Alumnae Give Back by Serving on Accounting Board

Sue Swanger remembers them well: a group of bright and eager young women who all happened to be in her graduate auditing class together in 2003, all working toward their master’s degrees in accounting. That they now all serve together on Western Carolina University’s College of Business accounting advisory board is no surprise to their former professor.   

WCU’s Newest Professor Sees ‘virtue’ in Middle Grades Students

David Virtue has been involved with middle grades education for 20 years. So, when he first learned that he was named Western Carolina University’s Taft B. Botner Distinguished Professor of Elementary and Middle Grades Education this summer, it’s no surprise that he compared his reaction to the excitement of a middle schooler learning “they were getting a snow day.”  

Meet David Virtue  

Alumna sees the world thanks to her degree, but finds there’s no place like home

“I liked science and math, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” said Laura Rabb, who graduated from WCU with a degree in biology with an emphasis in environmental health in 1989. “So, I went to talk to the environmental health program professor and he said, ‘take a class and if you don’t like it, it’s an elective.’”  

David Starnes, athletic bands director, departs WCU for Atlanta position

David Starnes, director of athletic bands and assistant professor in the School of Music within the David Orr Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts, announced his resignation Friday, Aug. 7.  

Fall semester to get underway with care, caution in place

Fall semester 2020 will look different than anything Western Carolina University has experienced before.   

Opening Assembly to go virtual Aug. 12

WCU’s traditional Opening Assembly will have a different look this fall – and a broader audience, thanks to a scheduled video livestream.  

Rapid Center uses 3D printers to make face shields for faculty, staff

Faculty, students and staff in WCU's College of Engineering and Technology have turned their attention to helping employees return safely to campus this fall with the development of personal protective equipment.  

Discover Their Work  

Summer Undergraduate Research Program’s digital switch proving successful

SURP Goes Digital - The Summer Undergraduate Research Program at Western Carolina University is taking a different approach this year, a recalibration for the times.  

Explore the Research  

Developing future teachers is what fuels professor Brad Witzel

Brad Witzel said he has a lot of teaching left in him, at least 15 to 20 years. That’s why it’s taken him some time to get used to being called a distinguished professor. Witzel will join Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions this fall as the Adelaide Worth Daniels Distinguished Professor of Special Education. Rather than look at the honor as a career-defining moment on the downside of his teaching, Witzel views it differently.   

Read His Story