WCU Stories - All Posts

Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle have been significant figures to several scholars throughout the last century and some change. Western Carolina University English professor Brent Kinser is no exception.

Seventy-one thousand fans in the stands. Another 200 more cheering from the luxury suites. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is lit for the Atlanta Falcons, and as the audience roars to announce their arrival, two Western Carolina University grads celebrate the success at the sidelines. One more good game for the books. Then they’re back to work.

You can hear Western Carolina University’s heartbeat in the Tuckasegee. You can hear it in the thunder rumbling through. And in each of its Catamounts’ footsteps, one after the other, it sounds again: the passionate, centuries-long drumming of a community that cares.

A total of 365 members of the faculty and staff at Western Carolina University have added their names to the growing list of donors making philanthropic contributions to the institution as part of its ongoing “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign.

There is no part of Western North Carolina untouched by microplastics. No river that flows without fibers. No rain that falls without microscopic debris.

A long-awaited $37 million upgrade to renovate the west side stands of Western Carolina University’s aging E.J. Whitmire Stadium is now underway with an official groundbreaking ceremony held Thursday, June 12, in the shadows of the construction zone.

As I reflect on my time at Western Carolina University, I’m reminded of how much this campus has shaped me—both in and out of the classroom. WCU has given me the space to grow, to lead, to stumble, and to stand back up again. It’s a place where I’ve found my purpose, my people and my voice.

This issue of the WCU magazine celebrates the remarkable accomplishments of our alumni community, the progress of our students and faculty and the bold vision shaping our future.

Bailey Trumm ’24 was overjoyed when she received her first acceptance letter to medical school. As a Division I basketball player and a top scholar of Western Carolina University’s biology program, she elevated her team and earned the praise of professors with a ferocious work ethic.

The road to “The Show” is a steep climb.