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WCU Stories

Pride Week

WCU teams with Blue Ridge Pride Center, UNCA for local LGBTQ project

A collaboration between WCU, the University of North Carolina Asheville and the Blue Ridge Pride Center will gather oral histories, archival materials and photos for an ongoing LGBTQ community research project.  

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Music education major Kendall Rhymer wins first prize in Sounding WCU art contest

Western Carolina University senior Kendall Rhymer was recently named the winner of the university’s Sounding WCU art contest. Rhymer, who is majoring in music education, philosophy and religion, took home the $400 first place prize with her project titled “Tali Tsigwaya Gaduhv (Two Sparrows Town).   

Radio Tower

Turn It Up - WWCU-FM has growth spurt

At 4,061 feet above sea level, the view from Western Carolina University’s new radio tower atop Brown Mountain in Jackson County is as vast and unobstructed as one would imagine. And the sound at such height? Even better. There is none, save for nature’s hum. But don’t let the soothing silence fool you.   

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WCU receives grant to improve skills of local children who are English language learners

WCU is the recipient of a $583,074 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for an afterschool program to help improve the academic skills of students at Cullowhee Valley School who speak English as another language.  

Portrait of Richard Starnes

Chancellor appoints Richard Starnes to provost

WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown has announced the appointment of Richard D. Starnes as the next provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, effective immediately.  

Domestic Violence Initiative

Caravelis begins pilot program for therapy dog to aid domestic violence victims

An initiative by Cyndy Caravelis, associate professor of criminology and criminal justice, will include a pilot program to use a therapy dog to aid domestic violence victims and their families in Jackson County.   

T.J. Holland

Cherokee Studies Program’s endowed scholarship renamed for T.J. Holland

The Cherokee Studies Program will rename its endowed scholarship in memory of T.J. Holland, an alumnus and lifelong leader in the community and Cherokee cultural preservation and revitalization.  

Portrait of rivercane

Master's Degree in Biology Cultivates a Career

Rivercane was once plentiful in Western North Carolina. The tall, slender plant, a member of the bamboo family, still grows in thick stands along some riverbanks, but not in an abundance as in years past. Increased development and intentional removal throughout the region have reduced its presence on the local landscape, in some instances quite dramatically.   

Students in a socially distant classroom

Teaching: COVID-19 Style

There was a time when faculty members spent most of their days preparing their lectures, presenting them to their students and being available during office hours for extra instruction. Some also had the additional task of preparing for laboratory work or work outside of campus, such as hospitals and nursing homes. Then came the coronavirus, COVID-19, and a new way of teaching was born.  

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