Chancellor appoints Richard Starnes to provost

WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown has announced the appointment of Richard D. Starnes as the next provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, effective immediately.  

Caravelis begins pilot program for therapy dog to aid domestic violence victims

An initiative by Cyndy Caravelis, associate professor of criminology and criminal justice, will include a pilot program to use a therapy dog to aid domestic violence victims and their families in Jackson County.   

Cherokee Studies Program’s endowed scholarship renamed for T.J. Holland

The Cherokee Studies Program will rename its endowed scholarship in memory of T.J. Holland, an alumnus and lifelong leader in the community and Cherokee cultural preservation and revitalization.  

Master's Degree in Biology Cultivates a Career

Rivercane was once plentiful in Western North Carolina. The tall, slender plant, a member of the bamboo family, still grows in thick stands along some riverbanks, but not in an abundance as in years past. Increased development and intentional removal throughout the region have reduced its presence on the local landscape, in some instances quite dramatically.   

Teaching: COVID-19 Style

There was a time when faculty members spent most of their days preparing their lectures, presenting them to their students and being available during office hours for extra instruction. Some also had the additional task of preparing for laboratory work or work outside of campus, such as hospitals and nursing homes. Then came the coronavirus, COVID-19, and a new way of teaching was born.  

Professor announces annual fall color forecast for mountains

Autumn leaves and the natural beauty of fall colors across Western North Carolina are a seasonal sensation that draw thousands of visitors and locals alike - and prompts an annual prognostication by biology professor Beverly Collins.  

NSF grant will aid in preserving several biological collections

Grant will allow WCU to preserve and display its herbarium, arthropods and birds and mammals collections.  

Discover the Grant  

NASA institute honors geology faculty member for early career accomplishments

Amy Fagan, associate professor of geology at Western Carolina University, is one of two winners of a NASA award given annually to scientists from around the world who make significant contributions to the science or exploration communities early in their careers.  

Alumna Helping Local Wildlife

Anyone who has ever traveled along Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge near the North Carolina-Tennessee border knows how dangerous that stretch of highway can be. With its narrow lanes, twisting and winding curves through the mountains, rockslides, and speeding drivers, that portion of highway has been notorious for accidents. Well, just imagine what it must be like for wildlife living in those beautiful mountains that make up Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Pisgah and Cherokee national forests.