Amazon Web Services Immersion Day Set for Oct. 21-22 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 � Email This Post � Print This Post � Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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TOP STORIES Amazon Web Services Immersion Day set for Oct. 21-22 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Western Carolina University’s Department of Academic Engagement and IT Governance conducted a study of faculty information technology research needs in spring 2014, concluding that faculty need high performance computing for scholarly research. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

To help meet that need, WCU’s high performance research computing services will be holding a gathering for faculty and sta to learn about Amazon Web Services, said Marjorie Eyre, academic process and system analyst in Academic Engagement and IT Governance.

Amazon Web Services Immersion Day is set for noon until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, CALENDAR Oct. 22. The Oct. 21 gathering will include lunch, while the Oct. 22 meeting will offer coffee and doughnuts. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Topics to be covered include an introduction to AWS, security, architecture best practices, network and storage, and development on AWS apps. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS

A web address for registration will be announced soon. For more information, contact Eyre at [email protected]. Calendar

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TOP STORIES Award-winning interior designer Cynthia Leibrock to speak at WCU NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Cynthia Leibrock, an award-winning author and interior designer, will deliver a public lecture titled “Residential Design for Health and Longevity” during a visit on the Western Carolina University campus. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Leibrock will speak at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, in Room 130 of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. The presentation will be followed by a book signing for her newest work, “Design Details for Health: Making the Most of Design’s Healing Potential.”

CALENDAR Leibrock also will lecture for interior design classes during her four-day visit in WCU’s School of Art and Design.

Leibrock has said her mission is to increase health and longevity through LINKS better design of interior spaces. She is the founder of Easy Access to Health, Calendar a firm in Livermore, Colorado, that offers consulting services in patient- centered design, planning for independent living, product analysis and Higher Education NewsWatch judiciary witness services. Some of her projects have involved the Betty Ford WCU Hub Center, the UCLA Medical Center, a universal design exhibit for the Smithsonian done in collaboration with Julia Child, and special design of the AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT interiors of Toyota automobiles.

For more information about Leibrock’s visit to WCU and public lecture, Cynthia Leibrock contact Erin Adams, associate professor and coordinator of WCU’s Interior Design Program, at [email protected].

By Randall Holcombe

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TOP STORIES Bent Frequency Duo bringing sax, percussion performance to WCU NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The Western Carolina University School of Music will host a recital by the Bent Frequency Duo on Sunday, Sept. 27, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the recital hall of the Coulter Building. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

With Stuart Gerber on percussion and Jan Baker on saxophone, the new music duo will perform six commissioned works, including Engebretson’s “Oceans of Brightly Colored Broken Glass,” as well as Laurie Anderson’s “From the Air.” The concert is free and open to the public. CALENDAR Gerber and Baker, both on the faculty of the School of Music at Georgia State 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern University in Atlanta, formed the duo as a subset project to their larger new music Minds chamber ensemble, Bent Frequency. They currently are on tour in the East, with 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond scheduled concerts in North Carolina and South Carolina this fall, and Pennsylvania and LINKS New York in the spring. They will perform in France in January, including premieres of Calendar works by Laurent Durupt, commissioned by a grant from the French American Cultural Exchange. Higher Education NewsWatch

WCU Hub The duo has premiered nearly 20 new works since 2013 and is recording an album, with a first CD to be available next year. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Bent Frequency Duo is Jan Baker (left) on saxophone and For more information, contact the School of Music at 828-227-7242. Stuart Gerber on percussion.

By Marlon W. Morgan

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TOP STORIES Birkhofer speaks at SUNY-Fredonia NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Melissa Birkhofer, lecturer in WCU’s Department of English, traveled to State University of New York-Fredonia to deliver an invited lecture,

“Breaking the Black/White binary en los Estados Unidos: police brutality against Latinas/os in 2015” on Sept. 22. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The lecture was part of SUNY-Fredonia’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

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TOP STORIES Campus conversation series to get underway Sept. 21-24 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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A series of campus conversations centered on four topics identified by Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher as areas of emphasis for the 2015-16 academic year will get underway Monday through Thursday, Sept. 21-24. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

In his Opening Assembly address last month, Belcher characterized the issues – increasing diversity on campus, preparing for a comprehensive fundraising campaign to boost scholarship dollars, enhancing the total student experience, and supporting faculty and sta – as central to WCU’s future success.

The series of discussions is designed to provide campus leaders with input, ideas and possible solutions from members of the university community CALENDAR on issues of diversity, scholarships, overall student experience and employee satisfaction, said Melissa Wargo, chief of staff. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds “We have made signicant progress on many elements of the university’s ‘2020 Vision’ strategic plan over the past three years, but there are a 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond few issues that have proven more challenging and that demand our attention,” Wargo said. “The four topics for this series of campus conversations the Glass Matrix have risen to the forefront as we attempt to deal with shifting enrollment and demographic trends, increasing costs of tuition and fees, and increased 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara competition for the top students.” Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' Conversations will be held in three four-day sessions scattered throughout the academic year, with each of the four topics to be the subject of an 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show afternoon discussion during each session. Each discussion is scheduled to run from 4-5:30 p.m. 'Livin' the Dream'

The second session will be held the week of Nov. 16-19, and the third session is set for Feb. 29-March 3. LINKS Calendar Session one: Monday, Sept. 21, “Enhance Campus Diversity,” Blue Ridge Hall Conference Rooms C and D; Tuesday, Sept. 22, “Support Scholarships,” Blue Ridge Conference Room A; Wednesday, Sept. 23, “Invest in Our People,” Illusions in A.K. Hinds University Center; Thursday, Sept. 24, “Improve Higher Education NewsWatch the Total Experience,” Ramsey Center’s Peele Westmoreland Suhre Hartshorn Hospitality Room. WCU Hub

Session two: Monday, Nov. 16, “Improve the Total Experience,” Blue Ridge Conference Room D; Tuesday, Nov. 17, “Invest in Our People,” Blue Ridge AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Conference Room A; Wednesday, Nov. 18, “Enhance Campus Diversity,” Blue Ridge Conference Room A; and Thursday, Nov. 19, “Support Scholarships,” Blue Ridge Conference Room A.

Session three: Monday, Feb. 29, “Invest in Our People,” Blue Ridge Conference Room A; Tuesday, March 1, “Improve the Total Experience,” Blue Ridge Conference Rooms B and C; Wednesday, March 2, “Support Scholarships,” Blue Ridge Conference Room A; and Thursday, March 3, “Enhance Campus Diversity,” Blue Ridge Conference Room A.

The campus conversations are open to all WCU faculty and sta members. The total number of participants will be limited to 40 at each session. Registrations will be accepted on a rst-come, rst-served basis. In the event that every session for a topic lls up, organizers will add another block of sessions in the spring semester.

To register or for more information, visit the website collaborate.wcu.edu.

“This is the time for strategic thinking to ensure that Western Carolina University doesn’t just survive, but thrives in our emerging environment,” Belcher said in his Opening Address remarks. “I don’t have all the answers. Frankly, I’m glad that I don’t. I nd that the best solutions and trajectories are those that benefit from give-and-take, debate and brainstorming. We need to all be in this together.”

By Bill Studenc

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TOP STORIES CAPS Cab provides students with a fun way to learn about counseling NOTEWORTHY NEWS services ACHIEVEMENTS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES With the popular television game show “Cash Cab” no longer in production, Western Carolina University’s Oce of Counseling and Psychological Services has found a way to bring its version to campus.

There’s no money to be had. And there’s no cab, per se. Nevertheless, CAPS director Kim Gorman and substance abuse specialist Christy Wyatt have come up with an innovative way to make WCU students aware of their services using the Cash CALENDAR Cab model. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Introducing CAPS Cab. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix CAPS Cab is actually a golf cart. About twice a month, Gorman and Wyatt ride around campus looking to oer rides to unsuspecting students. For 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara those brave enough to take them up on the oer, they not only get a free ride, but they get a chance to win prizes by answering a few questions. And Tyroler unlike the game show, no one has been kicked 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' out for missing three questions. 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' “The intention of it is to make the students aware of our services in a very fun, interactive way,” Gorman said. “But it’s also an opportunity for us to provide some psycho-education around mental LINKS health issues.” Calendar

The idea initially came to Wyatt while she was watching a Cash Cab re-run. Later, during a sta meeting, she wondered what it would be like to make Higher Education NewsWatch their services mobile. A little brainstorming by WCU Hub the CAPS team, and the result was CAPS Cab.

AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT “It’s really just raising that awareness and understanding about the dierent issues that students deal with on a day-to-day basis,” Wyatt said.

Here’s how it works. The two approach a student and introduce themselves. They ask if the student would like a ride to his or her destination and inform them they can win prizes by answering some questions.

Wyatt drives the cart and rings a cowbell when a question is answered correctly. Gorman asks the questions and jots down the answers. The questions begin with basics about CAPS, such as:

Where is CAPS located? How much do the services cost? Who is eligible to use the services?

What were two of the top four presenting concerns that students came to CAPS with Christy Wyatt (left), substance abuse specialist, and Kim Gorman, CAPS director, operate the CAPS last year? Cab from time to time on campus.

From there, they get more specic to that month’s topic. September’s theme was “Recovery.” Students were asked, “What percentage of WCU students say they have not had any alcoholic beverages in the last 30 days – 35 percent, 58 percent or 82 percent?” and “How would you help a friend who says they’re in recovery from drugs and alcohol?”

It’s the percentage of students drinking alcohol question that stumps most students, Gorman said. The answer is 82 percent of WCU students said they have not had any alcoholic beverages in the last 30 days.

“That’s pretty normal for students to respond that way,” Wyatt said. “We really want to do some of the social normalization around drugs and alcohol so that people, the students especially, understand even though it may feel like ‘everybody’s drinking,’ that’s not necessarily true.”

Veronica Sanchez, a freshman nursing major from Rocky Mount, answered every question except for the alcohol one correctly on her way to get a parking pass. She said she enjoyed the experience.

“It was nice,” Sanchez said. “I learned that not all college students drink.”

In addition to getting a CAPS sticker and a Starbucks coupon, Sanchez was given a card to claim a prize with the caveat being she had to redeem it at the CAPS office in Room 225 of the Bird Building.

“We did a needs assessment last fall and found that almost half of the students who did the assessment had no idea where our oce was,” said Gorman, who also wants students to know that their services are free. “So we wanted to get out and let them know we’re friendly people and fun people. And we have programs for them.”

Tyler Philpott, a senior from Polk County majoring in entrepreneurship and also a member of the football team, knew exactly where the oce was. He also knew the answer to all of the questions except for the dreaded alcohol one.

“I learned some new things,” he said. “I think (CAPS Cab) helps out a lot of students on campus.”

Gorman said CAPS has received great support from across WCU. In addition to Residential Living loaning the golf cart, departments like the Campus Recreation Center, Student Affairs, campus dining, the bookstore and athletics have all donated prizes.

Student response to the CAPS Cab also has been positive, Gorman said. She and Wyatt spoke to more 30 students during their rst two days of cab rides.

“What’s pleasing for us is when we start asking those really hard questions like around sexual assault, their responses are just so caring and so warm,” Gorman said. “We know that our students are providing this kind of community of care that we really are hoping to build here at Western. That’s been rewarding, as well.”

Gorman said they are collecting data such as how many questions the students are getting right and wrong, so they can build future programming around the responses. But for now, it’s all about making their services and location known in case there is a time when a student will need to use them. And having a little fun in the process.

“This is like the greatest outreach ever,” Gorman said. “We get to interact with the students in a one-on-one. We can adjust what we’re saying to them. This provides a great opportunity to shape a message and also hear from them. We’re getting feedback, as well.”

By Marlon W. Morgan

Veronica Sanchez (left), a freshman nursing major from Rocky Mount, pauses to enjoy a quiz from the CAPS Cab team.

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TOP STORIES Career research presented at conference in China NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Yang Fan, WCU associate professor of project management, recently presented a paper at the Fifth International Conference on Information Systems Management and Evaluation hosted by Xi’an University of Technology in Shaanxi, China. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The conference theme was “IS Management and IS Engineering in the Era of Big Data.” Fan’s paper, “Do Project Managers Have Organizational Career Paths? A Study of the Current State of Career Development for IT Project Managers,” was accepted through a double-blind selection process. Co-authors were Michael Thomas, associate professor of project management and Yishi Wang from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

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TOP STORIES Carter to speak at Salisbury University NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Catherine Carter, WCU associate professor of English, will give a reading and lecture at Salisbury University on Wednesday, Oct. 14, titled “Recycling the Elements of Life: Nitrogen, Carbon and a Few Good Words.” PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Carter is author of the poetry collections “Marks of the Witch,” “The Swamp Monster at Home” and “The Memory of Gills.”

She will share the lectern with her father, Nick Carter, a former state biologist who is conducting lifelong ecosystem restoration on his property.

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TOP STORIES Competitions enliven activities at Mountain Heritage Day, Sept. 26 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The sound of chainsaws and the sight of men with substantial facial hair will typify the experiences of visitors watching competitions at this year’s Mountain Heritage Day on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Western Carolina University. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The 41st annual old-fashioned mountain fair and showcase for Southern Appalachian music, arts, dance, song – and spirited rivalry – will be held all day on the WCU campus.

Shawn Swartz, coach of the Warren Wilson

College Timbersports Team, said he and his CALENDAR group have competed in chainsaw events at 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Mountain Heritage Day for the past four years. Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond “We have a new team every year,” Swartz said. the Glass Matrix “The events are usually early in the morning and 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara then we have the rest of the day to participate in Tyroler the festival.” 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show The chainsaw/timber sports competition 'Livin' the Dream' registration opens at 9 a.m. and cutting begins at 10 a.m. this year. LINKS Calendar For more information about the contest or to receive a registration package, call Norman Higher Education NewsWatch Parris, contest chairman, at 828-586-2236. WCU Hub

The beard and mustache competition, a tradition Chainsaw events draw an early crowd at Mountain Heritage Day. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT of Mountain Heritage Day since 1990, will welcome anyone with facial hair – students, local residents, travelers – to compete at the Balsam Stage at 2 p.m.

Cagney Guest, organizer of this year’s competition, said he is hoping to see many competitors sporting their best whiskers this year.

“There’s been sort of a beard Renaissance lately,” Guest said. “We’ve got three judges we are bringing in from all over the community. They are going to be experts in the field of men’s fashion or they’re going to have significant facial hair themselves.”

