors of the Southern Appalachians, will be presented Sunday, Feb. 18, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Two WCU students, Vanessa Lange and Sarah Ryckman, are the recipients of scholarships that will enable them to study abroad this year.
The winter series of old-time and bluegrass music jam sessions sponsored by WCU's Mountain Heritage Center will continue Thursday, Feb. 15, with a performance by Cullowhee Creek, a group of musicians composed of WCU students.
A new book penned by faculty member Mimi Fenton explores the connection between the concept of hope and land in the works of 17th-century English author John Milton – an examination, she says, that has relevance for a modern society that seems to have largely lost its need for that connection.
The “Films 4 Thought” film series will be held at Western Carolina University throughout February as part of Black History Month activities.
Western Carolina University’s department of communication, theatre and dance will present the Tony Award-winning musical “The Music Man” by Meredith Willson, a production being directed by WCU’s own Broadway star and legend, Terrence Mann.
Photographer Mike Smith will present a free public lecture about his work in a program at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12, at Western Carolina University in Room 130 of the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
The Western Carolina University department of music will present a program of choral music at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, as part of the Catamount Concert Series.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers recently announced that Michael Rymell, a student in WCU's broadcasting program, has earned its certified television operator professional certification.
Susan Leveille, a Western North Carolina artist and teacher, will present a program about the history of the Appalachian craft industry at WCU's Mountain Heritage Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13.
“The World Made Straight,” the latest novel by Ron Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at Western Carolina University, is one of the nation’s top 10 books for teenage readers.
Western Carolina University has been named a provider of nursing continuing education by the North Carolina Nurses Association, giving nurses a new opportunity to take approved professional development courses at a convenient time and place.
More than 350 of the region’s best middle and high school musicians will gather at WCU for the Western North Carolina All-District Band Clinic on Feb. 9-10. The annual event will be hosted by the WCU music department and John T. West, director of bands.
The newest exhibit at WCU's Mountain Heritage Center, “Airing of the Coverlets,” will be on display Wednesday, Feb. 7, through Thursday, April 5, in the lobby of the museum.
“Party Foods: 1920s Style” will be the topic of an Arti-Facts! program for children on Sunday, Feb. 4, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
WCU is hosting the second annual Community Service Learning Fair on Thursday, Feb. 8, to help students, faculty and staff as well as members of the community become more aware of service opportunities in the region.
Seventeen WCU broadcast communication students recently passed a rigorous examination to earn certification as radio marketing professionals.
The board of trustees at WCU has endorsed the creation of a center to spur new ideas for business ventures in Western North Carolina and renamed an existing center to better reflect its increasing role in using the university’s high-tech resources to provide technical assistance to regional business and industry.
Western Carolina University is now the proud owner of the strip of commercial property known locally as the downtown Cullowhee business district.
As an 11-year-old, senior Jamie Tidmore watched her aunt battle breast cancer. Today, she is sharpening her molecular biological research skills at WCU, where her dedication to making a difference in the medical field or biological research has earned her two scholarships.
Victoria Clement, assistant professor of history at WCU, joins a global panel in London this week to discuss the upcoming elections in Turkmenistan, a former republic of the Soviet Union that borders Afghanistan and hosts the world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas.
P. Bradley Ulrich, professor of trumpet at WCU, has been invited to perform at the internationally famous St. Bart’s Music Festival. Ulrich will be performing an orchestra concert and an opera at the French West Indies island, St. Barthelemy, or St. Barts as the locals call it, from Jan. 29–Feb. 4.
Graduates of WCU's master’s degree program in school administration have once again scored high marks on a national test that indicates how well prepared they are to fill the top leadership positions in North Carolina public schools.
The winter series of old-time and bluegrass music jam sessions sponsored by WCU's Mountain Heritage Center will continue Thursday, Feb. 1, with a performance by Cullowhee Creek, a group of musicians composed of WCU students.
WCU will offer “Learning For Fun: Saturday is Art Day” from 9 a.m. to noon, Jan. 27 and Feb. 3, in Room 150 of the Fine and Performing Arts Center. The classes are open to children in grade three and above, as well as interested adults.
Western Carolina University will offer “Learning for Fun: Stained Glass” from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Jan. 23 through Feb. 27 in the Camp Building.
Western Carolina University-sponsored Team Ogelbots took home the championship trophy for overall competition from the inaugural Mountain Region FIRST LEGO League Robotics Competition on Saturday, Jan. 20.
