Last Updated on April 6, 2025 8:33 am
Friday, April 4, 2025
In April, with the end of the academic year on the horizon, we celebrate many accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students.
I am honored to congratulate Dr. Charlie Chen, professor in the Department of Computer Information Systems, who is Appalachian State University’s 2025 University of North Carolina Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award recipient. The award is given annually to one outstanding faculty member from each of the UNC System’s 17 institutions, with awardees having demonstrated excellent or exceptional teaching ability over a sustained period of time.
Charlie has spent over two decades as a faculty member in the Walker College of Business, where he has designed and taught nearly 30 undergraduate and graduate courses, leading his classroom with cutting-edge technology. Charlie has dedicated his career to ensuring students have engaging and thoughtful learning experiences, sharing that, “Seeing your students succeed makes being a teacher truly worthwhile.”
Among his many accomplishments, Charlie is the author of four books and more than 100 additional publications; he holds a Dean’s Club professorship; and he is a past recipient of the Walker College of Business’ Sywassink Award for Excellence in Research and App State’s Faculty Global Leadership Award. One of his current projects is related to the effectiveness of AI kiosks, and he is developing research opportunities through the Walker College of Business’ Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship.
I encourage you to read this Q&A with Charlie, in which he reflects on his remarkable 22-year career here at App State, his passion for cutting-edge technology and his hopes for the future of App State students and faculty.
In addition to the Excellence in Teaching Award, the UNC Board of Governors also selected six App State faculty to receive campus-based awards for their innovative teaching methods:
- Dr. Shannon Cline, senior lecturer in the Department of Recreation Management and Physical Education, who earned the 2025 Appalachian State University Excellence in Teaching Award.
- Appalachian State University’s 2025 School/College Awards were earned by:
- Alaina Baird, senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences
- Dr. Clare Scott Chialvo, assistant professor in the Department of Biology
- Dr. Brandy Hadley, associate professor in the Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance
- Dr. Jamie Levine, professor in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences
- Dr. Katie Mawhinney, professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences
This year’s Excellence in Teaching Awards winners exemplify the quality of App State’s faculty — scholars who devote their time, energy and expertise toward building academic environments, inside and outside the classroom, where students thrive. This well-deserved honor highlights their dedication to and passion for student success. Congratulations to all of our 2025 Board of Governors awards recipients!
It is an honor to lead an institution where faculty and staff are committed to empowering the next generation of leaders and professionals. This afternoon, I look forward to joining our faculty at Faculty Club. It’s always energizing to hear the many ideas, experiences and conversations that help keep our teaching, research and service dynamic and forward-thinking.
Last week, Acting Provost Neva Specht and Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice Chancellor J.J. Brown met with the newly formed Academic and Student Affairs Advisory Council, which includes leaders from the Student Government Association and the Graduate Student Government Association, as well as student leaders from each academic college. This collaborative group will be an important advisory body as we continue to sharply focus our resources on student success initiatives.
Today, Provost Specht is joining students, faculty and staff at the Reich College of Education’s Scholarship Luncheon. This annual event is an opportunity for scholarship recipients at both the undergraduate and graduate level to connect with the donors who are helping fund their educations. Scholarship events like these offer opportunities for students to share the significance that scholarships are making in their lives. At App State, 70% of our students rely on financial assistance to complete their degrees, and I thank all of those who give to the many scholarship programs across our university. Your generosity has a profound impact on the students who receive them.
Last Friday, renowned Italian Baroque ensemble Interpreti Veneziani performed Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” in the Solarium of the Plemmons Student Union, delighting and enchanting the audience — me included! This event, part of The Schaefer Center Presents series, was made possible with generous support from longtime arts supporters Barbara Freiman and Nancy and Neil Schaffel, and we thank them for continuing a legacy of outstanding arts programming at our university. For those in attendance, it will be a lasting memory that exemplifies the power and excitement of live arts performances.
With spring well underway on our Hickory campus, signs of spring are also becoming evident on the Boone campus. Andrew Jenkins ’12, senior lecturer in the Department of Biology, led members of App State’s Native Gardening Society on an educational ethnobotany walk-and-talk in Appalachian State’s Nature Preserve earlier this week. With its 67 acres of protected woodlands, the nature preserve is home to hundreds of species of plants and animals native to Southern Appalachia, and it also offers a wealth of resources for the biology research underway at App State.
Warmer days are in the forecast for the weekend. I hope everyone can take a moment to enjoy the beautiful mountains and foothills, which we are fortunate to call home.
Heather Norris
Chancellor