Students will have their own category, and there will be two other categories open to all: natural and freestyle. For the freestyle category, Guest said competitors are welcome to wax or style their whiskers in wacky ways, though it is not required.

“You don’t have to have a full beard – a good mustache will suffice,” he said. “We’re hoping that people will get creative.”

The top winners of each category will receive a ribbon, bragging rights and have their photo taken. A grand-prize winner also will be selected to receive a ribbon and a cash prize. All winners will receive a gift certificate to a local barber or styling salon.

Squash recipes, best preserved foods and canned goods from the season will be judged in “A Gathering In,” the traditional foods competition. Top winners will receive ribbons on stage and visitors can check out a display of the winning items in front of the Cordelia Camp Building at the festival. A booklet explaining categories and qualifications is available online.

Arts and crafts vendors are invited by jury each year to display their skills and products. After they arrive and are set up for the day, secret judges circulate to select the best in show, rst place, second place and best booth display winners in a contest sponsored by the Cullowhee River Club. Winners are recognized on the Blue Ridge Stage with a ribbon, a check and a sign for their booth.

The old-fashioned costume contest for children and adults nds contestants decked out in heritage outts (circa 1900) of their choosing. The audience selects the winners after they appear on the Balsam Stage to model their creations’ authenticity and style.

Owners of vintage automobiles participate in the Classic Car Show sponsored by Andy Shaw Ford at the entrance to the festival. Plaques are awarded to the finest vehicles present while visitors can stroll among the colorful antique cars and cast their votes.

Sponsored in collaboration with WCU’s “Sport Events Management” class, the Mountain Heritage Day 5K Race begins at 8 a.m. from McKee Building and winds its way through the campus. The rst 250 registrants receive a race T-shirt. Winners in age/gender categories receive prizes donated by local rms. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. All proceeds go toward a scholarship fund for students in the sport management program. For full race details and costs, visit http://claws.wcu.edu/sma/5K.

For contest and award times or for more information on joining the competitions, as well as a link to the food competition booklet, visit the Mountain Heritage Day website at mountainheritageday.com or call 828-227-7129.

– Contributed information

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TOP STORIES De Silva awarded supercomputer time for research NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Channa De Silva, assistant professor of bioinorganic chemistry, was awarded 50,000 hours of supercomputing time worth $2,500 from the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment for his project titled “Density Functional Theory (DFT) Studies of Europium Beta-diketonate PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Complexes with Dipyridophenazine Ligand Derivatives for Enhanced Photoluminescence.”

XSEDE is a virtual organization funded by the National Science Foundation.

De Silva will involve his students in researching the development of highly luminescent materials for use in applications such as organic light emitting diodes (LEDs), biomedical imaging, sensor devices and laser technology. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern “This grant provides us with a high performance super-computing facility where we can remotely carry out memory intensive calculations to Minds investigate the optical properties of europium metal-based luminescent agents,” De Silva said. “Our undergraduate and graduate students will have 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the training to use the state-of-the-art computational chemistry tools in order to solve a modern chemical problem. Our current research will the Glass Matrix strengthen the computational chemistry research at WCU and develop computational chemistry skills of our students.” 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler More information about the organization can be found at https://www.xsede.org/web/guest/overview, and about the award at 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' https://www.xsede.org/computing-resources-allocated. 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' Tags: Channa De Silva LINKS Calendar

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TOP STORIES Duke brings perspectives on music, teaching, learning to WCU NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Teaching and learning expert, radio commentator and University of Texas-Austin music professor Bob Duke will have two public speaking engagements on the Western Carolina University campus during a two-day residency. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Duke appears on the weekly public radio program and podcast “Two Guys on Your Head” that looks at life, learning and aspects of human behavior. He is the founder and director of the University of Texas-Austin Center for Music Learning and also directs the psychology of learning program at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in

Los Angeles. A former studio musician and public school music teacher, his academic CALENDAR research spans multiple disciplines, including motor skill learning and neuroscience. His most recent work explores memory and cognitive processes engaged during musical improvisation. LINKS His talks are free and open to the public, and of particular interest to teachers: Calendar

Thursday, Oct. 8, “If We Learn Like That, Why Do We Teach Like This?” at 7 p.m. in Higher Education NewsWatch the A.K. Hinds University Center theater. WCU Hub Friday, Oct. 9, “Beautiful,” about not losing the emotional connection to music during music instruction, at 1:25 p.m. in Coulter Building recital hall. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

In addition to the two talks, he will meet with WCU faculty in a brown bag lecture on Thursday, Oct. 8, and work with music students and instructors throughout his WCU residency.

Duke has directed national research efforts under the sponsorship of such organizations as the National Piano Foundation and the International Suzuki Institute. Bob Duke He lectures frequently on the topics of human learning, systematic observation and evaluation, and behavior management, presenting workshops and teaching demonstrations throughout North America. He is the author of Scribe 4 behavioral analysis software. His recent books are “Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction” and “The Habits of Musicianship: A Radical Approach to Beginning Band.”

His two-day residency is sponsored by WCU’s Visiting Scholar Program, College of Education and Allied Professions, College of Fine and Performing Arts, School of Music, Coulter Faculty Commons and university music fraternities. For more information, call WCU’s School of Music at 828-227-7242.

By Geoff Cantrell

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TOP STORIES Employee Appreciation Day Celebration on Thursday to include free NOTEWORTHY NEWS lunch ACHIEVEMENTS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Western Carolina University’s annual Employee Appreciation Day Celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 3) at Ramsey Regional Activity Center, offering a free lunch with barbecue pork and country fried chicken, a gift for the first 1,100 attendees, musical entertainment, prize drawings and a benefits/vendor fair on the concourse.

WCU’s Staff Senate will be accepting food and monetary donations for the Community Table of Sylva at the truck tunnel entrance of the

Ramsey Center and at the Staff Senate table on the concourse. The Community Table is a nonprofit organization that serves meals to CALENDAR neighbors in need. Items requested include pasta noodles, canned meats, nonperishable goods, olive and vegetable oils, soups, peanut butter, cereal, baby food, dish and hand soap, plastic bags, oatmeal, aluminum foil and large trash bags.

Staff Senate also will host a drawing and collect donations for the Staff Senate Scholarship. LINKS Calendar WCU employees who are celebrating years of service in increments of five can pick up their certificates on the main arena floor. Higher Education NewsWatch Members of the WCU Board of Trustees have meetings scheduled on campus late-week, and several are planning on attending the event WCU Hub at the Ramsey Center.

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TOP STORIES English department colleagues present at conference NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The WCU English department’s Marsha Lee Baker, Emily Darnell, Rain Newcomb and Laura Samal presented “Work That Won’t Kill Us: Worthy Teaching in Overcrowded Conditions” at the fall conference of the Carolinas Writing Program Administrators in Little PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Switzerland on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The conference focused on working conditions that affect writing programs and writing program administrators.

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TOP STORIES ‘English on the Ides’ discussion series continues Sunday NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The “English on the Ides” discussion series sponsored by Western Carolina University’s Department of English and City Lights Bookstore in Sylva will continue Sunday, Sept. 13, with a talk revolving around Maya book arts. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Paul Worley, WCU assistant professor of English, will address the topic “Maya Book Arts on Exhibit at the WCU Fine Art Museum.” All events in the “English on the Ides” series are held at 1 p.m. Sundays at the bookstore.

WCU’s Fine Art Museum will unveil a new exhibit Thursday, Sept. 17, that focuses on the CALENDAR contemporary book arts in the Maya area. “As a lead-in to the exhibit, I will provide background on the 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Maya, a brief overview of Maya literatures, and speak about the vitality of Maya communities right Minds here in North Carolina,” Worley said. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix Upcoming programs will include Laura Wright, associate professor and head of the English 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: department, discussing her book “The Vegan Studies Project” on Oct. 11, and English professor Barbara Tyroler Annette Debo presenting “Poets are Lyric Historians: The Necessary Past for African-American 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' Poets” on Oct. 25. 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' For more information about the series, contact Worley at [email protected] or the bookstore at [email protected]. LINKS

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TOP STORIES Facilities Management crew makes sure Mountain Heritage Day stays NOTEWORTHY NEWS ‘well-grounded’ ACHIEVEMENTS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Roger Turk and his grounds staff from the Department of Facilities Management have been busy preparing for what he regards as one of the two biggest campus events each year.

“When I hire them, I tell them we’ll have these two major events – Mountain Heritage

Day and graduation – and they know it’s a CALENDAR big deal,” said Turk, building and environmental services manager. “There’s a lot of pride and effort that goes into them, and my people enjoy doing it.” LINKS Calendar Mountain Heritage Day, WCU’s 41st annual celebration of Southern Appalachian culture, Higher Education NewsWatch will draw tens of thousands of visitors to WCU Hub intramural fields behind the Cordelia Camp Building this coming Saturday, Sept. 26. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Much of the work of the 29-member festival organizing committee has gone on for months in advance, almost invisibly, and preparation of the event site is a similar situation, Turk said.

“A lot of what we do to prepare the site for Members of the grounds crew use cornstalks and natural materials to create decorations for Mountain Heritage Day, we’ve been doing on the festival grounds at Mountain Heritage Day. a routine basis for the whole season,” Turk said. “But most of what’s visible is done on Friday and Saturday before the festival.”

On Friday, the crews will cordon off sites for Cherokee stickball and the chainsaw competition from other areas used for demonstrations, hayrides, shape-note singing, judging, juried arts and crafts booths, as well as music and clogging performances. “We’ll gather up trash boxes and bags under tents in case of rain and do a walk of the campus to make sure everything looks good,” Turk said.

Prefestival preparations on Saturday morning begin early. “About 6 to 6:30a.m., we’ll unload and place hay bales at the venue sites,” he said. The hay bales, used as traditional seating for the stage performances, are rented for the occasion. “If we have a chance of rain, we put them inside big garbage bags for protection because if they get too wet, we end up buying them,” Turk said.

During the festivities, members of his staff will circulate around the festival grounds ensuring that trash bags are emptied and things are kept tidy. “About 24 people are involved on the day of the festival,” Turk said. “Half of them work from dark-thirty until noon, and the other half from noon until everything’s cleaned up at the end of the day.”

“We did an exercise one year just to see what the costs were for the festival, and it was close to $30,000 just in costs to Facilities Management. That’s just an estimate of the contribution from our division,” Turk said.

He considers the cost well worthwhile. “We want to put a good foot and face forward,” Turk said.

For more information about the festival, visit mountainheritageday.com.

Related news: Mountain craftsman, popular bluegrass band honored with WCU’s Mountain Heritage Awards

By Keith Brenton

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TOP STORIES Fall Forum to weigh student learning, engagement on Sept. 21 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The Student Learning and Engagement Fall Forum will provide an opportunity for interested parties to examine how those two vital factors combine at Western Carolina University. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The forum will begin at 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, in Conference Room A of the Blue Ridge Conference Center.

“The purpose of the forum is to discuss how and what WCU students learn during their college experience, how that learning connects with WCU’s mission as a community engaged university, and how our assessment of student learning informs our teaching and co- curricular practices,” said Carol Burton, associate provost. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Discussion will focus on results from faculty engagement surveys, from the National Survey of Student Engagement, from the Modern Minds Collegiate Learning Assessment and summaries from the Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Coffee and light refreshments will be served at the forum, hosted by the Office of the Provost, Office of Institutional Planning and Calendar Effectiveness, Office of Undergraduate Studies, Division of Student Affairs and the Center for Service Learning. Higher Education NewsWatch

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TOP STORIES Fariello presents at Washington conference NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Anna Fariello, associate professor at Hunter Library, presented at the 2015 International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries, and Museums held this year in Washington, D.C. Fariello’s presentation, “Curating Community: A Team Based Approach to Exhibition Development,” PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES described the making of a touring exhibition that used a team-based approach to achieve a community perspective.

Through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Fariello led an exhibition team in creating an exhibit focusing on Cherokee language and culture using sound recordings as the basis for presenting a coherent story. Rather than translating from English, as is often done, the exhibit text was excerpted from conversations originally recorded in Cherokee. A native speakers’ group conversed with instructors from WCU’s Cherokee Language Program about historic photographs and artifacts. Their conversations were transcribed, translated, and CALENDAR included on the 15 panels that make up the exhibit. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Exhibit panels use smart phone technology and QR codes to link text and images to Hunter Library’s online archive. By pressing an on-screen “play” 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond button, a visitor can listen to the Cherokee syllabary as it is spoken. Visitor evaluations revealed that hearing the language – even while not LINKS understanding a single word – expanded the meaning and sensory impact of the exhibition, Fariello said. The exhibit, Understanding our Past, Calendar Shaping our Future, is currently on view at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching through November. Higher Education NewsWatch Fariello also was selected to attend a workshop at Google headquarters. The daylong workshop, Tools for Preserving Indigenous Knowledge, was WCU Hub sponsored by the Google Outreach Program and focused on mapping.

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TOP STORIES Golden Dragon Acrobats bring ancient performance art to WCU on Sept. 9 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The Golden Dragon Acrobats will bring the 2000-year tradition of Chinese acrobatics to Western Carolina University at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The company’s stunts and acts feature dierent balances of skills in grace, coordination, agility, equilibrium, motion, stillness, timing, strength and frenetic energy, including a moment in which the performers ride a bicycle – the same CALENDAR bicycle, all at the same time. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Director Danny Chang and choreographer Angela 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond Chang combine acrobatics, traditional dance, the Glass Matrix colorful costumes, ancient and contemporary 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara music with theatrical techniques to present a Tyroler show of skill and beauty often unfamiliar to 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' western audiences. 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' The performance opens WCU’s 2015-16 Arts and Cultural Events Performance Series at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. LINKS Ticket prices are $5 for students and $10 for all Calendar others. The Golden Dragon Acrobats are recognized throughout the United States and abroad as a premier Higher Education NewsWatch Chinese acrobatic touring company. Another ACE event coming up will be a WCU Hub Homecoming Comedy Show hosted by comedian

Jose Barrientos at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Bardo Arts Center, featuring headliner Iliza Shlesinger with Chloe Hilliard and Kevin Yee. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Tickets will be $5 for students and $10 general admission, going on sale Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The ACE series also includes the Southern Circuit Film Series, an eclectic collection of six unique documentary lms presented throughout the academic year, with filmmakers available for an associated Q&A session.

A committee of student, faculty and staff volunteers selects the events and films for the ACE series each year.

