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We've enjoyed welcoming Mountaineers at orientation sessions held on both the Boone and Hickory campuses this week. An exciting journey awaits our newest students, and we're here to support them every step of the way. Thanks to Kyla Willoughby in University Communications for this photo.

Message from Chancellor Heather Norris: January 9, 2026

Friday, January 9, 2026

Happy New Year! A special welcome to our newest Mountaineers joining the App State Community for the first time, and welcome back to our returning students, faculty and staff. With many preparations underway, Mountaineers who support our students, faculty and staff took a few minutes earlier this week to welcome you all to the new semester and the start of a new calendar year — you can watch their messages to you here. To the many teams across our university who have been readying our facilities and systems for our return to classes, thank you! I deeply appreciate your hard work and commitment to our campus communities.

Earlier this week, students, faculty and staff received beginning-of-semester updates that included information about key university operations, health and safety resources and other important campus information, including what to expect when winter weather impacts campus operations. You can read those updates, with information specific to the Boone and Hickory campuses, here.

As we look to the year ahead, I have immense pride in what we have accomplished, and tremendous excitement about what’s to come — grounded in our founding mission of providing educational access and guided by our ongoing commitment to student success. This year, we will undertake the development of a new university strategic plan for 2027–2032, which will involve a broad swath of participation from faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the Boone and Hickory communities. With representation from these same constituent groups, we will also develop a new Master Plan that will serve as a living, guiding document for the growth and development of App State’s Boone and Hickory campuses. In the coming weeks, you will receive updates on both of these important frameworks, which will serve to guide the long-term strategy and roadmap for the future of our university.

With some of the highest retention and graduation rates in the nation, graduates with less student debt than most in the nation, and a positive, resident-student return on investment for every undergraduate and graduate academic program, App State continues to offer a pathway to a better life, paving the way for higher wages and greater opportunities and improving the quality of life in communities throughout the region.

  • Thanks to a significant commitment from the Bedford Falls Foundation, we recently initiated the inaugural class of Conway Scholars — 42 scholars enrolled in App State’s pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in nursing program who are receiving scholarship support to complete their degrees. The Conway Scholars program, which honors the legacy of Bedford Falls Foundation founder and trustee Bill Conway Jr. and his late wife, Joanne Barkett Conway, is helping App State meet our goal of addressing the critical shortage of qualified nurses in our region, particularly in rural areas.
  • With a 126-year history as a rural-serving institution, App State has launched our Office of Rural Promise to foster regional connections and support programs that empower students and educators within our communities. The office is leveraging new and existing grant-supported programs to conduct research and design and implement services that positively impact rural students, families and educators, creating solutions for the challenges faced by rural communities — with the potential for significant, lasting and widespread beneficial effects.

App State offers a wealth of vibrant arts and humanities programs, with more than 600 events taking place annually at 14 campus exhibition and performance venues. These events offer new perspectives and innovative ways to learn about the world, as well as opportunities to connect and have fun with others. I encourage you to explore the wide variety of arts and humanities events available this semester — many of which are free. You can explore the breadth of offerings on this comprehensive webpage. 

In addition to the continuation of App State Men’s and Women’s Basketball games, Wrestling matches and Indoor Track and Field meets this semester, I’m also looking forward to the start of spring sports for the Mountaineers:

  • Tennis, led by the program’s first All-American, Savannah Dada-Mascoll, begins spring play Jan. 17 at UNC-Chapel Hill.
  • Women’s and Men’s Golf tee off their spring campaigns in February, as they look forward to building on the success of their fall seasons, during which they broke numerous school records.
  • After matching the program record for most Sun Belt victories in a season last year, Mountaineer Softball will begin their season next month, with their first home games held on March 6 and March 8, hosting the Mountaineer Classic at the beautiful new Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
  • App State Baseball will play 22 of their 53 games at home, on Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium on the Boone campus, and will open the season on Valentine’s Day weekend with a series at the Hickory Crawdads’ L.P. Frans Stadium — just around the corner from App State’s Hickory campus.
  • The Mountaineers’ Track and Field teams will jump-start their outdoor seasons in mid-March, and they are looking forward to shattering more program records and winning more trophies in 2026.

I’m excited to begin 2026 with all of you, and I look forward to the many opportunities that await our Mountaineer community in the new year.


Heather Norris
Chancellor