Last Updated on September 22, 2024 4:12 pm
Friday, September 20, 2024
We began the week with our annual observation of Constitution Day, with students joined by faculty and staff for our reading of the United States Constitution. It’s always a privilege to spend time reflecting on this incredible, visionary document, which serves as the supreme law for our country, and I appreciate those who joined and attended as we read excerpts from the world’s longest surviving written charter of government.
The Appalachian State University Board of Trustees met today for what is considered their annual meeting. During this meeting, the board heard information from the divisions of Academic Affairs, Athletics, Finance and Operations and Student Affairs, and they considered a number of items. Of particular note:
- The Board approved an update to the university’s Strategic Plan 2022-2027, to bring it into alignment with the new Equality Within the University of North Carolina policy, adopted on May 23 of this year.As I shared last week, after the UNC System shared guidance with its constituent institutions on June 28, I convened a working group to help assess the areas specifically referenced in the guidance and to ensure we are complying with the new policy as expected. This group, which has met regularly for many weeks, includes representation from Academic Affairs; Athletics; Enrollment Management; External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives (including Human Resources and University Communications); General Counsel; and Student Affairs.We’ve worked to ensure the revised plan reflects the university’s enduring commitment to the success of all of our students and conveys respect for the work of faculty, staff and students, as well as an institutional commitment to academic freedom, both of which are stronger than ever. You can view the revised strategic plan on the university’s strategic plan website.
- The Board heard a presentation during the Student Affairs Committee meeting about the university’s Civic Literacy initiative.This initiative, information about which was shared at the State of the University Address in August, is a collaboration between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to help build a culture of civic literacy and respect for differences in thought, belief and opinions within our campus community. It includes three pillars: building constructive dialogue and dialogue across differences; App Votes, a nonpartisan effort that emphasizes the critical role that voting plays in civic engagement in shaping leadership and policy; and freedom of speech.Through this important cross-divisional collaboration, we aim to help our students examine complex questions and learn to discuss them with confidence and respect for differences in thought, belief, opinion and background.Our approach relies upon evidence-based research, which shows significant changes in the way students who take part in the constructive dialogue educational program engage with others:
- 73% of students indicated decreased hostility toward those in political parties with which they don’t identify.
- 59% showed improvement in their skills and abilities to manage conflict constructively.
- The Board was presented with an impact report from the Division of Student Affairs, which shares both metrics and stories demonstrating the significance of student activities, recreation, and engagement with mental health resourcesMy leadership team is reviewing our current unmet student success needs and considering the most effective ways we can allocate funds to further support mental health initiatives and academic success measures to support students, so that undergraduate students can complete their degrees in four years and students earning their master’s degrees can do so in two years or less. We will work with campus leaders to ensure we are thoughtfully allocating funds toward measurable objectives for student success.
I also provided remarks to the Board, which you can read here.
The Appalachian State University Foundation Board and Board of Visitors also held meetings this week. In my discussions with these boards, members have expressed a strong desire to be more actively engaged. I appreciate these volunteers and the added energy — in concert with the work of the Board of Trustees — they are bringing in support of our university’s mission. The members of these two boards contribute significant time in support of our university’s success, and we appreciate their leadership and dedication to the Mountaineer community.
This week the North Carolina Law Enforcement Women’s Association held their annual conference at App State. More than 45 law enforcement professionals from across the state came to our Boone campus for professional development, with a packed schedule of classroom sessions, events and activities, including some Mountaineer football! We were pleased to host this group and appreciate that they chose our campus as their conference location.
Yesterday, we hosted our partners from area community colleges for a reception. We recognized them on the field at Kidd Brewer Stadium for their continued collaboration, as we work together to further our shared mission of increasing access to higher education for more North Carolinians. We are proud to highlight the contributions of the Aspire Appalachian program — our partnership with 27 community colleges across the state — to provide a smooth transition for transfer students to leverage their associate degrees into App State bachelor’s degrees.
On Monday, members of my leadership team and I were welcomed to a preseason practice session of the Mountaineers women’s basketball team, and we enjoyed visiting with these dedicated student-athletes. Thank you to Coach Alaura Sharp, the coaching staff and the team for letting us be a part of this early practice — and we’re looking forward to the upcoming season!
Heather Norris
Interim Chancellor