Season tickets as well as tickets for presentations taking place at the Bardo Arts Center are available at its box oce and can be purchased online at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or by calling 828-227-2479.

For more information about the ACE series, visit ace.wcu.edu or contact Francis Ann Ortiz-Pineda, assistant director for campus programs, at 828- 227-2612.

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TOP STORIES Good reviews greet latest novel by WCU’s Ron Rash NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Ron Rash is on tour.

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES The author and WCU Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture is on the road in support of his latest novel, “Above the Waterfall,” published by Harper Collins. It is receiving positive reviews – some absolutely glowing – and plenty of them. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, “It’s a very different kind of book for me and Modern Minds I wondered how readers would feel about 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: it,” Rash said prior to his first stop at the LINKS Decatur, Ga. Book Festival over Labor Day Calendar weekend. “It’s good to hear it is getting a good reception. I generally don’t pay Higher Education NewsWatch attention to reviews, positive or otherwise, WCU Hub but that is good to hear.”

AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Through October, he will make at least 18 appearances and readings. Author events range from St. Louis, Philadelphia and Ron Rash poses for a portrait at his home in Sylva on Monday, Aug. 24, two weeks before the Washington, D.C. to “the great town” of release of his new novel “Above the Waterfall.” The book, like many of his past creations, is Oxford, Miss. to two visits within New York set in the Appalachian Mountains where his family has been for many generations. (Photo City; without forgetting local favorite courtesy Mike Belleme for The Wall Street Journal) bookstores in Asheville, Waynesville and Sylva.

“Above the Waterfall” is set in a contemporary mountain community and told through the voices of a sheriff nearing his retirement and a park ranger haunted by her past. They are drawn together by a reverence for the natural world. Underlying themes of the poverty, the beauty of the surrounding landscape, tourism and the plague of crystal meth inhabit this book, built around someone poisoning a stream resulting in a fish kill.

Rash is the author of six novels, including the New York Times bestseller “Serena,” and three books of poetry. A native of Boiling Springs, he teaches Appalachian literature and creative writing at WCU. His poetry and fiction have appeared in more than one hundred journals, magazines and anthologies. Rash was awarded an NEA Poetry Fellowship, the Sherwood Anderson Prize, the Novella Festival Novel Award, and twice winner of O. Henry awards.

“Above the Waterfall” in the words of reviewers: Howard Frank Mosher, Washington Post: Rash is an enormously gifted storyteller, who knows exactly how to keep the dramatic tension in his fiction as taut as a fly line with a lunker on the hook.

Ali Marshall, Mountain Xpress: “Above the Waterfall” with its quiet intensity and natural beauty juxtaposed against human ugliness, is the work of a writer who’s found his way with words.

Dannye Romine Powell, Charlotte Observer: Reading “Above the Waterfall” is like walking a railroad track – the scenery along the way is great, and I’m enjoying the novel’s journey.

Tray Butler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The book begins as a lyrical, far-reaching reflection on nature and modern-day loneliness and flirts with a mishmash of ideas before evolving into an atypical Southern Noir whodunit.

Jonathan Mile, Garden and Gun: Like another Rash classic, “One Foot in Eden” (2002), “Above the Waterfall” soon reveals itself to be a crime novel, and despite the poetic veneer, Rash adheres to the genre’s pacing: It’s tight, propulsive, many-layered, and slippery, and it demands a degree of muscle strength to put down.

Ed Tarkington, Knoxville News Sentinel: With “Above the Waterfall,” Rash delivers another rich paean to his North Carolina mountains, imbued with his trademark empathy for the scarred and haunted, his poetic evocation of both the small and sweeping features of the natural world, and his searing criticism of the human failures that eat away at the heart and soul of Appalachia.

David Menconi, Clemson World Magazine: Like most of Rash’s books, “Above the Waterfall” is set in the place he knows best, the mountains and foothills of the Carolinas where he grew up and still lives, teaching at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Beyond that, however, the new book might surprise some longtime fans because Rash calls it “the most hopeful, optimistic book I’ve ever written” — relatively speaking, of course.

Benjamin Percy, Esquire: Ron Rash is the kind of writer you want to call a Pulitzer-prize winner because it’s a foregone conclusion. … His new book, “Above the Waterfall” is a lushly-written page-turner set in rural North Carolina.

Ellen Gamerman, Wall Street Journal: The author makes a departure from his past writing with his new novel, which alternates between traditional prose and a poetic voice.

By Geoff Cantrell

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TOP STORIES Harris completes ‘Biking for Biology’ ride of 144 miles NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Darby Harris, a lecturer in WCU’s Department of Biology, completed the inaugural “Biking for Biology” project Saturday, Sept. 19, with a ride on his road bike totaling 144 miles. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Harris had pledged to ride one mile for every $5 donated to the Biology Club by Friday, Sept. 18. With $710 in donations, his mission on Sept. 19 was to ride 142 miles. He did that, plus two bonus miles.

Harris’ route took him from the WCU campus to Balsam, and north on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He finished the ride in the Linville Falls area. CALENDAR Tags: Darby Harris 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS

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TOP STORIES Hillon’s research in management consulting wins award at conference NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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A paper by Yue Cai Hillon, associate professor of management, and co-authors won a top award for English submissions at an international conference in Lyon, France, in June. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The theme of the International Conference and Doctoral Seminar on Research Methods was “sharing research methods across a variety of countries and cultures” and the international format included presentations in English, French and Spanish.

With co-authors Mark E. Hillon of the Lafayette Institute and Geraldine Kisiel of AK Research and Training, Hillon presented a research paper entitled “A Discursive Approach to Research in Management Consulting (Part I).” CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern While in Lyon for the conference, Hillon also taught a graduate seminar at Jean Moulin University, attended a professional development workshop and Minds outlined a strategy book project with her French colleagues. For more information, contact Hillon at [email protected]. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS

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TOP STORIES Hilton awarded $1,500 research grant NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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A research project proposed by Adriel Hilton, assistant professor and director of the Higher Education Student Aairs Program at WCU, has been selected to receive a research grant award in the amount of $1,500 by the Southern Association for College Student Affairs. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Hilton’s project is titled “Within the Experiences of African-American Male Doctoral Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”

The notice about the grant from Mary Alice Varga, chair of the SACSA research committee, said that “… there were a large number of extraordinary submissions and only one submission CALENDAR was accepted to receive this award.” 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Hilton will be interviewing volunteers in individual 90-minute sessions. Plans call for those 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond volunteers to represent ve major HBCUs that award doctoral degrees – Howard University, the Glass Matrix Jackson State University, Morgan State University, Bowie State University, and Prairie View 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara A&M University. They will be asked about living, learning, working and social environment, as Tyroler well as culture, values, challenges, and met and unmet needs at their institutions. 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show “The purpose of the study is to identify past and current experiences that allow African- 'Livin' the Dream' American men to persist in their pursuit of a doctoral degree at HBCUs,” Hilton said. “This study provides practical implications for the African-American population, which is tied to the LINKS mission of Western Carolina University. Young African-American students will be able to Calendar learn about individuals who are similar and are making considerable progress in the academy.” Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub At the completion of his research, Hilton will make a presentation about it at the SACSA 2016 Adriel A. Hilton conference or submit a summary article for possible publication in the College Student AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Affairs Journal.

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TOP STORIES Holocaust speaker to present at WCU on Sept. 17 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Waitman Wade Beorn, director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum, will deliver a public lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, in the A.K. Hinds University

Center theater on the campus of Western Carolina University. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Beorn’s lecture is titled “A Deadly Hybrid: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Ukraine.”

Formerly Louis and Francis Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University CALENDAR of Nebraska-Omaha, Beorn won the Thomas J. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Wilson Memorial prize in 2014 from Harvard Minds University Press for his book “Marching into 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond Darkness,” an examination of the regular German LINKS soldiers who perpetrated Nazi war crimes. Calendar

The lecture is free and open to the public. For Higher Education NewsWatch more information, call 828-227-3908. WCU Hub

For more information about the museum, visit AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT http://waitmanwadebeorn.com/.

By Keith Brenton Waitman Wade Beorn

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TOP STORIES Kossick presents to international audience NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Mark A. Kossick, professor of nursing and graduate anesthesia simulation coordinator at WCU’s Biltmore Park instructional site, was the featured speaker at a conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sept. 6. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

His presentation consisted of a comprehensive eight-hour seminar on electrocardiography. Seminar attendees included anesthesiologists, hospitalists, nurse anesthetists and advanced practice critical care nurses, with some participants attending from Germany and Canada. The meeting was sponsored by A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Medical Education of Baylor Health Care System in Dallas and Northwest Anesthesia Seminars in Pasco, Washington.

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TOP STORIES Kossick selected to serve on national association’s practice NOTEWORTHY NEWS committee ACHIEVEMENTS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Mark A. Kossick, professor of nursing and graduate anesthesia simulation education coordinator, recently accepted an invitation by the Board of Directors of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists to serve as a member of the 2015-2016 Practice Committee.

The committee’s responsibilities include critiquing and standardizing the ranking of peer-reviewed research. This process is intended to develop and revise practice documents – standards of care, practice guidelines, position statements – so that Certified Registered Nurse

Anesthetist practice reflects evidence-based standards and advances patient safety. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, “Approximately 40 million anesthetics in the U.S. are delivered by CRNAs each year,” Kossick said. “Serving on this committee carries Modern Minds great significance for our practice across the United States. I am very pleased to be invited to serve on this committee.” 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Tags: Mark Kossick Calendar

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TOP STORIES Livsey among leaders at ‘All Things Senior’ symposium NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Kae Livsey, associate professor of nursing, was one of 200 national leaders in housing, health care and senior services invited to participate in the Future of All Things Senior Leadership Symposium, held Sept. 1-2 in Atlanta. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The leaders gathered to hear the latest information and exchange ideas about the growing challenges in senior services, including the federal government’s decision to eliminate HUD 202 funding to build aordable senior housing just as millions of Baby Boomers who will need the housing become seniors.

National Church Residences, a provider of senior housing, hosted the event, which included presentations from Joe Coughlin, director of the CALENDAR Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, on the demographic challenge ahead, and Stephen M.R. Covey, co-founder and CEO of Coveylink 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Worldwide, on shared leadership. Working groups were assembled to discuss managed care and population health, aordable senior housing, technology Minds innovations and the integration of health care services into housing. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix “The conference included discussions about the need to address changes in health care including population health management, access to health care 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara and how to integrate health care and housing for seniors and individuals with disabilities,” Livsey said. “The issue of aordable housing for seniors, while Tyroler not on the national agenda now, is likely to become a huge challenge, given economic demographic trends including a doubling of aging individuals over 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' the next 20 years. We need to think about wellbeing, as opposed to just access to health care, to fully address quality of life issues for seniors.” 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' Tags: Kae Livsey

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TOP STORIES Mountain Heritage Center resumes full operation at Hunter Library NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The Mountain Heritage Center, Western Carolina University’s museum of Appalachian culture, is back at full operation after a summertime move from Hunter Library H.F. Robinson Administration Building to space at WCU’s . PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The exhibit “Collecting for the Community,” an exploration of the diversity and variety to be found in Western North Carolina, is now on display in the museum’s new 1,500-square-foot gallery on the first floor of the library.

Visitors can access the Mountain Heritage Center from an outside door located at the left corner of CALENDAR the library building, from the perspective of a 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern visitor coming from the Central Drive sidewalk. Minds Temporary signage is in place now, but a new 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond permanent sign and canopy will be erected soon, LINKS said Pam Meister, curator and interim director of Calendar the museum. Higher Education NewsWatch Mountain Heritage Center visiting hours are 10 WCU Hub a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

The temporary relocation of Mountain Heritage Center exhibits and oces from the rst oor of Robinson Administration Building to the library is an initial step expected to lead to the construction of a new WCU welcome center, Peter Koch greets a visitor at the new Mountain Heritage Center location inside the Hunter Library which will include space for the museum. Also, building. plans call for the eventual relocation of the university’s Oce of Admission, currently based in the Cordelia Camp Building, into space that had been occupied by the heritage center in Robinson Building.

The museum’s massive collection of stored artifacts will remain at Robinson Administration Building, but its main oces are now located in Room 240 at the library.

Meister said the Mountain Heritage Center lost considerable gallery space in which to display exhibits with the move, going from 5,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet, but the relocation has brought with it a big positive eect – an increase in student, faculty and sta visitation that is a byproduct of the high-prole location. “We are really excited about all the new opportunities for collaborations with WCU faculty and students,” Meister said. “We already have worked with several classes this summer where student feedback helped determine how we designed the new gallery space.”

“Collecting for the Community” will be on display in the main gallery into early spring, but the exhibit is designed so that artifacts can be changed out frequently to showcase dierent acquisitions and collections, she said. The exhibit also was built to accommodate demonstrations and hands-on activities. “We hope the frequently changing objects and activities will encourage people to stop by to see what’s new,” Meister said.

Aside from the main gallery, the Mountain Heritage Center also has display space on the second oor of the library, adjacent to the Oce of Special Collections. About 200 feet of hallway is available for photographs and text panels, and there are two large exhibit cases. An exhibit currently installed in that area, “Photography of Lewis Hine: Exposing Child Labor in North Carolina, 1908-1918,” will be shown through Friday, Dec. 11.

In addition, the museum will be using two library exhibit cases in the rst-oor hallway between Java City and the interlibrary loan oce, Meister said. The exhibit “Pottery Traditions in Western North Carolina” will be on display there from mid-September through December.

Although the Mountain Heritage Center has moved, the museum will continue to sponsor public events in the auditorium on the rst oor of Robinson Building, she said. The “First Thursday” old-time and bluegrass concert and jam session series for 2015-16 will kick o in the auditorium Oct. 1, and Sylva storyteller Gary Carden will host a “Liar’s Bench” program there Thursday, Sept. 17. Also, the museum will sponsor a “Haunted WCU Tour” on the historic hill section of campus starting in November. Other plans are in the works for a grand reopening event in the near future, Meister said.

Tours of the new Mountain Heritage Center facility are available for classes and community groups by contacting education associate Peter Koch at the main museum number, 828-227-7129. More information is posted on the museum’s website, mhc.wcu.edu, and Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MountainHeritageCenter.

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TOP STORIES New model will expand academic learning communities beyond first semester, NOTEWORTHY NEWS year ACHIEVEMENTS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES A new paradigm for academic learning communities at Western Carolina University emerged from the experiences of faculty and sta members attending the National Summer Institute on Learning Communities at Evergreen State College in mid-July.

