Last Updated on October 4, 2026 6:11 pm
Friday, October 2, 2026
Earlier today, I had the privilege of speaking at the national 2026 Investing in Rural America Conference in Asheville, where approximately 600 leaders across government, business, education, and community and rural development gathered around a critical question: How do we strengthen rural communities for the future? As a rural-serving institution, Appalachian State University has long worked with local business and community partners to address growing challenges, including evolving workforce needs and infrastructure.
As North Carolina’s economy evolves, App State is expanding educational pathways for students and working adults — from flexible Hickory campus degree programs and App State Online Flight Path programs supported by Project Kitty Hawk, to program offerings in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity and new degree programs in nursing, health sciences and occupational therapy, all aimed at strengthening rural healthcare. As an R2 research institution, our growing research enterprise and doctoral programs are also creating opportunities for students and faculty to collaborate on projects that address real regional needs, drive innovation and develop practical solutions.
One of the clearest examples of our commitment to rural service was App State’s response during and after Hurricane Helene. Even as the storm disrupted daily life across Western North Carolina, we were called to serve on two fronts — caring for our university community while helping meet broader regional needs, and doing so alongside our local partners. And two years after Helene, our recovery work continues. Serving on the front lines of this historic effort, many App State alumni are contributing to the region’s long-term recovery. Among them is Forrest Gilliam ’08, legislative director of the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina. Gilliam is a political science graduate and two-term App State student body president whose early experience working with university leaders helped shape his path into public service. Another alumnus working closely with the governor’s office and legislative leaders on the recovery efforts is NC Sen. Kevin Corbin ’83, a graduate of the Walker College of Business. Read this Appalachian Today article to learn more about Gilliam and the App State alumni working to advance recovery across the region.
Alongside alumni serving in recovery leadership, App State faculty, staff and students are advancing local recovery through the Western North Carolina Research for Recovery and Resilience (WNC R3) initiative. Funded by the North Carolina Collaboratory and our Office of Research and Innovation, WNC R3 unites multidisciplinary project leaders across energy systems, data coordination, community health, the arts and other fields to address priority focus areas identified during last year’s WNC R3 Workshop. By pairing their expertise with local partnerships, these Mountaineers are applying university research to develop solutions to community needs. I am grateful for our Mountaineers’ deep commitment to the region’s recovery, which will require years of sustained coordination.
Our devotion to our mountain home is equally reflected across the university’s arts and cultural programming. Tonight’s First Friday Art Crawl at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts will feature exhibitions, among them the closing exhibition “belonging to place: The Creative Community & Artistic Legacy of bell hooks,” which examines how time in Appalachia continues to ground, shape and inspire regional artists and thinkers. Additional offerings at the free event include gallery tours, artist talks, poetry readings and Drop-In Artmaking — part of a broader lineup of community arts offerings this fall, which also include Paint Nights and Blazing Easels, a hands-on art program designed for young creators. Together, these programs create accessible opportunities for people of all ages and skill levels to engage with the arts and one another.
In App State Athletics, fall sports teams continue to build momentum as conference competition takes shape. App State Volleyball opened the Sun Belt Conference with back-to-back wins at Old Dominion following a demanding nonconference schedule, while the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams return home this week for the Fire Tower Project after strong early-season performances. App State Soccer has also delivered a steady first half of the season, posting seven wins and three ties, completing a program-record unbeaten streak of 10 consecutive games. Let’s all show our support for these dedicated Mountaineers on the court, at the course and on the pitch in the days ahead!
As we reach the midpoint of the semester, classes will not meet Monday and Tuesday during Fall Break. I hope this brief pause gives our students and faculty an opportunity to step away and return refreshed for the remainder of the semester, and for everyone to enjoy the beginning of Autumn in our beautiful High Country.
Heather Norris
Chancellor
