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Just about anyone’s going to be starstruck when they meet their favorite celebrities. Natalie May’s idols, however, are a bit different than most. They’re scientists, whose research she’s read since she started graduate school at Western Carolina University.

A faculty member in Western Carolina University’s Department of English Studies who has spent his career studying the works of literary notables Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle has created an endowed fund to ensure that an online collection of their letters and other materials will be preserved at his home campus in perpetuity.

What if independence isn’t about needing less support—but having more dependable ways to get it when you need it? That question is at the heart of a new research project at Western Carolina University exploring whether individuals can come together to create ways of giving and receiving support within their communities.

Instead of a traditional semester of teaching, John Whitmire, professor of philosophy at Western Carolina University, spent his spring 2026 semester researching the notion of “a hope that holds fast even in the face of the hopeless,” through the acclaimed works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Gracie Threadgill doesn’t have to travel far to complete her coursework at Western Carolina University. She grew up just down Highway 74 in Whittier, amongst the mountains that are adorned with life from her home to campus.

Just a few months ago, Carly Douthit was submitting applications in a frenzy, looking for any summer internship that involved animals.

Following a national search and competitive review process, three Western Carolina University faculty members have been selected for the inaugural cohort of the Deliberative Citizenship Network.

A stack of journals sits in Avery Luft’s bedroom back home. They each provide an escape into a world the Western Carolina University senior created.

For those lovers of language on our campus and beyond, we’ve gathered a few pieces of advice from some of the authors who visited the Spring Literary Festival.

Ammon Hottensmith has always been interested in critters. Growing up on a small farm in Ohio, the Western Carolina University junior has always been surrounded by them. Everyone is, whether you’re in the hills of the Midwest or the mountains of Appalachia.