They now serve as members of a steering committee that will move the concept forward.

Gayle Wells, associate professor in the School of CALENDAR Teaching and Learning, serves on that committee 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern and describes it as an expansion of the current Minds model. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS

“We worked on a new model of learning Calendar communities that links courses together with an academic theme, and extends past the freshman Higher Education NewsWatch students’ rst semester,” she said. “In the new WCU Hub model, a group of 20 to 25 students will take three courses together in the rst semester, one AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT course together in the spring semester, and then will participate in some type of research, study or service project as a culminating experience in the summer – here on campus, or across the world. That will all depend on the goals of the learning community. It will be a year-long, high-impact practice. From what we saw at the conference this summer, this expanded model is unique in Attending the conference and serving on the steering committee are (back, from left) Honor Sachs, higher education.” Lowell Davis, Andrew Adams, Gayle Wells, Emily Virtue, (front, from left) Melissa Snyder, Jeanne Dulworth, Mike Corelli and Diane Martinez. The committee hopes to develop four new learning communities to begin in Fall 2016.

Advantages for rst-year college students participating in learning communities are numerous, Wells said. “A great deal of research shows that participation can improve GPAs, a sense of connection and ultimately retention,” she added. “Across the country there are many successful models for learning communities, but most focus on first-semester students. We hope to open up the model to students beyond the first year.

“We’re very open if faculty want to oer a learning community for sophomores or juniors. We really want to encourage faculty collaboration within programs and across disciplines. It’s really a wide-open concept for faculty and staff,” Wells said.

The Provost’s Office will be supporting the new model through a series of professional development opportunities, recognition for exceptional service in learning communities and a stipend, Wells said. In addition, funds from the WCU-Away program might be used to support a culminating experience of service/research/study off-campus and even outside the United States.

Learning communities are one of four First Year Experience pathway options – along with living-learning communities (oered by Student Aairs), the one-hour college transitions course and FYE summer – that freshmen choose from to transition into college life.

Six academic learning community choices are offered this year.

For more information about current academic learning communities, see http://fye.wcu.edu.

By Keith Brenton

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TOP STORIES New Talent Management System to launch in October NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Western Carolina University’s Human Resources and Payroll Oce is preparing to launch a major upgrade to its Online Talent Management System, which will streamline the hiring process for both hiring managers and job applicants. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

“The new Talent Management site will improve the user experience for people who apply for positions at Western Carolina University, as well as streamline business processes for those who manage the hiring process,” said Cory Causby, associate vice chancellor for human resources and payroll.

The rst phase of the new Talent Management site will go live for all position types Monday, Oct. 5. At that time, all new positions will be posted in the new system. The new site also complements several of WCU’s strategic initiatives, Causby said. “The upgrade will make our search, hiring and position CALENDAR management processes more efficient and effective and will replace several manual, paper-intensive processes that are currently in place,” he said. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds The Office of Human Resources and Payroll is working with key stakeholders throughout the university to prepare for the launch and is currently offering 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond training and general information sessions for faculty and sta who will use the system. Training is available through face-to-face sessions or online LINKS tutorials. Calendar

For more information on the new Talent Management system, visit http://www.wcu.edu/about-wcu/campus-services-and- Higher Education NewsWatch operations/human-resources-and-payroll/Talent-Management-Suite/index.asp or call 828-227-7218. WCU Hub

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TOP STORIES North Carolina Folklore Society to hold Oct. 9-10 annual conference in NOTEWORTHY NEWS Cullowhee ACHIEVEMENTS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES The North Carolina Folklore Society will hold its 102nd annual conference on Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10, at Western Carolina University and the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

This year’s theme is “Native Voices: A View from the Mountains” and will feature a series of talks, demonstrations and exhibits on Cherokee culture, Southern Appalachian heritage and mountain traditions. The conference is open to the public, with most activities free of charge or covered by a $5 CALENDAR registration fee. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Both days feature a full program of activities and concurrent sessions. Opening day highlights include a 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond reception, a regional book display and sale, and evening performances of live music by the Junior LINKS Appalachian Musicians and storytelling by Gary Carden. Calendar

The following day features paddle-stamped pottery and Cherokee stories by Dean Reed, and an Higher Education NewsWatch exhibition on the Cherokee language. The keynote address, “Language as a Window into Culture,” will WCU Hub be delivered by Tom Belt, WCU’s Cherokee Language Program coordinator, who is uent in the Cherokee language. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

Gary Carden The conference will conclude with presentations of the Brown-Hudson Awards, which recognizes individuals who make signicant contributions to the sharing and appreciation of traditional culture and folklore, and the Community Traditions Award to honor a group that supports folk life and traditional culture.

“Every year, the North Carolina Folklore Society comes together at a dierent location across the state to meet friends old and new and this year we are fortunate to welcome everyone to our doorstep,” said Anna Fariello, an associate professor at WCU and 2010 recipient of the Brown-Hudson Award. “We will showcase mountain arts and crafts, Cherokee language and wisdom, regional music and storytelling, and more. This is an accessible, casual event that celebrates community and all are welcome.”

The society promotes North Carolina heritage and culture through support of folklore practitioners and professionals, with recognition through publications and awards. The 2015 conference is sponsored by WCU’s Cherokee Studies program, Hunter Library and Mountain Heritage Center; Jackson County Arts Tom Belt Council; Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor; and City Lights Bookstore. Program and registration information can be found at www.ncfolkloresociety.org.

By Geoff Cantrell

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TOP STORIES Office of Career Services looks to grow under new leadership NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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It was during the job interview process, when Theresa Cruz Paul repeatedly heard about Western Carolina University’s emphasis on building and Office of Career Services strategic plan growing the , and how it was a part of the university’s , that she knew Cullowhee was the place for her to be. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

In July, Cruz Paul became director of career services and with fall semester underway, she is now a part of that growth.

“The university seems to have taken interest in career services as far as building it into the plans and the community of the university,” Cruz Paul CALENDAR said. “It’s always an interesting move when you 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern come into a position that’s growing like that. To Minds be allowed to work on something that is college- 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond wide, compared to something that is very LINKS individualized and specific, allows me to have Calendar access to work with all kinds of groups on campus. I enjoy that. I enjoy being part of the campus Higher Education NewsWatch community.” WCU Hub

Working in career services is actually a path Cruz AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Paul stumbled upon. About 10 years ago, she was a temporary worker at William Patterson University in New Jersey, assigned to run the internship program. When a full-time position became available, she was oered the job with the stipulation that she get her master’s degree, Theresa Cruz Paul which she did in professional counseling.

Cruz Paul said she gained a lot of experience serving on academic and student development committees. “I focused on some service learning, student internships, experiential learning, and ran career fairs. I got a very wide breadth of experience through that job,” she said.

Ready for a new challenge, Cruz Paul became associate director of academic internships at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. She was involved in curriculum development, while also working with the registrar’s oce registering students and in the career center. She found time to get a second master’s degree in higher and post-secondary administration from Teachers College at Columbia University.

Cruz Paul said she is excited about the growth opportunities at WCU. Some of the things she hopes to implement in the near future include rebranding the oce to get the word out on what services are oered, using technology to update some of those services including virtual appointments that would allow for weekend and evening appointments, virtual workshops, and webinars. Part of the rebranding of the oce includes changing the name to the Center for Career and Professional Development, a more encompassing title that supports the extended services Cruz Paul hopes to achieve. Another plan is to oer students ways to brand themselves through social media when job searching. Services are available to current undergraduate and graduate students, as well as WCU alumni.

Cruz Paul said she wants to expand how the oce oers current services like resume writing, cover letters, mock interview sessions, job and internship searching, career counseling, vocational testing, and preparation for graduate school applications.

“Employee recruitment technology has changed and the services need to change, as well, to keep up with that,” Cruz Paul said. “I think the campus is ready. The faculty seems excited. The administration is supportive. And the sta seems like they’re willing to learn and to use the skills and knowledge they have in new ways, which is good. And I’m sure the students are ready.”

Having more employers on campus to network also is a goal, not just for career fairs, but for panel discussions, meet-and-greets with students, and visiting classrooms if a faculty member requests a guest speaker.

Since coming to WCU, Cruz Paul and her sta have developed a partnership with the hospitality and tourism program, creating a widget for the program’s website that rolls active jobs that are based on hospitality and tourism. Cruz Paul’s oce is currently in discussions to partner with the Kimmel School.

“The goal is to incorporate career development into all aspects of the university,” Cruz Paul said. “If a student can do that over four years and have it incorporated, then by the time they’re a senior, they should be set.”

As a means of reaching out to freshmen, the sta held sessions for undeclared students at orientation. They also assisted with move-in day, which gave them an opportunity to discuss their services with freshmen. And they are in the process of expanding their social media usage to become more interactive with students “because that’s where they’re at,” Cruz Paul said.

“I think we should help students know what services are available to them as far as the career services center is concerned, and let them know that they should come by and say ‘hi’ their first year, as compared to their last year,” Cruz Paul said.

By Marlon W. Morgan

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TOP STORIES Paddlers win honors at Old Cullowhee Canoe Slalom NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Local paddlers gathered on the banks of the Tuckaseigee River on the back side of the Western Carolina University campus Saturday, Sept. 12, to compete at the sixth annual Old Cullowhee Canoe Slalom. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Proceeds from the race will benet the Parks and Recreation Management Club and the PRM Scholarship Fund. With 90 individual race registrations, this year’s slalom was the biggest one so far, said Maurice Phipps, WCU CALENDAR professor of parks and recreation management. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds “Thanks go out to the parks and recreation 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond management majors for organizing the event with LINKS WCU’s Base Camp Cullowhee,” Phipps said. Calendar “We also want to thank John Prentice and Sam Hopkins for the use of their land and WCU’s Higher Education NewsWatch Center for Service Learning for their WCU Hub volunteers, plus everyone else who volunteered with course erection, planning, judging, AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT timekeeping and number-crunching, enabling The Bobilya family – Kirsten, Anika, Lilyanne and Andrew – glide to a rst-place nish in the everyone to have a great time.” “parents/kids” category at the Old Cullowhee Canoe Slalom. (Photo courtesy of Debby Singleton)

The event was held at the site of a proposed river park. A party was held after the race at Tucks Tap and Grille with a fundraiser for the park organized by the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor organization.

The family-friendly paddling competition was held on a calm section of the river. Nine gates were set up for paddlers to compete for the best times. Paddlers with winning times are:

Open touring canoe: First, Todd and Griffin Murdock; second, J.P. Gannon and Trip Krenz; third, Joshua Gross and Lucind Ramsey.

Parents/kids: First, Andrew, Kirsten, Lilyanne and Anika Bobilya; second, Mike and Angus Despeaux; third, Justin, Ellie and Alexander Padgett.

Men’s single racing kayak: First, Erick Bartl; second, Mark Singleton; third, Mike Despeaux.

Men’s single kayak: First, Michael Ferraro; second, Fian McCabe; third, Maurice Phipps.

Women’s single kayak: First, Annie Bartl; second, Skyler Singleton; third, Elizabeth Munns.

Single open canoe: First, Sam Fowlkes; second, Tim Carstens.

Stand-up paddle board: First, Mark Singleton; second, Erick Bartl; third, Debby Singleton.

By Randall Holcombe Two WCU parks and recreation management majors, Alex Church (left) and Alex Koerner, compete in the “open touring canoe” category at the Old Cullowhee Canoe Slalom. (Photo courtesy of Debby Singleton)

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TOP STORIES Panel to discuss ‘Constitution in Everyday Life’ on Sept. 17 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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In honor of Constitution Day on Thursday, Sept. 17, the Public Policy Institute, Department of Political Science and Public Affairs, and the

Pre-Law Club will host an educational panel at 7 p.m. in the A.K. Hinds University Center Multipurpose Room titled “The Constitution in Everyday Life.” PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Panelists include several guests with unique viewpoints about the constitution and local government: Bonnie Claxton, attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina; Paige Dowling, town manager of Sylva; Kim Elliot, Jackson County Schools assistant superintendent; and Roy Wijewickrama, district court judge.

“We have a wonderful mix of guest speakers who will talk about how constitutional issues arise in everyday situations, often in ways we may not even realize,” said Todd Collins, associate professor of political science and director of the Public Policy Institute. “So often, we cover the big topics like Roe CALENDAR v. Wade, or abstract principles like free speech. My hope is that this panel will focus a bit more on more common, everyday activities where 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern constitutional rights or issues may be involved in ways that we either don’t recognize or take for granted – in common, everyday subjects, like education, Minds housing, or other topics.” 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS

Admission to the panel is free and open to the public. After each panelist speaks for 10 minutes, there will be an opportunity for questions and answers Calendar with the audience. Higher Education NewsWatch In addition to the panel discussion, Collins said, Pre-Law Club members will be circulating pocket Constitutions to students on the University Center WCU Hub lawn during the day.

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TOP STORIES PSDS to convene climate/energy workshop in Panama NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at WCU, along with the U.S. Department of Interior and Fundación Natura, will convene the Workshop for Climate Change and Renewable Energy in Protected Areas (Taller Cambio Climatico y Energia Renovable en Areas Protegidas) Sept. 23- PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES 25 in Panama City, Panama.

The workshop was funded by a grant to Rob Young, professor of coastal geology and PSDS director, from the DOI’s International Technical Assistance Program.

In addition to the PSDS team, Garrett Fisher, Instructor of Spanish at WCU will travel to Panama to provide translation and Spanish-language note CALENDAR taking. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds “Likely attendees will include Jonathan Farrar, U.S. ambassador to Panama; Kristin Sarri, assistant secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior; Mirei 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond Endara, Panamanian minister of the environment, and many others,” Young said. the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara “This is the second international workshop under this grant for PSDS this year, following similar work in Jamaica earlier in the spring,” he added. Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream'

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TOP STORIES ‘Rooted in the Mountains’ symposium coming up Sept. 24-25 at NOTEWORTHY NEWS WCU ACHIEVEMENTS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES “Plants for Food and Medicine” is the theme for Western Carolina University’s sixth annual symposium, Rooted in the Mountains: Valuing our Common Ground, coming up Thursday, Sept. 24, and Friday, Sept. 25.