The Fine Art Museum at WCU will host an exhibition featuring the work of acclaimed New York painter Albert Kresch, whose small-scale oil paintings were unavailable to the general public until six years ago.
WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center will continue its “Galaxy of Stars: Legends on Stage” series with a performance of classical African-American spirituals on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m.
The “Telling Mountain Stories” folk life series will continue at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, Jan. 23, with a presentation by Cherokee storyteller Davy Arch.
Tennessee poet Darnell Arnoult, author of “What Travels With Us,” will be the featured presenter as the Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series continues Wednesday, Jan. 24, at WCU's Mountain Heritage Center.
The Institute for the Economy and the Future at WCU is the recipient of a $362,060 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to develop a training program to assist local officials in adopting a more regional approach to economic development strategies.
Prospective students interested in undergraduate or graduate study in construction management at WCU may apply for Kimmel Foundation Scholarships being offered through WCU’s Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology.
The images a WCU student captured last year of student strikes in France were so powerful that Lois Petrovich-Mwaniki, director of international programs and services, was inspired to help organize a student art exhibit.
Western Carolina University will offer the second annual Mountain Dulcimer Winter Weekend Thursday, Jan. 18, through Sunday, Jan. 21, at the Lambuth Inn in Lake Junaluska.
A non-denominational youth rally, Ignite ’07 Youth Explosion, will take place on Saturday, Jan. 20, at Western Carolina University’s Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
Due to inclement weather, changes have been made to tonight's (Jan. 18) schedule. The keynote address by Tonya Williams, general counsel for N.C. Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight, has been canceled. read all schedule changes
Clarinetist Michael Lowenstern will present a master class and a recital Jan. 16-17 at Western Carolina University as part of the Catamount Concert Series.
Nationally known hurricane impact researcher Rob Young, associate professor of geosciences at WCU and director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, will be featured Saturday, Jan. 13, on the Air America radio network program “Ring of Fire.”
Trumpet players from across the United States will converge at WCU for the Fifth Annual WCU Trumpet Festival, with several free performances throughout the Jan. 12-14 weekend, including a mass ensemble expected to top 100 musicians on stage at one time.
Western Carolina University’s Talent Search Program will sponsor a series of free workshops to allow high school students to learn about applying for federal financial aid.
Gurney Chambers, dean emeritus of the College of Education and Allied Professions at WCU, is recipient of the Stiltner Distinguished Service Award presented by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement.
The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions perform an equestrian ballet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, at Ramsey Regional Activity Center. Tickets are on sale now.
WCU senior Jimmy Harwell, who temporarily abandoned his goal of earning a college degree after he began to lose his eyesight, urged his fellow graduating students to remember that there is always a way to succeed, as the university held fall commencement Dec. 16.
K. Ray Bailey, president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, and McDaniel “Dan” Robinson, a WCU athlete, coach, teacher and advocate for education and conservation, received honorary doctorates as WCU held fall commencement exercises Dec. 16.
WCU unveiled Wednesday, Dec. 13, a precision laser system unique to U.S. higher education that officials say will enable the university to ramp up efforts to provide high-tech assistance to business and industry in the region while giving students hands-on experience with cutting-edge equipment.
Prospective students will have an opportunity to learn about the 100-plus courses WCU will offer in Asheville this spring semester as the university holds an information session and registration on Thursday, Jan. 4.
The wintertime series of old-time and bluegrass music jam sessions sponsored by WCU's Mountain Heritage Center will continue Thursday, Jan. 4, with a performance by local bluegrass band the Frogtown Four.
A new exhibit of more than 100 baskets representing the Cherokee people’s four major basketry traditions of river cane, white oak, honeysuckle and maple is now on display at WCU's Mountain Heritage Center.
Games such as Scattergories and NFL Street, books and other loot filled the holiday packages that members of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity at WCU prepared this week for men and women serving overseas.
Members of the WCU music faculty contributed their own money to create an $850 scholarship for an incoming freshman student for the upcoming fall semester.
The competition between WCU to win a building contract at a Cullowhee church was just for fun, but the construction ideas and issues they pointed out recently were real – and appreciated.
WCU announced Tuesday, Dec. 5, establishment of the Myron and Barbara Coulter Fellowship Fund for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, which will provide resources for faculty members and graduate students involved in research to improve learning outcomes for WCU students.
