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Volunteers freshen up a room at the Boone Veterans of Foreign War center. Photo by Marie Freeman

From the desk of Chancellor Everts

Let's do More with More
Monday, February 6, 2017

On Saturday, Jan. 21, hundreds of Appalachian State University students chose to step up rather than sleep in, donating more than 1,200 combined hours of service during the 18th annual Martin Luther King Day of Service. Appalachian students worked in 23 different not-for-profit organizations across the high country on MLK Day.

READ: Appalachian’s MLK Challenge engages 200 students, helps 23 local charitable organizations

Our students routinely give more than most. It is the university’s mission to do more as well – for them and for our faculty and staff. North Carolina is one of the few states that mandates an affordable education for all in its constitution. Over the course of the past six months, it has been my pleasure developing, along with Chancellor Dubois at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and Chancellor Woodson at N.C. State University, system-wide strategies around affordability and efficiency. Throughout the year, I will continue to share more about the strategic plan for the University of North Carolina system and how our sustainability, diversity, community engagement and research initiatives – so rooted in our campus values – mirror the system’s.

For too long, efficiency has meant doing more with less. My mantra for 2017 is let’s do more with more, specifically in these areas: increased support for faculty, staff and the academic experience; dedication to wellness, health and safety; redoubled funding efforts to support professorships, scholarships, facilities and professional development; and resolve for sustainable and affordable enrollment.