The symposium is a collaborative meeting that seeks to integrate indigenous and local knowledge with health and environmental issues. Both Appalachian and Native worldviews are addressed in an attempt to better understand the issues and dynamics of humanity’s place and relationship with the natural world, as well as understand the challenges that arise in an ever-changing world. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Rooted in the Mountains also reflects the importance of language, as it is within Modern Minds language that traditional or indigenous epistemologies are preserved, event 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: organizers said. LINKS Calendar Presenters will include community members from Cherokee and the surrounding areas as well as professionals, activists, academics and researchers who work with Higher Education NewsWatch plants. WCU Hub

“Rooted in the Mountains reminds us of the power of place. We meet our AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT neighbors and strengthen our connections,” said Hartwell Francis, director of WCU’s Cherokee language program. “We tell each other about our experiences in these beautiful mountains and we reaffirm our commitments to study together to better understand ourselves in our environment.”

Cherokee elder Tom Belt, coordinator of WCU’s Cherokee Language Program, and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians cultural resource officer T.J. Holland, a resident of the Snowbird community, will be the Native keynote speakers on day one of the symposium. They will be discussing the Cherokee concept of “Duyuktvi,” the tribe’s philosophy to bring harmony and balance to every aspect of life.

Tom Hatley, formerly Sequoyah Distinguished Professor at WCU, will give the keynote address on day two. Hatley will discuss the human relationship with local forests in his presentation “How the Sequoia Got Its Name: Stories We Tell about Forests (and Ourselves).” In addition to being a nationally recognized historian and Cherokee scholar, Hatley also has trained as a forester and historian at Davidson, Duke and Yale. He has worked for more than 30 years on strategies for collaborative and cross-cultural social investment in agriculture, health and land recovery.

Rooted in the Mountains will be held at WCU’s Health and Human Sciences Building from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sept. 24, with a mountain music concert featuring the Haywood Travelers at 6:30 p.m. The symposium will continue on Sept. 25 from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Registration is $75 for adults through Friday, Sept. 18, and $125 thereafter. The fee for students is $25, with a limited number of scholarships available.

For more information and to register, visit rootedinthemtns.wcu.edu or call 828-227-7397.

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TOP STORIES Scott named to posts for Local Government Training Program, Public Policy NOTEWORTHY NEWS Institute ACHIEVEMENTS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Rebecca Scott, a community planner with regional knowledge and experience, is the new director of the Western Carolina University’s Local Government Training Program. She will also serve as assistant director of WCU’s Public Policy Institute.

T h e Local Government Training Program provides assistance and leadership instruction to CALENDAR public ocials and sta, while the Public Policy 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Institute aims to create more eective regional Minds policies and empower local communities. Both are 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond part of the WCU Department of Political the Glass Matrix Science and Public Affairs. 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler Scott’s appointment was announced by Chris 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' Cooper, professor and head of the department. A 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show Sylva resident, she replaces Vickey Wade, who 'Livin' the Dream' recently retired as longtime director of the Local Government Training Program. LINKS “Becca is well-respected in the region and a great Calendar t for both of these positions,” said Cooper. Higher Education NewsWatch “Vickey directed the program for 22 years and did a terric job. She left us poised for the future. WCU Hub Our rst step was to merge the responsibilities Rebecca Scott (right) of Local Government Training Program director AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT and Public Policy Institute assistant director into one position, to be more effective with outreach for our units in the department.”

Todd Collins, institute director and department associate professor, said both provide valuable services to the region.

“While their missions are distinct, our clients, community partners and the issues of interest for each often overlap,” he said. “Combining some of the resources and projects of these two entities will allow each to build on the strengths of the other and foster more participation opportunities for regional stakeholders, faculty, staff and our students at WCU.”

Scott was most recently a community planner with the Southwestern Planning and Economic Development Commission. She is a graduate of Berea College and received her master’s degree in public aairs from WCU. She also has rsthand experience with the program, having completed numerous courses and workshops through it and UNC School of Government.

“The Local Government Training Program and the Public Policy Institute are both wonderful resources for communities in Western North Carolina, and this is a great opportunity to explore additional ways these programs can coordinate efforts as they continue to serve our region,” Scott said.

Since its inception in 1984, the Local Government Training Program has addressed training needs of public ocials and personnel in WNC. The program provides UNC School of Government courses, oers workshops, seminars, consultations and video teleconferences with state ocials and experts, and addresses local technical and informational needs. The annual Local Government Training Program Advisory Board meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 17, in the library of the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information, call 828-227-3442.

By Geoff Cantrell

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TOP STORIES Second annual LEAD:WNC summit Oct. 20 at WCU to focus on NOTEWORTHY NEWS region, quality of life ACHIEVEMENTS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Leaders from government, business and nonprofits across Western North Carolina will gather with representatives of the health care profession, the tourism industry and environmental agencies to discuss regional quality of life issues at LEAD:WNC, a one-day summit set for Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Western Carolina University.

With the theme “Enhancing the Quality of Life in Western North Carolina,” the event is the second annual conference hosted by WCU following a CALENDAR pledge made by Chancellor David O. Belcher in his March 2012 installation 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, address that the university would convene an annual gathering of regional Modern Minds leaders and thinkers to work collaboratively on solving regional issues. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS This year’s summit will feature a special keynote presentation on “The State Calendar of Health Care and Its Effect on the Quality of Life.” Speakers will include Jeff Seraphine, president of the Eastern Group of Lifepoint Health; Harry R. Phillips, chief medical officer for Duke Lifepoint; and Steve Higher Education NewsWatch Heatherly, CEO of Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital. WCU Hub

“Last year, one of our most requested follow-up sessions was on health care,” said conference organizer Tony Johnson, executive AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT director of Millennial Initiatives at WCU. “Because access to quality health care is so critical to quality of life in the region, we saw this as a great opportunity to bring in experts who could speak on the subject from the national, regional and local points of view.”

David B. Fountain, Duke Energy’s state president for North Carolina, will deliver the luncheon address.

The summit also will include a session on “Creative Arts and the Quality of Life” with panelists Suzanne Fetcher, president and CEO, McColl Center for Art + Innovation; Beth Fields, executive director, Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center; and Thomas “Yona” Wade Waidsutte, director, Chief Joyce Dugan Cultural Arts Center. George Brown, dean of WCU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts, will moderate.

Dale Carpenter, dean of WCU’s College of Education and Allied Professions, will moderate a session on “Education and the Quality of Life.” Panelists will include John Bryant, senior director for human resources, Henderson County Public Schools; Susan C. Gottfried, executive director, Evergreen Community Charter School; Bonnie N. Johnson, principal, Buncombe County Early and Middle colleges; Mary Morse, Great Smokies Christian Home Educators; Concha Wyatt, Key School director of teacher training, Carolina Day School; and Michelle Lourcey, chief academic officer at North Carolina Virtual Public Schools.

A session on “The Environment and Quality of Life” will feature panelists Peter Bates, director of WCU’s Natural Resource Conservation and Management Program and executive director of Forest Stewards; Brent Martin, Southern Appalachia regional director of the Wilderness Society; Julie Mayfield, co-director of Mountain Time; Sharon Fouts Taylor, executive director of the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee; and Bob Wagner, co-director of Mountain True. Jay Gerlach, director of WCU’s master’s degree program in public affairs, will moderate.

Discussing “Health Care and the Quality of Life” will be panelists Melissa McKnight, health education supervisor, Jackson County Department of Public Health; Melanie Batchelor, wellness coordinator/diabetes educator, Harris Regional Hospital; and Frank Castelblanco, director, Division of Regional Services, Mountain Area Health Education Center. Kae Livsey, associate professor in WCU’s School of Nursing, will moderate.

A session on “Innovation, Technology and the Quality of Life” will include Tony Baldwin, superintendent of Buncombe County Schools; Susan Harper, executive director of the Asheville Community Theatre; Ted Pate, co-founder of Dig Local; Steven Schain, president, Spectra3D Technologies; and Jonathan Bailey, vice president of operations, Mission Health Systems. Edward Wright, director of WCU’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, will moderate.

Discussing “Tourism and the Quality of Life” will be panelists Stephanie Brown, executive director, Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau; Chris Cavanaugh, president, Magellan Strategy Group; Betty Huskins, executive director, Smoky Mountain Host; Tommy Jenkins, executive director, Macon County Economic Development Commission; Ed Phillips, executive director, Burke County Tourism Development Authority; and Ryan Sherby, executive director, Southwestern Commission. Steve Morse, director of WCU’s Hospitality and Tourism Program, will moderate.

Summit activities are set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Ramsey Regional Activity Center.

WCU’s partners in presenting the summit are Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital, which are Duke LifePoint hospitals.

Approximately 275 business leaders, elected and appointed officials, educators and others attended the inaugural LEAD:WNC summit last November, an event centered on the need for a more regional approach to economic and community development in WNC. The 2014 summit has led to additional spin-off conferences focused on tourism, education, and innovation and entrepreneurship.

Registration, including lunch, is $69 per person through Friday, Oct. 2; $109 afterward. For information or to register, visit leadwnc.wcu.edu, call 828-227-3014 or email [email protected].

By Bill Studenc

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ACHIEVEMENTS CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER

TOP STORIES Sievert presents research at conference in Madrid NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Jackie Sievert, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Aairs, presented research at the Carlos III-Juan March Institute of Social Sciences Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in June at the Getafe campus of in Spain. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The title of her paper was “Opinions or Oppression? The Choice of Independent Courts and Repression in Authoritarian Regimes.”

Sievert was one of a panel of 16 colleagues at an international academic meeting exploring the topic “Institutions of Protection: The Organization of Security and Justice System Institutions in Autocracies.” CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Tags: Jackie Sievert Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Jackie Sievert Calendar

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TOP STORIES State Employees Combined Campaign kicks off on campus Sept. 23 NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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It’s that time of year again, when Western Carolina University faculty and sta come together to support the North Carolina State Employees Combined Campaign. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

“This is our chance for WCU to give back to the community that supports us,” said Tammy Allman, business ocer in the College of Arts and Sciences dean’s oce and WCU’s SECC chair. “Our campus campaign runs from CALENDAR Wednesday, Sept. 23, through Friday, Nov. 6.” 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds The SECC has provided more than $99 million in 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond support for worthy causes since it began in the Glass Matrix 1985, Allman said. The campaign raises funds for 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara federations and independent charities that Tyroler represent a variety of local, state and national 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' health, education and social service 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show organizations. 'Livin' the Dream'

The SECC is the only ocially sanctioned fund drive conducted on WCU’s campus for outside LINKS organizations. “There are more than 1,000 Calendar organizations to which you can direct your Higher Education NewsWatch contributions, so there is likely a cause that is important to you on the list,” Allman said. WCU Hub

“By participating in the State Employees AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Combined Campaign, WCU faculty and sta nurture our communities, improve lives and strengthen organizations in Jackson County, across Western North Carolina and beyond,” she said. “I hope every employee will consider supporting those organizations and charitable causes that have special importance to them, whether it be human services, the arts, wildlife, education, medical research, the environment, and more. Each donation, no matter the amount, makes a difference in the lives of others.”

Allman said team captains soon will be sharing additional information about how to participate in the campaign. Last year, WCU faculty and sta, retirees and students contributed more than $30,000 to charitable organizations. This year’s goal for WCU employees and retirees is $35,000.

For more information, visit the SECC website at ncsecc.org or contact Allman at [email protected].

— Contributed Information

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TOP STORIES Ulrich and quintet tour three states next month NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Bradley Ulrich, professor of trumpet, will be performing with the Fortress Brass Quintet in Kentucky, Ohio and Colorado during October.

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES The quintet was created by Ulrich to perform during the American Brass Autumn Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2013, and consists of ve brass faculty members from ve universities across the United States.

CALENDAR “I only knew one of the other performers, and 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern the other three were selected by reputation and Minds word of mouth,” Ulrich said. “We met for the 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond rst time at JFK Airport in New York on our way the Glass Matrix to Russia, where we rehearsed for a couple of 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara days in Moscow before our rst performance Tyroler during the Moscow Brass Days at the Moscow 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' Conservatory.” 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' In 2014, the group was invited back to Russia for repeat performances. “After last year’s tour LINKS we discussed performing at each other’s Calendar universities, and this October we will be performing at the University of Kentucky, Higher Education NewsWatch Colorado State University and the University of The Fortress Brass Quintet performs a wide range of repertoire, and has twice been the featured WCU Hub Colorado. Next year, the group will come to brass quintet for the American Brass Autumn Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. WCU and the University of Alabama,” Ulrich AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT said.

Group members are: P. Bradley Ulrich (trumpet/WCU), Eric Yates (trumpet/University of Alabama), Brad Kerns (trombone/University of Kentucky), John McGuire (horn/Colorado State University) and Mike Dunn (tuba/University of Colorado).

In addition to performing and teaching at each of the member’s universities, the Fortress Brass Quintet also will be performing on live radio and for a concert series in Lexington, Kentucky, and giving masterclasses and performing at the University of Louisville and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. The Kentucky portion of the tour will take place Oct. 8-11 and the Colorado tour will be Oct. 22-25.

Ulrich serves as artistic director of the American Brass Autumn Festival in St. Petersburg.

For more information, contact him at 828-227-3274.

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TOP STORIES University Marketing unveiling new business card, letterhead design NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS University Marketing is debuting new business cards and letterhead for campus this month, moving away from the climb lines and introducing a bolder, more modern design.

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES In addition to the new stationery, the marketing unit is also introducing new designs for name badges, expand banners, program brochures and a new Power Point template, said Robin Oliver, WCU’s director of marketing.

“The evolution of marketing materials was inuenced by multiple campus conversations about the university brand over the course of 2014,” Oliver said. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern The new letterhead also formally introduces the recently approved brand signature Minds mark, which was created under the direction of a cross-divisional committee this 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond spring, she said. The signature mark allows campus departments and units to have a LINKS more visible and flexible identity. Calendar

For more information on the signature mark use guidelines, see the updated “Style Higher Education NewsWatch Guide” at branding.wcu.edu. Additional information and pricing for new materials The new brand is more modern and features upward moving WCU Hub can also be found on the branding website. angles. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT To hasten the move to the new stationery and marketing templates, University Marketing is collaborating with a WCU faculty member on a recycling initiative. Sloan Despeaux, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, is collecting old business cards for a multi-campus project in which students will be building a fractal object. Old business cards, along with any other marketing materials that need to be recycled, should be brought to Suite 401 in H.F. Robinson Administration Building by Monday, Sept. 21. Anyone who participates will be entered to win a free Eno Hammock from Brand Experience.

