Putting Students First

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Recently more than 90 students from across the state and beyond visited our campus for the 5th Annual Energy Summit. It was our privilege to learn from them and be recharged by their enthusiasm and optimism. At Appalachian, we put students first, always, and together we are building a bright future. Ultimately, the reason Appalachian’s stellar faculty and staff come to work every day is to realize this vision. Some of the recent milestones we’d like to share that reflect this vision are:

  1. This year for the first time ever, Appalachian’s six-year graduation rate topped 70 per cent.
  2. Our first-to-second-year retention rate is 86 percent. African-American retention rates are higher than university's average.
  3. Chancellor Everts and her leadership team allocated more than $2 million from renovation and restoration and carry-forward funding to upgrade the old Presbyterian Church, which the university took possession of more than six years ago. It will now be called Howard Street Hall and house two, new, 80-seat classrooms and 21 faculty offices. Additionally, PanHellenic Hall will house a new fermentation sciences facility.
  4. Chancellor Everts and Provost Kruger allocated 14 new tenure-track faculty positions. These positions are critical because of slow yet steady enrollment growth, which has averaged 1.5 percent since 2008.
  5. Appalachian increased merit-based financial aid for students by $500,000 this year, which represents a 33 percent increase.
  6. Chancellor Everts has prioritized merit pay raises for the past two years. Faculty will see another raise in the 2016-17 fiscal year.
  7. In 2016, the diversity of the first-year class reached an all-time high of 15.2 percent. Historically underrepresented students now make up 14 percent of the total student population.
  8. Chancellor Everts’ commitment to budget transparency and responsible resource allocation led to the university’s first-ever public budget presentations, held in spring 2016.

Chancellor Sheri N. Everts’ complete vision statement