Message from Interim Chancellor Heather Norris

Friday, August 9, 2024

Appalachian State University students living in residence halls will move in next week, and excitement is growing for the new academic year ahead of us.

Tuesday through Thursday we will welcome first-year students and new transfer students to their residence halls, and returning students will move in Friday through Sunday. Each year, dozens of staff members and university volunteers help students and their families locate their residence halls and unload their vehicles, and work to ensure traffic flows smoothly during move-in week. By the end of the week, more than 6,000 students will be settling into their residence halls. Those who remember when we used to move everyone in on one day will also recognize and appreciate that we now utilize the entire week to ensure the number of people arriving to campus and Boone is more metered and manageable!

Throughout next week, new students at both the Boone and Hickory campuses will have the opportunity to get to know one another and acclimate to their new surroundings, with a full slate of Welcome to App events and programming designed to help them learn about campus, familiarize themselves with resources and prepare for the fall semester. Many of these activities are facilitated by student peer leaders, and we appreciate their commitment to helping all students feel at home in our App State Community. 

With the first day of classes on Aug. 19 quickly approaching, final orientation sessions are coming up on both the Boone and Hickory campuses. More than 300 incoming students are expected to attend orientation in Boone on Monday, with more than 60 in Hickory on Wednesday. We’re looking forward to welcoming these students!

As we enter a new academic year, I’ll highlight a few key initiatives we have underway:

  • Work continues on the universitywide Civic Literacy Initiative. As I shared on July 19, a team from Academic Affairs and Student Affairs is collaborating on this project with a goal of supporting our students, faculty and staff — in line with our foundational commitment to nonpartisanship and institutional neutrality. As part of this project, we will have educational programming and information available for students, faculty and staff focused around key themes we expect to be front and center this academic year: 
    • freedom of speech/expression;
    • nonpartisan voter awareness and education; and
    • ways that members of our community who have differing perspectives can build respectful dialogue and try to understand each other — without giving up their own beliefs — in order to live, learn and work together.
  • As we gear up for a new academic year, we’re also focused on the safety of our university community. This summer, Appalachian State University participated in a UNC System-wide review of emergency communications policies, procedures and practices. Our police, emergency management and communications teams, as well as many other areas that respond in the event of a campuswide emergency, had opportunities to participate in information sharing and panel discussions, and talk through scenarios, experiences and best practices.

    Preparing for emergencies, even the most basic, helps us all respond quicker and more effectively should the need arise. Throughout the academic year, students, faculty and staff will be provided with preparation information and resources to help prepare in the event of an emergency. These will include quick reference guides for classrooms and residence halls. I encourage you to take time to read and review this information. Students, faculty and staff should also be sure to opt in to the text message and phone call option available through our AppState-ALERT emergency notification system, which utilizes a combination of email, web, phone, text and digital signage to make campus aware in the event of an emergency.

  • One of the key emerging issues Appalachian State University and many other academic institutions have been studying is the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies — and their implications for higher education. In 2023, as provost, I formed a steering committee on AI that included broad representation across App State’s faculty and staff. This committee was charged with monitoring and exploring the effects of generative AI on the higher education landscape, and developing guidelines related to research, scholarship and creative activities. An important outcome and extension of this work has been the development of the Chancellor’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force. With a focus on how AI advancement and continued innovations can both enhance and challenge our teaching, research, service and administrative operations, this cross-divisional team, chaired by Chief Information Officer Keith Werner, will create guidance and recommendations for AI use across campus while also enhancing protective measures for institutional security and individual privacy. 

You will hear more about all of these projects as the academic year gets underway.

A highlight for new students joining the App State Community is ringing the Founders Bell during welcome week activities. I look forward to hearing the sounds of the bell, symbolizing new beginnings and opportunities for the next generation of Mountaineers.


Heather Norris
Interim Chancellor