In addition, the University Print Shop will oer a discount on small volume orders of the new business cards through the end of the calendar year, providing orders of 100 for only $25.

Departments and units should plan to update appropriate materials no later than Aug. 30, 2016, Oliver said.

To request an update of existing marketing materials, go to http://www.wcu.edu/discover/wcu-brand/ and ll out a creative services request. For more information about the new materials, contact Robin Oliver at 828-227-3559.

– Contributed information

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TOP STORIES Veteran rider looking forward to ‘Biking for Biology’ on Saturday NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Darby Harris will be pedaling his bicycle for at least 100 miles this coming Saturday, Sept. 19. But will it turn out to be 125 miles, or maybe 150, or even 200 miles? It all depends on the donations. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Harris, a three-time Western Carolina University alumnus who now teaches as a lecturer in WCU’s Department of Biology, will hop aboard his road bike at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the Natural Sciences Building to begin the inaugural “Biking for Biology,” an initiative to benet the students in WCU’s Biology Club.

Harris will be cycling one mile for every $5 raised for the club, and with about $500 in donations already secured by mid-week, he is destined to go after CALENDAR the cyclist’s “century,” or 100-miler. The donation total as of late Friday will determine his ultimate task – including if his mission will be to complete a 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern 200-mile “double century,” which would take Minds him north on the Blue Ridge Parkway all the 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond way to Boone – in one day. LINKS Calendar A native of Durham, Harris started racing road bikes as a high school student and enrolled as a WCU undergraduate in the fall of 1990. His three degrees earned in Cullowhee include a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1997, a bachelor’s degree in French in 2001, and a master’s degree in biology in 2005. Harris Higher Education NewsWatch taught as an adjunct professor in the WCU biology department for a year after receiving his master’s, and then he and his wife, WCU alumna Isabella WCU Hub Jacovino, moved to the University of Kentucky, where he began working on his doctorate in plant biology. He completed the doctoral program in 2011, and the couple moved to Cornell University, where he worked in a post-doctoral research position. They moved back to WCU when he accepted the lecturer’s AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT position for fall semester 2012.

Harris is at least 100 miles from rookie status when it comes to road cycling. He spent the years 2002 through 2007 as a “Category 1” road racer, the highest ability level for amateur road cyclists as dened by USA Cycling, and he often battled professional cyclists in races held from Virginia to Florida. For two years he was a member of a team sponsored by the Earth Fare supermarket chain, based in Asheville, and for another two years he was on a team representing Cane Creek, a cycling component company in Fletcher.

Harris said time spent in the saddle went down for a couple of years after he and his wife moved back to Cullowhee, but last year his road miles started to increase again, highlighted by a 200-mile ride completed in 13 hours in the summer of 2014. The miles have been piling up this year, also. Harris said he was averaging about 300 miles per week by mid-summer, and the 43-year-old recently won the 100-mile Blue Ridge Breakaway race in Haywood County with a time of 5 hours and 53 minutes.

For the Saturday ride, he plans to follow back roads from Sylva to Balsam, and the remainder of the journey will be north along the parkway. “I’m going to be tired at the end of this, no matter if it goes for 200 miles, or whatever,” he said.

Two senior biology majors who are Honors College students and Biology Club ocers – president Chequita Brooks and vice president Emily Ashe – started tossing out fundraising ideas for the club last spring, and the two students and Harris decided to start the “Biking for Biology” project. The money raised will be used to send club members on educationally enriching trips to research centers and college campuses in the region.

Harris said Brooks and Ashe have been dynamic leaders for the Biology Club, leading the group to grow from 10 or 15 members several years ago to about 50 members now. “I’ll be more than happy if this is something we can make an annual event, and we can use the money for some really cool student Darby Harris cruises down a campus road. “Biking for Biology” will take him on an extreme ride from activities,” Harris said. Cullowhee to Sylva and Balsam, and then north on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Harris said his wife will provide logistical support during the Saturday ride and transport him back home, and some Biology Club students also may meet up with him along the parkway.

Donations for “Biking for Biology” are being accepted at the biology department oce located in Room 132 of the Natural Sciences Building, and supporters also can donate at the website www.gofundme.com/bikingforbiology.

On the day of the ride, updates and photos will be posted on the biology department’s Facebook page and on the Biology Club’s Facebook page.

By Randall Holcombe Two of the masterminds behind “Biking for Biology,” biology seniors Emily Ashe (left) and Chequita Brooks, maintain their enthusiasm at a rainy Valley Ballyhoo.

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TOP STORIES WCU again ranked among best in South by US News & World Report NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Western Carolina University once again is ranked among the best universities in the South in two categories in the 2016 edition of the U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” guidebook released Wednesday, Sept. 9. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The guidebook lists WCU as 13th among “top public regional universities” in the South, up two places from last year’s spot at 15th. The publication also has WCU tied with two other schools at No. 32 on a list of the “best regional universities” in the South, five places above last year’s ranking at No. 37 in that category.

CALENDAR The category in which WCU appears includes 618 higher education institutions that offer a 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, wide range of bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and that tend to attract most of their students Modern Minds from surrounding states. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS In addition, Western Carolina ranked at No. 27 among institutions in the South for “best Calendar colleges for veterans” and at No. 90 nationally in the category of “best online programs.” Higher Education NewsWatch The annual rankings are based on a variety of indicators, including assessment by WCU Hub administrators at peer institutions, graduation rates, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

The rankings come as WCU is celebrating an all-time high in the percentage of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who have returned for their sophomore year with 80 percent of last year’s freshman class back in school this fall semester, and as more than 3,000 applications for admission to next year’s freshman class already are being processed.

Although rankings guidebooks can provide some guidance in the college search process, prospective students should concentrate on finding the school that is the right fit for them personally, said Phil Cauley, director of student recruitment and transitions at WCU.

“A great way to learn more about Western Carolina and to see if it is a good fit is to visit during Open House, which allows students to get a feel for the campus by taking a tour, talking with faculty and staff, and learning about academic programs, extracurricular activities, student support programs and financial aid,” Cauley said.

WCU has four Open House events scheduled for this academic year. The first one is Saturday, Oct. 31, and others are scheduled for Nov. 14, Feb. 20 and March 12. Registration and more information are available at the website openhouse.wcu.edu.

Students who cannot attend an Open House have the alternative of participating in a weekday campus tour, Cauley said. More information is available by emailing [email protected] or calling 828-227-7317.

By Bill Studenc

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TOP STORIES WCU community chooses ‘Courses to Careers’ as QEP topic NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The votes are in, and the Western Carolina University community has spoken. “Courses to Careers” will be the topic of focus for the university’s next Quality Enhancement Plan. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

After a Sept. 1 public forum that included presentations about eight proposed QEP topics, WCU students, faculty, sta and alumni were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite through a web link sent by email. Voting took place over an 11-day period, Sept. 2-12, and nearly 1,000 votes were recorded, said Sloan Despeaux, chair of the QEP Topic Selection Committee.

“ ‘Courses to Careers’ was the clear winner, not only winning in our points system of voting, but it also was a clear winner in the popular vote,” Despeaux CALENDAR said. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds In the “popular vote,” everyone voted for a top choice, with one choice per vote, 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond Despeaux said. For the point system, votes were tallied separately for each group of the Glass Matrix participants (faculty, sta, students and alumni), with the top QEP topic for each 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara group receiving three points, the second-place topic receiving two points, and the Tyroler third-place nisher receiving one point. The points for each topic were then 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' combined to determine the top nisher by point system, she said. “Courses to 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show Careers” was the top nisher for three of the four categories of voters (sta, 'Livin' the Dream' student and alumni), placing third among faculty voters.

With the full title of “Courses to Careers: Building Psychosocial Competency,” the chosen topic was authored by Shauna Sleight, director of Campus LINKS Recreation and Wellness, and Ty Marion, a graduate student in the Master of Business Administration Program. Calendar

Higher Education NewsWatch The new 10-year QEP will be a centerpiece of WCU’s reaccreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and it will inuence WCU’s approach to teaching and learning over the next decade. The QEP must be centered around a single, well-dened idea that WCU Hub will improve the institution and enhance student learning while being aligned with WCU’s “2020 Vision” strategic plan, said Arthur Salido, who is directing WCU’s reaccreditation efforts. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

Every 10 years, the SACSCOC conducts a comprehensive review of each of its accredited institutions, and WCU will undergo its next review in 2017.

More than 50 proposed QEP topics were submitted for consideration by the QEP Topic Selection Committee last spring, and eight nalists were chosen to be voted upon. “All eight teams with topics up for vote put forth an incredible amount of work and professionalism into their topic development and helped put eight important issues into the spotlight at WCU,” Despeaux said.

Tonya Westbrook, WCU associate professor of social work, will be heading up the QEP implementation committee as the university goes forward in developing the new plan, Despeaux said.

An abstract and white paper about the topic “Courses to Careers” are viewable by visiting qep.wcu.edu and clicking on “Final Topics.”

By Randall Holcombe

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TOP STORIES WCU community puts boots on the ground to help put shoes on villagers’ NOTEWORTHY NEWS feet ACHIEVEMENTS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Western Carolina University’s Center for Service Learning and campus organizers have announced initiatives to raise awareness and provide resources especially new shoes for the village of Ndava, located in Burundi, Africa.

The call to action came Wednesday (Sept. 2) during “An Evening with Manny Ohonme” at A.K. Hinds University Center theater. Ohonme is the author of “Sole Purpose,” an autobiography, and CEO of Samaritan’s Feet, a humanitarian group dedicated to distributing shoes to impoverished communities around the world. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern A WCU collaboration with Samaritan’s Feet will help purchase and provide shoes to those in need in Burundi and build awareness of the humanitarian Minds group’s global eorts. That includes eorts closer to home, with an additional emphasis on providing proper footwear to needy children in western 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond North Carolina through local organizations. the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Ohonme said 1.5 billion people lack decent shoes, Tyroler with those going barefoot susceptible to disease 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' and injury. 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' “We wash their feet, give them new shoes and change their lives,” he said. The goal is for 10 million pairs of shoes to be donated in the next 10 years, along with messages of hope and LINKS encouragement. Calendar

Born in Nigeria, Ohonme was given his first pair of tennis shoes at 9. He adapted to, and succeeded at, sports, particularly basketball. Later, he gained Higher Education NewsWatch a full athletic scholarship to the University of North Dakota-Lakes Region thanks to his basketball skills. Now a Charlotte resident, his daughter is a WCU Hub WCU sophomore. He spoke Wednesday evening of a childhood where a pair of shoes was the equivalent of several months’ wages, and winning a pair donated by an American citizen in a hoops AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT competition set him on another path in life.

“You have to consider the power of what one person can do, what one pair of shoes can do,” he said. “One person rocked my world!”

A Center for Service Learning subcommittee will work with Samaritan’s Feet and promote the cause using social media, campus volunteers and one- on-one engagement, including a “going barefoot” promotion on Thursdays in September from 1-5 p.m. Tracie Ohonme, wife of Manny Ohonme, will serve as a liaison between Samaritan’s Feet and the WCU subcommittee.

In her introduction of Ohomne, Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar reminded those attending that Africa is the focus of WCU’s two-year interdisciplinary academic learning theme. The partnership with Samaritan’s Feet will be a campus project, with many opportunities for grassroots involvement of students, sta, faculty and the greater community.

To learn more or participate in the collaborative eorts with Samaritan’s Feet, go to www.samaritansfeet.org or contact Lane Perry at [email protected] or 828-227-2643.

By Geoff Cantrell Manny Ohonme (Photo courtesy of Samaritan’s Feet)

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TOP STORIES WCU distinguished professor, wife become US citizens NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Hugh Jack, Western Carolina University’s Cass Ballenger Distinguished Professor of Engineering, and his wife, Alicia, became U.S. citizens during a ceremony held in late August in Charlotte. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Jack’s parents immigrated to Canada from Scotland in the 1960s, and he moved from Canada to Michigan in 1996. He came to WCU in July from Grand Valley State University. CALENDAR The Ballenger Professorship, endowed at $1 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern million, was established through a gift of Minds $250,000 from former U.S. Rep. Cass Ballenger (R- 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond Hickory) supplemented by a grant of $250,000 LINKS from the C.D. Spangler Foundation. Ballenger Calendar served in the U.S. House from 1986 to 2005. He died last February. Higher Education NewsWatch

WCU Hub “The United States has a rich history of freedom and opportunity that I deeply appreciate,” Jack AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT said.

Tags: Hugh Jack

Alicia and Hugh Jack

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TOP STORIES WCU drum line has memorable experience at Panthers game NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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As part of the team’s slogan “Two States. One Team,” the NFL’s Carolina Panthers decided to have a drum line from a North Carolina university and one from South Carolina perform at halftime with the team’s own drum line, Purrcussion, at Sunday’s home opener against Houston. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Matt Henley, Western Carolina University’s assistant director of athletic bands who oversees the drum line, said he was ecstatic when he got word that the Panthers chose his group.

“I just think it’s really cool that the image of the band, the character of the band, the CALENDAR professionalism of the band and some of the big 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern stu that they’ve been able to do has really Minds opened up some other doors for us,” Henley said. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond “I think that’s really cool that out of the blue, they the Glass Matrix wanted a North Carolina representative and they 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara chose us. Out of all the state schools, they chose Tyroler us and I’m flattered.” 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show In recent years, the Pride of the Mountains has 'Livin' the Dream' participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade and has been the lead band at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. But LINKS attending an NFL game and performing before Calendar more than 70,000 fans was a surreal and nerve- Higher Education NewsWatch racking experience, the band’s drum line members The solo performance gave the drumming Cats an opportunity to shine on their own for 90 seconds. said. WCU Hub

“It was euphoric, absolutely amazing,” said Christian Whitesizer, a freshman mechanical engineering major from Colfax. “I’ve never done anything like it AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT before.”

Because it was such a unique opportunity, Henley wanted his entire drum line to enjoy the experience. The Pride of the Mountains band consists of two drum lines – a Gold drum line, which Henley equates to a varsity drum line, that actually performs with the entire band, and a Purple drum line, a junior varsity of sorts, that typically is on the field at football games with the cheerleaders and dance team.

In all, 50 drum line members made the trip to Charlotte.

“I was extremely nervous,” said sophomore Steven Gary, an undeclared major from Concord who is on the Purple drum line. “I haven’t marched in a long time, much less played in front of a crowd of that capacity. It was really scary actually, but it went well. I was happy about it.”