Qualla Financial Freedom, a non-profit program offered by WCU's Cherokee Center, has received a $5,000 grant in from the Asheville branch office of Smith Barney through the Citigroup Foundation’s Local Contributions Grant Program.
Western Carolina University Chancellor John W. Bardo extends season's greetings to the Western community.
WCU's board of trustees unanimously approved proposed tuition and fees for the 2007-08 academic year, including an additional debt service fee to fund construction of a modern dining facility to replace the current Dodson Cafeteria, built in 1966.
A Memorandum of Understanding promoting education, patient care and research for the benefit of American Indian nations was signed between Wake Forest University, WCU and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Nov. 17 at Wake Forest.
WCU will bestow honorary doctorates upon one of Western North Carolina’s most revered educational leaders and an icon of WCU athletics history as the university holds fall commencement exercises at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
The Friday after Thanksgiving marks the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season that is so important to U.S. retailers as well as to the happiness of families across the country. This year there should be smiles all around, says WCU’s James F. Smith, one of the nation’s foremost economists.
A proposal to help foster a worldwide dialogue about the impending nursing shortage earned the $500 travel grant award this year from WCU’s Delta Zeta Chapter of the Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars.
Michael Smith, director of the Master of Business Administration Program at WCU, is helping businesses and industries in Canada develop a more strategic approach to supply chain management.
Bronwen Sheffield, director of off-campus services at WCU, recently received the Program of Excellence Award from the University Continuing Education Association, Region South, at its annual conference in Daytona Beach, Fla.
La Voz Latina, the Hispanic student association at WCU, will hold a benefit dance party Saturday, Dec. 9, to help raise money to build a playground for underprivileged children in Jackson County.
WCU and the town of Sylva are adopting a mutual assistance agreement that will enable police officers from the campus and the municipality to provide temporary aid to one another during times of emergency, crowd and traffic control situations, or criminal investigations.
A “Crisis Communications” course that will be offered online by WCU this coming spring semester will provide an opportunity for business owners and individuals involved in emergency-related fields to learn how to produce a crisis communication plan.
The 2006-07 series of old-time and bluegrass music jam sessions sponsored by WCU's Mountain Heritage Center will begin Dec. 7, with a special performance by the band Whitewater Bluegrass Co.
WCU will present a series of sessions on “Workplace Violence and Abuse: Prevention, Intervention and Follow-up” on Dec. 4 and 5 in Enka, Hendersonville and on the Cullowhee campus.
A new master’s degree program in nurse anesthesia that will begin at WCU in January is expected to help alleviate the shortage of certified nurse anesthetists in WNC and benefit regional health care providers as they deal with an increasing demand for surgical services.
WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center will usher in the holiday season with an already sold-out performance by the Atlanta Ballet and a performance by the singing trio The Lettermen as part of its “Galaxy of Stars: Legends on Stage” series.
The student scholarship fund in WCU's Honors College has received a big boost of about $18,000 as a result of a Nov. 11 pledge bicycle ride and an estate gift from an anonymous donor.
The “Telling Mountain Stories” fall folk life series will continue Dec. 5, with a screening of the documentary film “Rank Strangers: The Story of Mrs. Hyatt’s OpraHouse,” a performance by the Hominy Valley Boys, and a display of photographs by Ken Abbott.
The Western University Wind Ensemble will present a concert featuring faculty soloists on Thursday, Nov. 30.
Adopting energy conservation strategies and identifying new sustainable sources of energy are no longer just environmental issues, but they also have become economic and national security issues. That was the message heard time and again Nov. 15, from speakers at a daylong summit on the nation’s energy crisis at WCU.
Catherine Carter, director of WCU’s English education program, traces the title of her first published book of poetry “The Memory of Gills” to the concept that at some stage everyone had gills and tails.
Andrew Coburn, who has served since 2001 as associate director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, is joining the internationally known coastal research initiative as it moves from Duke University to Western Carolina University.
Scott Philyaw, director of the Mountain Heritage Center and associate professor of history at WCU, has been named to lead Mountain Heritage Day, the university’s popular celebration of Southern Appalachian culture.
WCU’s Fine Art Museum will feature the exhibition “Harvey K. Littleton and Friends: A Legacy of Transforming Object, Image and Idea,” which will be open from Nov. 19 through March 3.
WCU's nursing education program is collaborating with Duke and Fayetteville State universities on a $1.4 million grant-funded project to develop strategies that can be adopted nationally to better prepare students for the challenges of providing health care with 21st-century technology.
