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WCU Stories

billy ogletree

New scholarship in communication sciences, disorders celebrates retiring professor, spouse

Creation of the Billy Townsend Ogletree and Julia Katherine Tweedy Ogletree Endowed Scholarship in Communication Sciences and Disorders comes as Billy Ogletree has announced his retirement effective June 30, 2024, after 32 years as a WCU faculty member.  

new statue37

WCU unleashes a bigger, meaner, more ferocious Catamount

There’s a new cat on the prowl and he’s waiting to greet all who enter WCU’s campus.  

The Gordons

A Cullowhee Romance

Walking into the first day of their introductory English class in the spring of 1994 taught by the late Nell Holtzclaw, Ilona and Andrew Gordon ’04 had no idea this freshman course at Western Carolina University would be the start of their life as husband-and-wife bestselling authors.  

Alaysia Black Hackett

Climbing Capitol Hill

In the middle of bustling Washington and just a few hundred feet to the right of the Capitol Building, is the office of the chief diversity and equity officer for the U.S. Department of Labor and Western Carolina University alumna, Alaysia Black Hackett ’01, MPA ’02.  

Drew Starkey

A Rising Star

“Outer Banks” was released on Netflix in early 2020, in the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The show follows a group of teenagers in the Outer Banks — an island of haves, have-nots and clique-based rivalry and romance — as they hunt for a legendary treasure linked to a father’s mysterious disappearance.   

soccer reunion

Just for Kicks

After pausing for two years of “stoppage time” during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, it’s been “play on” for participants in Western Carolina University’s “Old-Timers Soccer Reunion.”  

Bobby Raines

Coffee and Culture

In the heart of downtown Cherokee is a culturally-based coffee shop called Qualla Java. Qualla Java is named after the Qualla Boundary, the land trust of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.   

Zoe Mehdi

Rowing in the Same Direction

WCU is helping improve children’s reading and writing skills through new professorship   

Christian WCU student

Seeking Synergies

Expansion of WCU’s engineering programs receives support from the General Assembly and industry partners  

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