Each drum line – WCU, South Carolina State University and the Panthers’ Purrcussion unit – played a minute-and-a-half solo, before coming together for a collaboration to end the performance. While they were able to learn the music for the collaboration ahead of time, it wasn’t until they arrived in Charlotte Sunday morning that the three groups were able to put the actual performance together. They Cymbalists await their cue during the solo performance. managed do so in less than 40 minutes, but were still unsure how it was going to turn out.

The end result drew rave reviews from those in the stands. As the members walked around the stadium, they were repeatedly greeted with, “Great job.”

“It went a lot better than anybody expected it to go because we hadn’t practiced together before,” said Jordan Jenks, a junior criminal justice and international studies major from Fayetteville. “Everyone came prepared and it just went really well.”

South Carolina State University The WCU drum line struck up an instant kinship with its counterparts from South Carolina State University. Each group cheered on the other and they made sure to get a group photo before departing Bank of America Stadium.

“It’s not every day in our world that we get to experience and get to be up close and personal with an HBCU (historically black college and university) group,” Henley said. “Their style is very dierent from what we do, yet we nd it very interesting and very exciting. And to get to know them, the South Carolina State guys are awesome. We’re just thrilled for the entire experience.”

Henley also got a chance to get reacquainted with two former WCU drum line members who now perform for the Panthers, Katie Parham and Donnie Sigmon.

Next up for the Pride of the Mountains is a November trip to Indianapolis, where it will perform at the Bands of America Grand National Championship. Percussionists from WCU, South Carolina State University and the Carolina Panthers’ Purcussion unit “I’ve been teaching a long time at Western, and perform together to close their appearance. it’s interesting to watch the transformation of (the band),” Henley said. “It’s like one big performance has led to another big performance, another invitation and another invitation. Now we seem to get a lot of invitations. The question now is just really when’s the right time to do the right thing. We’re going to continue onward and upward.”

For more pictures of the drum line’s performance in Charlotte, visit this Flickr gallery.

By Marlon W. Morgan

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NOTEWORTHY NEWS CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER

TOP STORIES WCU employees recognized for service NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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A number of Western Carolina University employees are celebrating milestones in their service to the university, as measured in ve-year increments.

Each one was awarded a certificate during Employee Appreciation Day activities Thursday, Sept. 3. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Five Years – Fred J. Bauknecht, Michael Andrew Braun, Michael John Clare, James Reuben Clift, Stefanie Leigh Conley, Patricia D. Deitz, Craig A. Fowler, Patrick J. Gardner, Marie-Line Germain, Geo R. Goehle, Todd Carleton Herman, Gregory Scott Hodges, Christopher Willis Holcombe, Cynthia Caravelis Hughes, Natalie Rochelle Kosnik, Mark A. Kossick, Daniel T. Lee, Seth J. McCormick, Suzan Alden Melvin, Jason N. Ottie, Jon Kevin Passow, Katie McDowell Peek, Eddie Joe Pettway, Mark Stephen Ray, Mark Rhea, Hoyte Brown Roberson, Glenna Louise Rowe, Katrina P. Royar, Robert Emerson Ryder, Roya Qualls Scales, Ellen Sigler, Elizabeth Caveny Snyder, Kathleen A. Stenger, Hugh Ryan Taylor, Trina D. Taylor, Elizabeth Heather Thompson Rainey, Maltiben CALENDAR Turnbull, Jamie C. Vaske, John C. Wagaman, Emily Suzanne Walker, Timothy Charles Watson, Meredith Curcio Whitfield and Edward William Wright. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Ten Years – Ann Dora Adams, Christopher J. Ammons, Terri E. Armeld, Louis J. Barozzini, Russell Binkley, Beverly C. Bryson, Michael J Burnett, Chad D. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond Burton, Robert Bruce Carton, Kimberly L. Cherry-Beck, Andrew Craig Denson, Laura E. DeWald, Matthew J. Ellsworth, Stephen James English, Shirley M. LINKS Finegan, Janet C. Ford, George D. Ford, Ann Hallyburton, Georgia Hambrecht, Danielle Angel Haney, Russell P. Harris, David H. Heisler, Brandy Cody Calendar Henning, Phyllis Jean Homan, Daniel K. Hooker, Betty Green Hopkins, Beth Huber, Larry E. Hunter, Jane R. Livingstone, Deborah Davis Loyer, Alexander S. Macaulay, Lann Alvin Malesky, Jill Ann Manners, Elizabeth Anne McDonough, Elisabeth Chaney Craver Moore, Randall Keith Parris, Ernestine M. Higher Education NewsWatch Plemmons, Rita Gaynelle Prince, David Hugh Rathbone, Richard Quintin Ritter, Reginald L. Rogers, Mary Josephine Rompf, Arthur L. Salido, Barbara L. WCU Hub Schade, Emily Alanna Sharpe, Susan Marie Skibbe, Roxane G. Stiles, Wesley L. Stone, David Strahan, Richard Tichich, Jonathan Dean Wade, Cheryl Waters- Tormey, Joshua G. Whitmore, Dolores Willey, Ami Nikkole Williams, James Cale Wilson and Mesfin Arega Woldeyohannes. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

Fifteen Years – Christy Ashe, Martin N. Brow, Connie Shular Bryson, Elizabeth Jane Buchanan, Catherine W. Carter, Tatum Beck Conley, Donald W. Connelly, Eva N. Cook, Roy Kevin Cope, Kristen Lee Crosson, Colby Tanner Deitz, Jan Beegle Finnegan, Kevan Delany Frazier, Angela Johnson Grube, Danny P. Grube, Bobby R. Hensley, Ernest W Jamison, Jason M. Lavigne, Edward Lawson, Kristy W. Maddy, Sharon McLaurin, Justin Menickelli, Steven F. Pinner, Deborah L. Tarmann and James H. Ullmer.

Twenty Years – Nancy S. Brendell, Dale R. Buchanan, Rita K. Dills, Ferman Allen Fortner, Thomas Gray Frazier, Timothy M. Grindsta, Cathy Lauren Grist, Kathy M. Jaqua, Elizabeth H. Jones, Norman Leroy Kauman, Monty V. Kirkpatrick, William R. Kwochka, Karen Yundt Lunnen, Nancy W. Phillips, Martin A. Ramsey, Donna Lorraine Reynolds, Sabine Jos Rundle, Jerey Bryan Smith, John Michael Stewart, Dina J. Towey, Vickey Mcdaniel Wade and Linda N. Woody.

Twenty-Five Years – Josie Bewsey, Lisa Arlene Bloom, Timothy S. Chapman, Russell Clark Crisp, Gillian D. Ellern, Rosemarie B. Greenwood, Mary Jean Ronan Herzog, John Casey Hurley, David Mark McCord, James Morse McLachlan, William Frederick Moore, Cynthia Renee Parker, Robert Strauss, Doyle Darwin Thomas, Roger Floyd Turk and P. Bradley Ulrich.

Thirty Years – Timothy V. Carstens, Johnnie A. Clark, William L. Clarke, Renee P. Corbin, Laura Yvonne Hooper, Lisa Bryson Hoyle, Jon C. Jicha, Cecil Don Livingston, Douglas Steve McClure, Gregory B. Plemmons, Dona R. Potts, David A. Shapiro and John T. West.

Thirty-Five Years – C. Dale Carpenter and Mario A. Gaetano.

Forty-Five Years – Burton B. Fox.

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TOP STORIES WCU hits all-time high freshman retention rate of 80 percent NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Western Carolina University has hit an all-time high in the percentage of rst-time, full-time undergraduate students who have returned for their sophomore year as 80 percent of last year’s freshman class is back in school this fall semester. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

That means the university has achieved one of the major goals of its “2020 Vision” strategic plan ve years ahead of schedule, said Tim Metz, WCU assistant vice chancellor for institutional planning and effectiveness.

“Increasing our freshman-to-sophomore retention rate to 80 percent by the year 2020 is spelled out in our strategic plan,” Metz said. “To reach that goal ve years early speaks volumes about the work our faculty and student support sta are doing to help ensure that students stay in school and remain on CALENDAR track to graduate.” 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds This year’s record retention rate of 80.06 percent is 2.2 points higher than last year’s rate of 77.88 percent and nearly 14 points higher than in 2006. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS

A total of 1,624 new rst-time, full-time freshmen are enrolled at WCU this fall. In addition, the academic prole of this year’s freshman class has Calendar improved on all fronts, with higher average scores on the SAT and ACT entrance exams and higher high school GPAs than the previous year. Higher Education NewsWatch Total student enrollment at WCU remains steady, with a tally of 10,340 undergraduate and graduate students on the books as of the university’s ocial WCU Hub census day of Friday, Aug. 28.

AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Undergraduate enrollment is up slightly, increasing to 8,821, a 0.4 percent rise over last year’s tally. Graduate student enrollment is down by 4.8 percent, dropping to 1,519 from last year’s count of 1,595.

The decline is mirroring trends in graduate school enrollment across the state and nation because of an improving economy in which fewer people seek advanced degrees and a recent end to nancial incentives for school teachers to seek advanced degrees in education, said Dale Carpenter, dean of WCU’s College of Education and Allied Professions.

Undergraduate programs in WCU’s Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology and the College of Health and Human Sciences saw some of the most significant growth in undergraduate enrollment this fall, said Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar.

“These programs supply graduates in the elds of engineering, technology, nursing and the health sciences, which are key to regional economic development and to meet the workforce demands of business and industry and the health care needs of the people of Western North Carolina,” Morrison-Shetlar said.

Western Carolina also experienced an increase in the diversity of its student body this fall, with a 16 percent increase in the number of Hispanic students, a 7.5 percent increase in the number of Asian students, and a 20 percent increase in the number of multiracial students.

Although classes began at the university Monday, Aug. 17, enrollment numbers are not ocial until after the 10th day of classes, referred to as “census day.” Even then, the numbers are not considered nal until any errors have been corrected and the les have been submitted to UNC General Administration.

With the books closed on the 2014-15 student recruitment cycle, the Office of Undergraduate Admission now is hard at work building WCU’s freshman class of 2016, with more than 3,000 applications from high school students already submitted for next fall, said Phil Cauley, director of student recruitment and transitions.

The rst of four scheduled Open House events for prospective WCU students and their parents is set for Saturday, Oct. 31. Additional events at WCU are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14; Saturday, Feb. 20; and Saturday, March 12.

For more information on Open House at WCU, visit the website openhouse.wcu.edu.

By Bill Studenc

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TOP STORIES CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER

TOP STORIES WCU physical therapy graduates in elite company with performance on NOTEWORTHY NEWS national exam ACHIEVEMENTS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES The second class of graduates from Western Carolina University’s doctoral degree program in physical therapy has maintained the tradition started by last year’s inaugural class of passing a national licensing exam on the first try.

WCU’s Department of Physical Therapy received notication recently from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy that all 31 recipients of doctor of physical therapy degrees from the university this year passed the National Physical Therapy Examination the rst time they took it, said Karen Lunnen, associate professor and head of the department. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Physical therapy graduates are required to pass the exam to be licensed to practice. Records kept by the federation indicate that the WCU graduates’ Minds mean scores on the exam puts the group in the top 1 percent among physical therapy graduates nationwide. “I could not be more proud of our 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond graduates and the dedicated faculty who the Glass Matrix prepared them to be excellent physical 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara therapists,” Lunnen said. Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' The University of North Carolina Board of Governors gave its approval in 2010 for WCU to expand its master’s degree program in physical therapy to 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show a doctoral-level program. WCU awarded diplomas to the rst graduates of its 33-month doctoral program in spring 2014, and members of the 'Livin' the Dream' second class got their diplomas after the end of spring semester this year. LINKS Douglas Keskula, dean of WCU’s College of Health and Human Sciences who also is a professor of physical therapy at the university, said the new Calendar graduates’ 100 percent pass rate “is directly related to the challenging curriculum, the passion and expertise of the faculty, and highly motivated and Higher Education NewsWatch talented students.” WCU Hub “The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at WCU consistently creates an exceptional learning experience for students, preparing them to meet the changing expectations and responsibilities of future health care providers,” Keskula said. “I am grateful and extremely proud to work with such AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT dedicated and compassionate faculty and students.”

Up to 32 students are chosen from an applicant pool that typically numbers around 500 to begin WCU’s program each August. The application deadline is Thursday, Oct. 1, for students interested in beginning WCU’s physical therapy program in August 2016.

For more information, email program specialist Linda Donaldson at [email protected] or call 828-227-2290.

By Randall Holcombe

David Hudson, WCU associate professor of physical therapy (left), instructs a student on a technique used to mobilize a hip joint with restricted motion.

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TOP STORIES CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER

TOP STORIES WCU receives FCC construction permit for new FM frequency NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 2, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Western Carolina University has received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to create a new noncommercial radio station on the 95.3 FM frequency. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The university was among five applicants that filed applications in February 2010 for a new frequency assigned in the town of Dillsboro by the FCC. The new station will be more than five times as powerful as the CALENDAR present university station at 90.5 FM, said Donald Connelly, head of WCU’s Department of Communication. The university has three years to build the facility LINKS and begin broadcasting. Calendar

The 95.3 FM frequency currently is used as a Higher Education NewsWatch translator by WCQS-FM, Western North WCU Hub Carolina Public Radio Inc., in Asheville, to reach listeners in Haywood and Jackson AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT counties.

Translators are secondary radio services that receive a radio station’s main signal and then WWCU Power 90.5 has operated as an FM radio station since 1977, and began life as an AM retransmit the original signal on another station in 1948. frequency to extend the station’s coverage area, Connelly said. Translators are not protected as licensed radio stations are by the FCC, and their frequencies are subject to change when the FCC allocates a new frequency to a nearby community, he said.

When WCU filed the application for the 95.3 frequency in 2010, it stated in its application that should the university be granted the license for the new station, the university would work with WCQS to avoid any disruption of public radio service. Representatives of WCU and WCQS met last week to discuss possible ways to maintain the WCQS coverage area in the Jackson and Haywood county areas, and those discussions are ongoing.

“As Western North Carolina’s public regional comprehensive university, Western Carolina University has a long and mutually beneficial relationship with WCQS, Western North Carolina’s public radio station,” WCU Chancellor David O. Belcher said. “We value WCQS for providing quality local news and programming, and for being the region’s conduit to National Public Radio. We are working with David Feingold, the new WCQS general manager and CEO, on ways to ensure that the station continues to have a place on the radio dial in our region.”

