Since my arrival on Appalachian’s campus in 2014, I have remained steadfast in my commitment to improve working conditions for all Appalachian employees. This includes investing in our physical infrastructure to support our faculty, staff and students. It also includes improving the compensation structure for our most valuable resource: our people.

As I advocate for Appalachian at the state level, I consistently emphasize these two key areas.

Authorization, compliance and reporting measures for different sources of funds add additional layers of complexity to an already complex system.

Remaining competitive in the current higher education market is critical to Appalachian’s success, and competitive compensation is one key to recruiting and retaining the talented faculty and staff who create the premier undergraduate experience for which Appalachian is often lauded.

The ideal scenario for salary increases is legislative funding and authority to provide a merit-based annual raise process this year. It remains my priority to continue advocating for this option using every available avenue.

However, in the event that we ultimately do not get an approved budget and authority to conduct an annual raise process, we will explore options within our existing campus authority. For example, at my direction, Vice Chancellor Paul Forte and Human Resources Director Mark Bachmeier have been working with Academic Affairs to identify how resources can best be applied toward labor market adjustments for faculty and staff.

At this point, we feel the best path forward is to wait for the legislature to reconvene, and make a decision that will have the broadest possible impact for the most employees, but we are prepared to act within our existing authority.

It is important we control what we can as we continue advocating for a sustainable source of funds and the authority to move forward, unified in our shared goal to achieve a compensation structure that matches the talent of our employees.

Sheri Everts, Chancellor

Messages

• Remarks from the September 29, 2023 Meeting of the Board of Trustees

  Friday, September 29, 2023

  Thank you, Acting Chair Ricks, and good afternoon!

  It's hard to believe it's nearly October already! It's been a very busy beginning to the semester, and I thank you all for the many events you have joined us for since the semester began just over a month ago.

  The first day of classes represents new beginnings for students, faculty and staff, and it's always full of promise and excitement.

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• Important Budget Update

  Friday, September 22, 2023

  Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

  Budget news from Raleigh is once again, excellent for App State, and we extend our sincere thanks to our legislators for securing important appropriations specifically for our Boone and Hickory campuses, as well as key compensation increases for university employees.

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• State of the University Address

  Friday, September 15, 2023

  Good afternoon and welcome!

  Thank you to those who are joining us today in person, as well as to the faculty, staff and students who are joining via livestream from the Hickory campus.

  The annual State of the University Address is an important opportunity for us to come together as a university community as I share a review of some of the issues we are facing as an institution, along with key accomplishments and plans for the coming year.

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