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WCU Stories

senior toast

Senior Toast celebrates student philanthropy, ongoing engagement with WCU

More than 50 soon-to-be graduates raised their glasses in a celebratory salute to their forthcoming designation as alumni.  

kenny messer

Gratitude for education, experiences at WCU inspire decades of support for Catamount athletics

Kenny Messer, who grew up in rural Haywood County plowing tobacco fields behind a mule, providing philanthropic support to WCU is a way to show appreciation for an institution that saved him from a future of staring at the back end of a pack animal.  

one day for western cover

Nearly 1,150 donors make gifts to WCU on ‘One Day for Western’

Nearly 1,150 donors made gifts and pledges totaling more than $494,000 during the second annual ‘One Day for Western,’ an all-in day of giving designed to provide financial support to multiple areas of WCU.  

bedford falls nursing

School of Nursing receives $2.1 million boost to launch Conway Scholars initiative

The School of Nursing is the recipient of a $2 million contribution from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF that will provide scholarship support to undergraduate nursing students and enable the hiring of additional faculty to guide them in their clinical experiences.  

cats give back morningstar2

Catamount community gives back during annual service weekend

Members of the WCU family from as close as the Cullowhee campus to as far away as Ohio recently took time out of their schedules to provide a helping hand to their local communities for the second annual “Cats Give Back” service weekend.  

paysour with student

Additional donations boost estate gift, enable patron to see impact on parks, rec students

Michael G. Paysour, a 1974 graduate of WCU, wanted to see firsthand the impact of his philanthropy and meet the young people he was helping.  

glacier mountain national park

WCU Catamount Adventures travel series bound for Montana

With the inaugural trip of a recently launched travel series sponsored by the Division of Advancement about to embark, plans are now underway for this year’s second excursion – a cross-continental journey to Montana.  

john martin playing

Ex-football player makes $150K gift to WCU athletics facilities after tour reveals few upgrades in 40 years

When John S. Martin returns to WCU in the fall to watch a college football game, the former four-year starter on the Catamount offensive line notices that E.J. Whitmire Stadium looks much like it did during his playing days in the late 1980s.  

One Day for Western

Second annual ‘One Day for Western’ set for April 3

The 24-hour fundraising event is designed to benefit all areas of the university by inviting members of the WCU community to make donations to the institutional priorities that mean the most to them.  

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