News

As an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University finishing her psychology degree, Malinda Pennington, assistant professor in the Special Education and Inclusive Learning program at Western Carolina University, needed an internship to fulfill the requirement for an abnormal psychology course.

The energy inside the then-Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte was electric.

Iyomi Grinan was looking for a change. Studying at a large public university in her home state just wasn’t her cup of tea. Classes were way too big, sometimes eclipsing 400 students, and Grinan didn’t feel that her professors were too invested in their students either.

Western Carolina University’s Cherokee Center will celebrate five decades of outreach and partnership with the Cherokee community on Tuesday, Nov. 4 with an open house beginning at 5:00 p.m. followed by a reception and panel discussion at the Cherokee Youth Activity Center from 6 to 8 p.m.

A planned gift from a longtime Western North Carolina economic development and marketing professional and his spouse has pushed Western Carolina University’s “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign past its minimum goal of $100 million in philanthropic support.

Western Carolina University is a powerful catalyst for economic development in Western North Carolina and across the state. Each year, WCU generates a total economic impact of $682 million statewide and supports more than 5,800 jobs, both directly and indirectly.

Western Carolina University is home to students from many different backgrounds, boasting a high percentage of first-generation students and a number of learners with disabilities. Thanks to a pair of federal TRIO Student Support Services grants, WCU is now better set up to support them.

Western Carolina University’s new master’s degree program focusing on increasing the availability of health care in the rural Southern Appalachian Mountains is receiving a financial boost from the director of the school in which the program is housed.

With its mission to expand access to care and create a healthier community in Western North Carolina, MAHEC announces the opening of a new health center in Cullowhee.

A packed slate of weekend events is on tap as Western Carolina University rolls out the welcome mat for alumni and friends to return to campus Nov. 7-8 for Homecoming 2025, including a parade and party in the university’s adopted hometown of Sylva.