Last Updated on May 25, 2026 5:18 pm
Friday, May 22, 2026
This week, the campus community mourns the loss of Dr. Harvey R. Durham, who passed away on Friday, May 15. Harvey was an extraordinary leader who dedicated nearly 40 years of service to Appalachian State University. He led for 24 years as the university’s chief academic officer and was App State’s acting chancellor during the 2003–04 academic year.
From his early days teaching mathematics to his steady leadership as provost and acting chancellor, Harvey guided App State with wisdom, humility and an unwavering commitment to our students. On a personal note, Harvey was a trusted mentor to me as I transitioned from provost to interim chancellor, and eventually into my role as chancellor of this university he loved so dearly. We honor and celebrate a tremendous legacy of leadership and service to the university, to the High Country and to the state of North Carolina. Our hearts are with his wife, Susan, their children, grandchildren and the entire Durham family. Please take a moment to read more about his remarkable life of leadership and service.
On Monday, our campuses will be closed in observance of Memorial Day. This national day of remembrance calls on us to pause and honor the brave individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice in military service to our nation. This morning, App State’s Military Affairs Committee held a Memorial Day observance at the university’s Veterans Memorial, where we laid a wreath honoring students, faculty, staff and alumni who have given their lives while in service to their country. We hold deep gratitude for their selflessness.
I want to extend my appreciation to Master Sergeant Paul Sinnott for laying the wreath this morning. Since enlisting in the Army in 2003, Master Sergeant Sinnott served in numerous combat and leadership roles with the 75th Ranger Regiment and U.S. Army Special Forces during multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and across the Middle East before joining Appalachian State University in 2023 as Senior Military Instructor.
With area K–12 schools still in session for a few more days, it is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the meaningful impact of our early literacy field experience program. Since its launch in fall 2023, this initiative has provided reading support to nearly 500 K–3 students across Watauga and Catawba counties. Simultaneously, the program has strengthened our own academic mission by providing vital, hands-on classroom experience for nearly 460 App State teacher candidates within our elementary and special education degree programs.
Our collaborative relationship with the communities we serve — including the Catawba Valley — is illustrated through our expanding creative partnerships. Visitors to the App State Hickory campus can currently enjoy artwork displays made possible through a special collaboration with the Hickory Museum of Art. By sharing our campus space for this collaboration, App State is proud to support local partners in keeping the arts accessible to the Hickory community.
Last week, pole vaulter Matthew Gray and jumper Ashlynn Wimberly led the App State men and women, respectively, to their best results in program history at the Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Gray’s record-setting vault of 5.84 meters (19 feet, 2 inches) is the best by an NCAA athlete this year, the best in history by a North Carolina native, and ranks him No. 13 in the world this year! Along with fellow Sun Belt champions Ethan Lipham (steeplechase) and Derek Waite (1500 meters), the third-year student from Bryson City led the men to a second-place finish at the conference meet and was named the Sun Belt Men’s Field Performer of the Year.
In her first year of college, Wimberly helped the Mountaineer women place third at the conference meet by winning a silver medal in the triple jump and placing sixth in the high jump. For her efforts, she was voted the Sun Belt Women’s Freshman of the Year. Several Mountaineers will compete at next week’s NCAA East First Round in Lexington, Kentucky, for a chance to earn their way to the June 10-13 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Whether you spend this long weekend enjoying the natural beauty of our region or traveling to be with loved ones, I hope you find opportunities to both recharge and honor the true meaning of the holiday. I wish everyone in our university community a safe, restful and reflective Memorial Day weekend.
