During the Fall 2026 Homecoming Blitz Build, App State students and volunteers constructed and placed framed walls on our Boone campus for App Builds a Home. Created alongside Watauga County Habitat for Humanity, this effort reflects our dedication to service, and I thank everyone who helped advance this project and prepare this future home. Thank you to Chase Reynolds in University Communications for this photo.
Message from Chancellor Heather Norris: October 9, 2026
The first colors of fall are beginning to appear across the Blue Ridge, creating the perfect setting for Homecoming at Appalachian State. I’m excited to welcome alumni, families and friends to Boone for a weekend of celebration and Mountaineer spirit.
Today also marks the conclusion of the App Builds a Home: Fall 2026 Homecoming Blitz Build, which brought together students, volunteers and sponsors to complete the exterior build phase before the modular home moves to its permanent homesite. Through this campuswide partnership with Watauga County Habitat for Humanity, students and volunteers — supported by project sponsors — have helped build a safe, affordable home with the Jones Family, the seventh completed through App Builds a Home and a tangible example of App State’s commitment to service.
App State students recently put their construction skills to work for another home-building effort beyond campus. From Sept. 17–19, students in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment participated in the 10th annual Race to Build, joining teams from other universities to construct homes for families in need in a fast-paced, collaborative setting. Seven students from last year’s inaugural App State team returned to help guide a new group of student builders in a program that delivers both hands-on experience and meaningful opportunities to lead.
While Homecoming offers one occasion to celebrate the people, stories and traditions that shape Appalachian State, resources across our university help preserve and deepen our understanding of the Appalachian region year-round. Through Belk Library and Information Commons’ Special Collections Research Center, the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection preserves materials documenting the history and culture of Appalachia for university and community researchers. This year, new research fellowships will support undergraduate and graduate students using the collection for original research, with up to seven projects receiving $1,000 each. By putting primary sources directly into student hands, these fellowships transform historical archives into active discovery, allowing student researchers to uncover fresh insights and tell new stories about the place we call home.
Our students are also putting their creativity and expertise to work in the communities around us. Four App State furniture design students recently designed, fabricated and installed custom outdoor benches at T.H. Broyhill Walking Park in Lenoir. Developed through a partnership with the Broyhill Family Foundation, the project challenged students to respond to client expectations, design constraints and the character of an existing public space — giving them professional experience while creating lasting work that will serve park visitors for years to come.
As the week moves toward the weekend, many of us will come together again at Kidd Brewer Stadium, known to generations of Mountaineers as “The Rock,” where App State Football will open Sun Belt Conference play against Old Dominion during Saturday’s sold-out game. The matchup will serve as this year’s Homecoming game, and I hope to see the stadium filled with Black and Gold as our App State Community comes together for one of the week’s most anticipated traditions!
Elsewhere in App State Athletics, last Saturday, we celebrated another milestone with the dedication of the Mildred Southern Indoor Tennis Facility ahead of the Mountaineer Hidden Dual. The new facility expands year-round training and competition opportunities for our Tennis student-athletes and completes the broader Appalachian 105 Sports Complex, a development bringing track, softball and tennis together in dedicated competition spaces. Its completion marks another meaningful investment in our student-athletes, ensuring they have the resources they need to train, compete and thrive.
As we gather for Homecoming, I hope you are enjoying the many planned events, the chance to rekindle valued relationships and the opportunities to form new ones. This time together reminds us of what truly endures at App State: our shared commitment to lead, connect and care for this place and one another. I am inspired by all who continue to strengthen the bonds that make App State such a meaningful place to learn, work and call home.
Heather Norris
Chancellor
J.J. Brown and I were glad to connect with NRLP General Manager Matthew Makdad and our New River Light and Power team — whose daily work keeps our campus and community moving forward — alongside ElectriCities of North Carolina Vice President Gregg Welch, who presented NRLP with its 2025 Public Power Award of Excellence. Pictured with me (center), from left to right, are Executive Vice Chancellor J.J. Brown, NRLP General Manager Matthew Makdad and ElectriCities of NC Vice President Gregg Welch; The pictured custom bench at T.H. Broyhill Walking Park in Lenoir is one of four designed, fabricated and installed by App State furniture design students through a partnership with the Broyhill Family Foundation; Thanks to the supporters whose generosity helped make the Mildred Southern Indoor Tennis Facility possible, our Tennis student-athletes now have expanded year-round opportunities to train and compete as part of the completed Appalachian 105 Sports Complex. Pictured, App State Tennis student-athletes Naledi Manyube, left, and Ruby Broadbent, center, present a gift to Debbie Southern, daughter of the late Mildred F. Southern — a 1943 university alumna and 1992 inductee of the Southern Tennis Association Hall of Fame; And the Gold Room Pop-up was a wonderfully nostalgic Homecoming gathering, giving alumni a chance to reconnect, share memories and celebrate the lasting ties that continue to bring generations of Mountaineers back to Appalachian State University. Pictured, from left to right, are App State Athletics Hall of Famer and alumnus Larry Nance ’62 ’63, his wife, alumna Nanci Tolbert Nance ’73, university friend Brian Crutchfield and alumna Jeannine Underdown Collins ’79 ’81, a former chair of the Appalachian State University Foundation Board and App State Board of Trustees. Thank you to Assistant Professor of Industrial Design Samuel Ladwig, App State Athletics Photographer Taylor Newton and Chase Reynolds and Kyla Willoughby in University Communications for these images.
