As part of a study by Dr. Caroline Smith in which she is collaborating with researchers from NC State, App State students are assessing firefighters' cardiovascular and thermoregulatory responses to different personal protective equipment. In this photo, senior Skylar Bovine, a kinesiology major from Greensboro, right, uses a portable metabolic system to monitor Boone Fire Department Engineer John Edmisten, who is a volunteer for the research project. Thanks to University Communications Photographer Chase Reynolds for being on hand to photograph this research..
Message from Chancellor Heather Norris: March 20, 2026
This week, Appalachian State University’s Board of Trustees held its March meeting on the Boone campus. During their visit, we were pleased to offer them a tour of Peacock and Edwin Duncan halls, so they could see the construction progress on these two projects.
- Peacock Hall, built in 1990, is home to the Walker College of Business, which has the highest full-time undergraduate enrollment in the University of North Carolina System — with a total enrollment of nearly 5,000 students, including more than 4,500 undergraduates in 11 majors. The addition, which will add 70,000 square feet to the building, is much-needed, and we’re anticipating it being ready for the fall 2027 semester.
- Edwin Duncan Hall, constructed in 1965, was completely gutted, and the space is being adapted to offer more technologically advanced classrooms and laboratories to address current and future programming needs. Renovation of the nearly 98,000-square-foot facility is 85% finished, and we expect the project to be completed this spring.
In my report to the Board of Trustees, which you can read here, I shared updates on our strategic planning, master planning and fundraising campaign planning, all of which will work together to put App State in the best position possible for success as we enter a new chapter in our history. We’re including students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and community leaders from the High Country and Catawba Valley — as well as our Foundation Board and Board of Visitors — in our planning processes. We’re making great progress and will continue to keep you informed as we move forward, before presenting the Strategic Plan and Master Plan to the Trustees for final approval later this year.
- Our new Strategic Plan will guide our direction for who we will become as a university in the next two, five, 10 years and beyond. I’m very pleased with the progress we’re making on the strategic planning process. We’ve conducted a series of interviews, as well as focus group sessions, to which all faculty and staff were invited. Undergraduate and graduate students from both the Boone and Hickory campuses — as well as online students — have also been engaged, and additional groups, including community leaders and others, are scheduled in the coming days. Following these sessions, we’ll be sending a comprehensive survey to a wide group of constituents to gather additional input.
- Our Master Plan — which will be a living guide for the university’s long-term physical infrastructure development in ways that support the strategic goals of the institution — is also moving forward steadily. We’ve conducted a series of interviews and workshops, as well as a comprehensive survey that was sent to a wide group of constituents, to gather additional input. Following the interviews, focus groups and surveys, we will compile the data and develop initial plan goals and objectives for feedback.
- Through our Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign, we will secure private funding to support the initiatives we identify as priorities during our planning processes. It’s been more than a decade since our last comprehensive fundraising campaign, and I’m excited to begin this work. We’re actively engaged in a feasibility study for the campaign now, and we're learning a great deal. We’re engaging donors, as well as Foundation Board and Board of Trustees members, and we truly appreciate their involvement, guidance and support as we endeavor to advance our university in significantly meaningful ways. As part of the process, we’re also working with university leaders — including division leaders, deans and department chairs and their strategic priorities. This work is being conducted in alignment with the strategic planning and master planning processes, as well as through our annual campus budget briefings, coming up next month.
The focus on planning for each of these interconnected, enterprisewide initiatives is vital to ensuring our university community moves forward together, with a shared commitment to — and an understanding of — the vision and key priorities we’ll be working toward as we enter the next chapter in our university’s history. And, as we emphasize the importance of looking forward, bolstering infrastructure support and securing lasting resources, each day brings new, powerful examples of the teaching, research, creative endeavors and service of our students, faculty and staff.
Dr. Caroline Smith, professor in the Beaver College of Health Sciences’ Department of Kinesiology, is leading a team of student and faculty researchers at App State who are collaborating with North Carolina State University researchers to test the safety limits of next-generation personal protective equipment for firefighters. The new gear is designed to not only protect firefighters from extreme heat and smoke exposure but also reduce their exposure to harmful chemicals. Six firefighters from Boone and 12 from the Raleigh area have volunteered to assist the researchers, helping to evaluate different gear designs. Funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program, this interdisciplinary research has the potential to improve firefighter safety in the short term, as well as over time.
Alissa Goble, a senior from Hickory pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, has been selected to exhibit her metalsmithing and jewelry design work in four prominent juried exhibitions this spring. Earlier this month, she made her international debut at one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary jewelry events in Munich, Germany. Along with her faculty mentor, associate professor Frankie Flood, head of the metalsmithing and jewelry design program in the Department of Art, Alissa has works on display at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts in Highlands, North Carolina. The exhibition showcases the vital relationship between artistic mentorship and the development of student artists. Their collaboration, which exemplifies mentorships that take place across every academic area at App State, is featured in this video by University Communications, which I hope you’ll take an opportunity to watch.
We’re excited about the strong start to the season for the App State Softball team, Coach Whitney Jones and the coaching staff. After starting the season with an eight-game winning streak, the team’s current standing is the best in the Sun Belt Conference. Their out-of-conference schedule had them playing close games against Tennessee — the number one team in the country — as well as top-25 Big Ten opponent Penn State and in-state rival North Carolina. As they begin their Sun Belt Conference play, we are excited to cheer them on and wish them continued success.
Next Thursday, March 26, is Appalachian State’s Giving Day — a very special day for our Mountaineer community. For the 13th consecutive year, this one-day celebration of our university offers us an opportunity to reflect on why we love this place and the chance for those of us who can to give back.
Each of our App State Experiences is made up of the moments that shaped us, the mentors who believed in us and the lifelong friendships that began here. On Appalachian State’s Giving Day, we have the opportunity to come together to ensure those same transformational experiences remain possible for all Mountaineers. I encourage each of you to take a moment to reflect on what brought you here and why this place is so special to you — and, if you are able, to give to the university area, or areas, that mean the most to you.
On March 26, please visit the givingday.appstate.edu website, share your favorite App State memories with friends and let’s show the world the incredible impact we can make when we give as one Mountaineer community.
My sincere thanks to each of you for everything you do — large and small — to make this such a special community in which to teach, research, learn and serve.
Heather Norris
Chancellor
From left to right: App State’s Board of Trustees took a tour of Peacock and Edwin Duncan halls, during which they received a construction progress update; Senior Alissa Goble, from Hickory and majoring in studio art with a focus in metalsmithing and jewelry design, has been honored this semester with several of her pieces on display in local, regional, national and international juried exhibitions; and App State Softball’s Taylor Schafer, a first-year student from Schererville, Indiana, was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week after four home runs and 14 RBIs (runs batted in) during App State's sweep of the Mountaineer Classic. Thank you to Jon Pearl of App State Athletics and University Communications Photographers Chase Reynolds and Kyla Willoughby for these images.
