January 2019 AppDate Alumni Newsletter message

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

AppDate, the January 2019 Alumni Newsletter
Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Chancellor Sheri Everts’ message to alumni

Best wishes to all of you for the new year.

I’d like to start the year reiterating Appalachian is the premier, public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina. As alumni, you can declare that with pride — and I hope you will.

When you visit campus — and I hope many of you will find time to come back to the High Country — you will see we are in the midst of close to $250 million worth of construction projects that will allow us to advance our core missions of teaching, scholarship and service. Among some of the important projects are:

  • Conservatory for Biodiversity Education and Research — A final report from the feasibility study is expected to be complete by the end of January. A variety of stakeholders have been interviewed to determine the best mix of laboratories, a conservatory, meeting space and gardens.
  • Kidd Brewer Stadium north end zone project — Demolition of Owens Field House is expected to begin in mid-to-late February. Construction for the new parking deck at the site of the old Winkler building, now underway, is expected to be completed in early fall 2019.
  • New residence halls — Work will continue on this project to replace seven residence halls. The first phase is expected to begin in February, with 912 beds ready for occupancy in the fall of 2020.
  • The Academy at Middle Fork — Our teaching team reports a successful and impactful first semester. Students are excited to participate in the upcoming second Hiker’s Harvest — an innovative group play day that helps set schoolwide behavior expectations.
  • Child Development Center — Plans are underway to more than double the capacity of the Child Development Center that serves Appalachian faculty, staff and students. A project feasibility study, which is expected to be complete in May 2019, would pave the way for additional expansion, including the addition of a kitchen, which would allow the center to provide meals that meet the state’s nutrition standards.

You can follow progress on all these projects at our Appalachian’s Future website.

You will also enjoy reviewing the top stories from Appalachian in 2018 and some of our students’ experiences as captured on Instagram. As always, our Today site is your portal for all the news, features and events taking place at Appalachian.

Again, all the best for 2019. It’s going to be a great year!