Last Updated on August 9, 2025 11:25 am
Friday, August 8, 2025
With a new academic year just 10 days away, early August is a time to make and strengthen connections within our university community and the communities we support and serve.
On Wednesday, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Neva Specht and I had the pleasure of welcoming new faculty members to campus as part of their orientation to the university. I had many engaging conversations with these new colleagues, who are excited to join our university community. This was another reminder of the new opportunities each academic year brings. I’m always impressed by the energy our faculty bring to their classes, studios and labs through creative and innovative ideas that engage and inspire the students they teach and mentor.
Through classroom, studio, and lab discussions, interactions and applications, our outstanding faculty spark the imagination of our students, challenging them to think broadly and critically and become solution finders for the future. App State faculty are compassionate and fully committed to the success of our students. There’s no better recent example of this than the incredible work our faculty did in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to ensure our students met the learning outcomes for their courses and remained on track for graduation — after missing 15% of last fall semester’s instructional hours.
App State faculty are also experts in their fields, with 98% percent of our full-time faculty holding a doctorate, first professional degree or master's degree. Faculty research — which played a key role in our Carnegie Classification Research Activity Designation being raised to the Research 2 level earlier this year — often includes undergraduate, as well as graduate, students, allowing them opportunities to enter the workforce with published, peer-reviewed research on their resumes.
I appreciate opportunities to engage with faculty and look forward to hosting the Faculty Club events held throughout the academic year. Keep an eye out for Faculty Club invitations, which will be coming via email.
In the last week, I’ve also spent time with leaders in the High Country and the Catawba Valley areas, joining Hickory area leaders for a tour of the Hickory Aviation Museum and Catawba Valley Community College Workforce Innovation Center, and getting to know a new partner in higher education, Dr. Summer McGee, president of Lenoir-Rhyne University. Yesterday, along with Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice Chancellor J.J. Brown and Deputy Chief of Staff David Cook, I joined government and civic leaders at the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce for an informal conversation that allowed an opportunity to check in with one another, keep lines of communication open and establish opportunities for continued collaboration.
Ultimately, the purpose of higher education is to serve and contribute to the advancement of our communities. Through partnerships with our education, business, industry, government and civic leaders, we can advance innovations, economic development and improve quality of life for the people and communities in our region. I look forward to continuing collaborations and expanding these relationships — from the Appalachian Mountains to the Catawba Valley.
As we anticipate a new academic year, one of the signature sounds of an App State fall begins with summer rehearsals. The pounding of the drumline and blare of the brass section signal the return of the Marching Mountaineers, an extraordinary group of student musicians brimming with energy and spirit. Today they convened for their first ensemble meeting of the academic year, and I had the opportunity to welcome them and share my appreciation for their energy, enthusiasm, hard work and talent, which come together to create the music that characterizes our Mountaineer Experience.
Known as North Carolina’s Band of Distinction, the Marching Mountaineers have provided the soundscape for so many App State game day memories — on our home field and court, and at “away” games across the country, including the award-winning Pep Band, which makes every basketball game more fun — and makes us look better on the road than any other competitor team!
As they blend music with precise choreography and their own brand of game day commentary, they produce something greater than the sum of their parts — performances that stir fellowship, pride, tradition and community.
I look forward to another great year set to the sounds of the Marching Mountaineers.
Heather Norris
Chancellor
