Last Updated on June 8, 2025 9:40 am
Friday, June 6, 2025
Summer Orientation is underway at Appalachian State University, and whether students and their families are visiting us at our Boone or Hickory campus, or choosing a virtual option, we are excited to welcome them and offer a preview of the extraordinary educational experiences that are just ahead. For each student, there is a strong support network of faculty, staff and peers who are here to help you build a solid path for student success.
This week, we’re hosting the 14th annual Appalachian Energy Summit. Envisioned and first hosted by App State in 2012, this event brings together faculty, staff and students from colleges and universities, energy managers and visionaries, and government and industry leaders to share research and develop processes and systems for improving energy efficiency across the UNC System, the state and beyond. Support from corporate sponsors and private donors allows participants to attend free of charge.
The work taking place at this summit has significant benefits for our state and region. At today’s summit, the North Carolina State Energy Office announced that the UNC System, along with North Carolina community colleges and other state agencies, has realized $2.37 billion in avoided energy costs since 2002 — exceeding the target goal of $2 billion.
For App State’s part, the university has achieved $72.6 million in avoided energy costs and $17.8 million in avoided water costs, and decreased our energy use per square foot by nearly 50% over the same time period. These significant cost savings make a direct, bottom line impact for tight budgets across the state, and we continue to improve campus energy efficiency while also boosting system reliability.
Thank you to the many dedicated individuals — at our university and across the region — who envisioned these substantial goals for our state, and ensured our collective success in achieving them.
This is just one area in which App State supports a more resilient future. Our students have opportunities to work directly alongside dedicated faculty mentors on research that addresses real-world challenges — with the potential to change industries and communities with breakthrough discoveries and innovations. This research blends experiential learning, industry collaboration and regional partnerships in order to connect and strengthen work across academic departments.
With expertise across a wide range of knowledge, research at App State plays a vital role in achieving the highest caliber educational experience that expands knowledge to serve our local community, the High Country and North Carolina:
- App State researchers — including a student cohort — have recently been supported by NCInnovation with a $2.3 million grant to develop an AI-enhanced robotic microscope to streamline parasite identification in livestock and poultry — a potential benefit to food production systems worldwide.
- Students have shown their innovative strengths by creating solutions for real-world challenges during the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored Solar District Cup competition and Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, which focus on distributed energy systems for districts and high-performance buildings, respectively.
- In nutrition labs at the Beaver College of Health Sciences, researchers analyze the composition of foods and create dietary plans addressing a wide range of needs, while studying the effects of these interventions.
- AppDocs, a documentary program at App State, is a regional leader in finding, documenting and sharing important stories from the Appalachian region — connecting students and communities to the mountains’ history while challenging myths and misconceptions. Recent work spotlights the community spirit and resilience in the small town of Todd, N.C., as it rallied in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
- Serving the community has always been a bedrock principle of App State. When Hurricane Helene struck, App State responded swiftly to provide needed resources and support, and the university remains committed to this effort. This spring, Vice Provost of Research and Innovation Christine Hendren and her team in the Office of Research and Innovation brought together nearly 100 community leaders, state and federal officials, nongovernmental organizations, civic and philanthropic organizations and educators to discuss how research and community partnerships can help the region build back stronger and more resilient to prepare for future events.
This week, we welcomed App State alumnus, and longtime friend to many, Greg Lovins back to the university as Interim Chief Financial Officer, filling the role previously held by John Adams, whom we wish well in his new position at Old Dominion University. Greg has agreed to serve in this interim role as we continue our national search for App State’s next CFO.
Greg’s career includes more than three decades of experience in higher education finance and operations, including 10 years as Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs (2006 to 2016) at App State. Prior to returning to App State, he served as a Director at First Tryon Advisors in Charlotte, where his portfolio included interim financial assignments at UNC Asheville, UNC Wilmington and Fayetteville State University. Greg is a Certified Public Accountant who holds a Master in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance from App State and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Please join me in extending a warm, Mountaineer welcome to Greg, and I offer my sincere thanks to him, and to John, for their service to App State.
Tonight’s First Friday Art Crawl and the upcoming music, dance, theatre, visual art and film events of An Appalachian Summer are just a few of the many opportunities to enjoy at App State and in our surrounding community during the summer months! Whether you are close to Boone or Hickory, or you’re far away, we hope you might find time to visit Western North Carolina. Our beautiful area communities are open for business, and we welcome your support as we work together on economic recovery.
Heather Norris
Chancellor