Western Carolina has a long broadcasting tradition dating back to 1948, when WCCA 550 AM signed on from the lower floor of the university’s Joyner Building. The AM station left the air in 1977, and WWCU 90.5 FM signed on as the far western region’s first FM station.

A broadcast service of WCU, WWCU has grown since its inception from being a small club to a professional learning laboratory in the Department of Communication. The student-managed facility is on the air 24 hours a day all year long.

By Bill Studenc

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TOP STORIES Former WCU economist Stephen Miller to take part in discussion on NOTEWORTHY NEWS morality, free market ACHIEVEMENTS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Former Western Carolina University associate professor of economics Stephen Miller will return to campus Monday, Oct. 5, to take part in a discussion about morality, big business and economic inequality as part of WCU’s Free Enterprise Speaker Series.

Miller will join fellow free market economist Eric Schansberg of Indiana University Southeast in presenting “Are Free Markets Christian? Is Christianity Free Market?” from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in Room

101 of the Forsyth Building. The event is free and open to the public. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern The discussion is timely with the visit to America by Pope Francis, said Edward J. Lopez, BB&T Minds Distinguished Professor of Capitalism and professor of economics with WCU’s College of 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond Business. The pope has been critical of big business and its treatment of labor and the the Glass Matrix environment. 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler “This discussion will grapple with issues like the morality of markets and governments, the social 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' duties of Christians, and the perceptions and misperceptions of population growth and 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show globalization,” Lopez said. “The pope’s critics say he doesn’t understand basic economics and naively 'Livin' the Dream' advocates a communist socialism. But his defenders say he actually promotes an egalitarian capitalism, in which government authorities guarantee economic freedom for all and not just for a privileged minority.” LINKS Calendar Stephen Miller Schansberg, an evangelical Christian, is active in public Higher Education NewsWatch policy circles and author of “Poor Policy: How Government Harms the Poor” and “Turn Neither to WCU Hub the Right nor to the Left.” Miller, a Roman Catholic, is a researcher on labor and economic issues, income inequality and scal policy, and is director of the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Economy at Troy University.

The discussion is sponsored by the WCU Free Enterprise Club and the BB&T Moral Foundations of Capitalism Program. For more information on this or other series events, contact Lopez at 828-227-3383 or [email protected].

By Geoff Cantrell

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TOP STORIES WCU’s Laura Wright authors ‘The Vegan Studies Project’ NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Laura Wright, head of the Department of English at Western Carolina University, is author of the newly published book “The Vegan Studies Project: Food, Animals and Gender in the Age of Terror.” PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Published by the University of Georgia Press, the book is billed as “the foundational text for the nascent field of vegan studies.”

CALENDAR In her book, Wright examines the social and cultural discourses shaping society’s perceptions of veganism as an identity category and 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, social practice. She discusses the frequent intersection of veganism and animal rights, and focuses on the depiction of the vegan body – Modern Minds both male and female – in contemporary works of literature, pop culture, advertising and new media, especially in light of what she terms 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: “post-9/11 anxieties over American LINKS strength and virility.” Calendar

Wright said that her book is her attempt Higher Education NewsWatch to explore, understand and challenge WCU Hub society’s notions of the culturally loaded term “vegan.” AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

“My hope is that this project helps place veganism within a social and historical context that will allow for a greater understanding of its increasing impact – in whatever form that impact may take,” she said.

Wright will discuss her book at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. She also will be joined by Carol Adams, author of “The Sexual Politics of Meat” and of the forward in Wright’s book, for a discussion at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, at Malaprop’s in Asheville.

A faculty member at WCU since 2005, Wright specializes in postcolonial literatures and theory, ecocriticism and animal studies. Her publications include “Writing Out of All the Camps: J. M. Coetzee’s Narratives of Displacement” and “Wilderness into Civilized Shapes: Reading the Postcolonial Environment.”

Laura Wright

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TOP STORIES WCU’s Mainstage theater season opening with ‘Pop! Who Shot Andy Warhol?’ NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 23, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The Mainstage theater season of Western Carolina University’s School of Stage and Screen opens Thursday, Oct. 1, with the college campus premiere of the new high-energy musical comedy-mystery “Pop! Who Shot Andy Warhol?” PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Performances are scheduled at WCU’s Hoey Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 through Saturday, Oct. 3, with a special 3 p.m. matinee on Oct. 3.

With book and lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman and CALENDAR music by Anna K. Jacobs, “Pop!” takes the audience 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern back to June 3, 1968, when pop artist and cultural icon Minds Andy Warhol was shot in his Manhattan studio, a place 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond known as the “Silver Factory.” The musical explores LINKS Warhol’s relationships with his posse of “Superstars” Calendar – historical figures such as socialite Edie Sedgwick and ultra-feminist Valerie Solanas. Higher Education NewsWatch

WCU Hub The actors portray Warhol’s Superstars, as well as a host of other roles ranging from life-sized dolls to AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT expressionist painters. Every character in the production is a suspect in the shooting – even Warhol. The show’s popular music and outrageous lyrics are punctuated by the sound of a gun.

Michael Gallagher, a senior acting major from Morrisville, will portray Warhol. Other cast members, all musical theatre majors, are Alex Drost, a senior from Blairsville, Georgia, as Candy Darling; Kylee Verho, a junior from Jacksonville, as Edie Sedgwick; Samantha Alicandri, a senior from Weehawken, New Jersey, as Viva; Iliana Garcia, a junior from Newnan, Georgia, as Valerie Solanas; Logan Marks, a junior from Manseld, Massachusetts, as Gerard Malanga; and Benjamin Sears, a sophomore from Waynesville, as Ondine.

“Pop!” is directed by Claire Eye, and music director i s Katya Stanislavskaya. Others contributing to the production are John Scacchetti, choreography; Dustin Whitehead, ght choreography; Andrew Everyone’s a suspect in the musical comedy-mystery “Pop! Who Shot Andy Warhol?” – including Mannion, set design; and Susan Brown-Strauss, Warhol (played by Michael Gallagher) and his “Superstar” friend Candy Darling (played by Alex costume design. Drost).

The show includes adult language and content and is not suitable for young audiences.

Tickets are $21 for adults; $16 for senior citizens and WCU faculty and sta; and $10 on the day of the show ($7 in advance) for students. Tickets are available by contacting the box oce of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at 828-227-2479 or online at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

By Randall Holcombe

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TOP STORIES WCU students hunt for phages through course funded by Howard Hughes NOTEWORTHY NEWS Medical Institute ACHIEVEMENTS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Western Carolina University student Sean Kent didn’t pick the course, but when he saw he was registered for it, the name “Phage Hunters” immediately got his attention.

Brooke Burns also found she was placed in the course. After hearing so many other freshmen at orientation say they were excited about WCU’s newest biology/chemistry course, she, too, decided to keep it. Now she says it’s by far her favorite. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern For Yorel McKenzie, a junior, it sounded interesting when her adviser described it. But she had Minds reservations after learning there would be mostly freshmen in the course. Now, she says she can’t get 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond enough of it. LINKS Calendar What is this new course at WCU that has students so excited about science? “Phage Hunters” is an interactive lab class like no other, where each student will discover and name his or her own phage (a virus Higher Education NewsWatch that infects bacteria) that has never been found before, and study it. WCU Hub

The course is funded through a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant program called Science Education AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science, or SEA-Phages. The program, which has been around for several years, is designed to increase undergraduate interest and retention in the biological sciences through immediate immersion in authentic, valuable and accessible research.

WCU was among 17 new higher education institutions selected to receive the grant out of 44 that applied Brooke Burns last year. There are currently 106 colleges and universities in the nation oering the program. WCU, along with Durham Technical Community College, which also received a grant this year, join North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University and North Carolina Central University as the only schools in the state to offer SEA-Phages.

WCU’s two-semester course is taught by three instructors – Jamie Wallen, assistant professor of biochemistry, biology instructor Maria Gainey and adjunct faculty member in the department of biology Megan Eckardt.

“We wanted a program like this here because the idea is to increase student retention in the sciences,” Wallen said. “As soon as they come to campus, we put them in this program and the idea is to get them excited about science, doing hands-on research.”

Prior to teaching the course, Wallen, Gainey and Eckardt attended a one-week training in Baltimore to learn how to conduct the experiment involved, as well as teach the fall semester course. In December, they will return to learn how to implement the spring semester course.

Twenty-one students are enrolled in the initial fall course. It begins with an introduction to phage biology, followed by instructions on the techniques that will be used in the lab. From there, students work independently as they conduct experiments that will lead to the discovery of their virus from a locally collected environmental sample.

As the course progresses, students will be in dierent stages, depending on when they nd their virus. Burns was one of the rst to discover one.

“I like how you have your own unique virus,” said Burns, a freshman biology major from Winston-Salem who is in the pre-veterinary medicine program. “You take pride in that. You feel a sense of independence. It’s denitely a unique class and I love it. I look forward to coming here every time.”

One stipulation from the Howard Hughes Institute is that each school must turn in DNA from two of its phages by Friday, Nov. 20, for sequencing – a process for guring out the genetic code of the virus. A “Phage Olympics” Yorel McKenzie (left) and instructor Maria Gainey will be held to determine which two phages are selected, Wallen said. Students will present their case in front of the class on why their DNA should be sequenced. The class will then vote on which ones will be submitted. “It almost feels like we’re discovering a new frontier,” said McKenzie, a biology major from Chapel Hill in the pre-medicine program. “It’s very dierent than most labs. It was a little frustrating in the beginning when I didn’t get a phage, but that just motivated me to keep going, and it was fun nding the samples, too.”

Each phage discovered at schools in the SEA-Phages program is kept in a database at the University of Pittsburgh.

The WCU class meets on Wednesdays and Fridays in the Stillwell Building. Students say the lab-based nature of the class is what they have enjoyed most.

“I’ve learned a lot,” said Kent, a junior from Franklin majoring in biology. “It’s a whole new experience – new procedures that I had never heard about. It can be interesting to have someone talk to you and learn stu, but if you’re not learning it yourself, then you’re not learning it at all. When they give us directions on what to do and we do it, it’s just me learning.”

After all the students nd their virus and name it, they will go in small groups to Wake Forest University to have their viruses placed under an electron microscope, which will give them a picture of each virus. “I’m really excited about that,” Gainey said.

Next June, one student and one faculty member will be selected to go to the annual SEA-Phages Symposium in Virginia to share WCU’s ndings. There also have been discussions about holding a similar symposium for the state universities. “That would set up more opportunities for students to get out there and present their work,” Gainey said.

Wallen said the Howard Hughes grant will be available for as long as WCU oers the “Phage Hunters” Sean Kent course once a year. He would like to see more sections offered in the future.

For more information on SEA-phages, visit seaphages.org.

By Marlon W. Morgan

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TOP STORIES WCU Study Abroad Fair will be Sept. 15 at the University Center NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Western Carolina University’s ninth Annual Study Abroad Fair will take place Tuesday, Sept. 15.

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the A.K. Hinds University Center Grand Room. Representatives from various countries will be on hand to give an overview of study abroad opportunities for WCU students. In addition to receiving information about study abroad programs, students can learn about internship and service learning opportunities.

Students also can receive information about WCU faculty-led trips overseas for credit. There will be about 30 tables hosted by various institutions and international students from WCU. Each year, WCU sends about 200 students to countries around the world, including Japan, Chile and France, to CALENDAR study abroad and participate in faculty-led programs. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds For more information, contact the Office of International Programs and Services at 828-227-7494. 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream'

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TOP STORIES WCU traditional music series to open with concert by Ritter and Ogletree NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 30, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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The 2015-16 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Concert and Jam Series at Western Carolina University will get underway Thursday, Oct. 1, with a concert featuring the husband-and-wife duo of William Ritter and Sarah Ogletree. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Their 7 p.m. performance of traditional music in the ground-oor auditorium of H.F. Robinson Administration Building will be followed by an 8 p.m. jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern The music of Ritter and Ogletree focuses on old Minds and new love songs and traditional mountain 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond music. Ritter, a native of Bakersville, is a WCU LINKS alumnus who recently earned a master’s degree in Calendar Appalachian studies at Appalachian State University. Ogletree was raised in Jackson County Higher Education NewsWatch and is a graduate of ASU’s sustainable WCU Hub development program.

AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT The couple’s new CD, recorded at WCU, features all traditional songs except for “Be With Me,” which was written by Ritter.

Sponsored by WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center, the First Thursday concerts and jam sessions will continue through next spring, with programs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month.

The events are free and open to the public. Pickers and singers of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in the jam sessions, Sarah Ogletree and William Ritter which also are open to those who just want to listen.

For more information, call the Mountain Heritage Center at 828-227-7129.

By Randall Holcombe

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TOP STORIES Woldeyohannes, two students co-author paper for Journal of Optics NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 9, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Mesfin Woldeyohannes, associate professor of physics, co-authored a research paper with his students Ighodalo “Igor” Idehenre and Tyler Hardin Journal of Optics that was published in the July edition of the . PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

“Coherent Control of Cooperative Spontaneous Emission from Two Identical Three-Level Atoms in a Photonic Crystal” can be found online at http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2040-8978/17/8/085105.

Woldeyohannes said that Hardin contributed work in numerical solutions, and Idenhenre was involved in derivations of analytic solutions and initial manuscript preparation. Idenhenre is now a doctoral student in electro CALENDAR optics at the University of Dayton. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Tags: Mesfin Woldeyohannes 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS

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TOP STORIES Workshop to focus on ‘College Students on the Autism Spectrum’ NOTEWORTHY NEWS September 16, 2015 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Western Carolina University’s Oce of Disability Services will present a Tuesday, Sept. 22, workshop for university faculty that will examine some of the unique challenges students with Autism Spectrum Disorder present in the academic environment. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

“College Students on the Autism Spectrum” will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Catamount Room of A.K. Hinds University Center.

More students on the Autism Spectrum are now attending colleges and universities, and the number of students self-identifying themselves with ASD has more than doubled this fall.

CALENDAR The workshop presenter will be Jean Alvarez, assistant director of disability services, who has more than 10 years of experience with the Autism 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Society of North Carolina. Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond For more information, contact Wesley Satterwhite, director of the Office of Disability Services and Student Support Services, at 828-227-2716. the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara By Randall Holcombe Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream'

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