Faculty & Staff

The Appalachian

Doris Morgan Rueda navigates justice system, overlooked history of Latinx community [faculty featured]
Oct 29, 2025

Doris Morgan Rueda was studying criminology and planning to go to law school before slightly changing course. She realized that what she loved so much...

Dr. Anna Cremaldi is an associate professor of philosophy in the Appalachian State University Department of Philosophy and Religion. Photo submitted

Anna Cremaldi receives Excellence in Academic Advising Award
Oct 29, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Anna Cremaldi, associate professor of philosophy in the Appalachian State University Department of Philosophy and Religion, is the...

Dr. Howie Neufeld

Fall foliage forecaster predicts peak for leaf peeping season in Western North Carolina [faculty featured]
Oct 17, 2025

Howard Neufeld, a professor of plant eco-physiology at Appalachian State University in Boone, who also runs the "Fall Color Guy" Facebook page,&n...

Carla Ramsdell is the practitioner-in-residence in the Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy and sustainability liaison for the College of Arts and Sciences. Photo by University Communications

Carla Ramsdell debuts hurricane preparation series "The Resilient Kitchen"
Oct 16, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — On the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene hitting Western North Carolina, Carla Ramsdell, practitioner-in-residence in the Appalach...

App State Chancellor Heather Norris, left, with Dr. Rahman Tashakkori, the Lowe’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in App State’s Department of Computer Science, at the university’s 2025 Research and Creative Activity at Appalachian event, held Sept. 19 on the Boone campus. Tashakkori is the recipient of the 2025 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. Photo by Chase Reynolds

App State spotlights achievements in research, scholarship and creative activities
Oct 10, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — This year’s Research and Creative Activity at Appalachian (RECAPP) event — Appalachian State University’s annual showcase of fac...

William Ritter, Sheila Kay Adams, and Donna Ray Norton. Photograph by Kara Leinfelder

Folk Revival After Helene [faculty, alumni featured]
Oct 7, 2025

On a warm Wednesday in August, the crowded patio of the Old Marshall Jail Hotel in Marshall, North Carolina, falls silent as seventh-generation ballad...

Joe Dancy and Jenna Shaw stand in front of their flooded and mud-filled home in Swannanoa after Hurricane Helene. Photo by Jesse Barber

App State and regional artists channel Helene’s impact into creative works of hope and healing
Oct 1, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Hurricane Helene is often remembered for scenes of destruction — but at Appalachian State University and in the surrounding communit...

Dr. Howie Neufeld

Just in Time for Leaf-Peeping Season, the Blue Ridge Parkway Reopens [faculty featured]
Sep 24, 2025

Almost a year after Hurricane Helene carved a devastating path through Western North Carolina, toppling millions of trees and gutting a key tourism se...

Dr. Leo Flores is a professor in and the chair of the Appalachian State University Department of English.

Dr. Leonardo Flores shares digital writing expertise with IIT Jodhpur through Fulbright Specialist Program
Sep 17, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — In August, Dr. Leonardo Flores, professor in and chair of the Appalachian State University Department of English, traveled to India to...

Dr. Howie Neufeld

Howard Neufeld, 'The Fall Color Guy,' looks for a return of mountain visitors a year after Helene [faculty featured]
Sep 12, 2025

The fall foliage season is an important tourism draw for Blue Ridge Mountain communities. Helene struck just weeks before 2024’s peak, effectively p...