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GivingTuesday ’25 to focus on support for academic excellence, Catamount Club

Much like the holiday season, the annual GivingTuesday national day of philanthropy is fast approaching, and the folks at Western Carolina University will be seeking financial support for Catamount student-athletes and for excellence endowments that provide enhanced academic and extracurricular experiences for all students.   

Sarah Matesz

Student spotlight: ABSN student Sarah Matesz overcomes Helene’s challenges

Sarah Matesz’s heart rate rose about as fast as the flood water that submerged her feet. She was frantically moving her belongings to the second floor of her cabin, which was perched on the side of the mountain some 20 minutes away from Burnsville.  

Brent Kisner

The Carlyle Letters Online find new home at Hunter Library

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 Kisner is no exception.  

Paws with the Shetland Ponies during the 2023 Shetland Day

WCU faculty, staff add their names to ‘Fill the Western Sky’ campaign donor list

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.  

WCU students on the fall break trip

Service through adventure: Base Camp Cullowhee’s latest and greatest student expedition

On any given day, you’re as likely to find Western Carolina University students on campus as you are up a granite cliff face or on the rapids of a raging river. In the engineering lab as often as on the trail.   

Malinda Pennington

WCU faculty member receives $9,000 to conduct autism training workshops across NC

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.   

Austin Blevins

Young alumni spotlight: Blevins helps the Hornets buzz as account executive

The energy inside the then-Time Warner Cable arena in Charlotte was electric. The Hornets moniker had returned to the Queen City. The arena was graced with the teal and purple that Charlotteans had adored for years before the original Hornets relocated to New Orleans and the Bobcats moved in.   

Iyomi Grinan

Student spotlight: Nursing transfer Iyomi Grinan finds home at WCU

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.  

Susan and Rich Price

$1.25 M gift to athletics pushes ‘Fill the Western Sky’ campaign past its $100 M goal

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.  

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