WCU's Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series will feature LeAnne Howe's film “Spiral of Fire” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, in the Grandroom of Western's A.K. Hinds University Center.
Two students working on their master's degrees in music received a student award for their recent presentation at the convention for the Association for Technology in Music Education.
WCU's Bob Beaudet has been named the university physical education teacher of the year by the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
In his newly published book, WCU professor Bruce B. Henderson provides an intimate look at the inner workings of regional comprehensive universities.
WCU paid tribute to alumni Oct. 14, honoring a Haywood County teacher, one of the most influential CPAs in the nation, and a featured vocalist with Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpet player Chris Botti.
WCU's College of Business is ranked among the nation's best business schools in a book published by The Princeton Review.
If the WCU Web site looks a little different to you, don’t worry--it‘s a treat, not a Halloween trick! After months of planning and behind-the-scenes work, the university officially launched its new Web site today (Oct. 31).
A team of WCU scientists win a $101,000 Cherokee Preservation Foundation grant to explore the ecology of Western North Carolina's once-plentiful rivercane.
In accordance with FERPA, a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, security codes are now required in order to release student information over the telephone.
Terrence Mann, who originated the role of the Beast in the Broadway production of "Beauty and the Beast," is named to lead WCU's musical theatre program.
Western Carolina University will bestow a posthumous honorary doctorate upon a former chairman of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors as WCU holds fall commencement exercises at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.
Provost Kyle Carter and his wife, Sarah, have established an endowed fund through The Campaign for Western that will generate money each year to help a WCU student participate in study abroad.
Brett Woods, who helps lead The Campaign for Western in his role as campus campaign director, not only increased his personal contribution to the Loyalty Fund but also has established an estate gift to benefit the Speech and Hearing Center.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, Western Carolina University will host its seventh annual Gender Conference in the A.K. Hinds University Center on Wednesday, March 26.
The scholarly research of Western Carolina University’s graduate students will be showcased during the university’s 16th annual Graduate Research Symposium on Thursday, March 27, at A.K. Hinds University Center.
Research conducted by Western Carolina University’s undergraduate students, along with other examples of students’ creative talents, will be on display Monday, March 24, through Thursday, March 27, as WCU’s Honors College sponsors Undergraduate Expo 2008.
George L. Mehaffy, vice president for academic leadership and change at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, will deliver a public keynote address about the changing role of higher education in the 21st century at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at Western Carolina University.
Jo Q. Nelson, an artist from New York, will host a talk at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27, in Room 130 of the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.
The “Living with the Land” folk life series will continue at Western Carolina University on Tuesday, March 11, with a presentation on Southern Appalachian environmental history by Donald Davis, author of “Where There Are Mountains: Environment and History in the Southern Appalachians.”
The cooking and food seasonings of the 18th-century Carolinas backcountry will be the focus of a program at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
The final get-together of Western Carolina University’s 2007-08 series of old-time and bluegrass music jam sessions will be held Thursday, March 20, at WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Ashley Trantham, director of the North Carolina Nurses Association program Hallmarks of Healthy Workplaces, will lead two upcoming presentations about the program, which focuses on improving working conditions for the state’s registered nurses.
The Western Carolina University Symphony Band will present a free concert at 8 p.m. Monday, March 17, in WCU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Western Carolina University’s Wired Wednesday series will continue with “Powerful Presentations” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 19 in Room 137 of the Cordelia Camp Building.
The rocks and minerals of Western North Carolina will be explored during a “Nature’s Tracks” program at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
More than 350 high school students from across Western North Carolina will test their knowledge of French and Spanish on Tuesday, March 18, in Western Carolina University’s 26th annual Foreign Language Contest.
Western Carolina University’s Catamount Concert Series will host a faculty recital featuring flute music by Eldred Spell on Tuesday, March 11, at 8 p.m.
Tickets are now available for a public presentation Tuesday, March 11, by whistleblower Cynthia Cooper, the accountant responsible for exposing one of the largest corporate scandals in U.S. history, who will be at Western Carolina University as part of the Chancellor’s Speaker Series.
Storyteller and balladeer Bobby McMillon will be the featured presenter as the 2007-08 edition of the Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series continues Wednesday, March 12, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Early registration for Western Carolina University’s “What Was Your Name Again: A Memory Workshop” will be available at a reduced price until Monday, March 10.
