Faculty & Staff

An aerial image of the Toolik Field Station on Alaska’s North Slope, where Dr. Sarah Evans and Appalachian State University undergraduate students will collect samples of thawing permafrost during the summers of 2022, 2023 and 2024. Their research, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, aims to provide insight on how the release of carbon from thawing permafrost is advancing climate change. Evans is an assistant professor in App State’s Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences. Photo by Q

Dr. Sarah Evans, App State students to explore how water patterns in melting permafrost affect climate change
Nov 4, 2021

Small trickles of water traveling through Alaska’s permafrost — subsurface soil that remains frozen throughout the year — carry clues that could unlock a greater understanding of climate change and its advancement.

College News, Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research, Students, Sustainability
The Department of Rural Resilience and Innovation (RRI) in partnership with Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics (RIEEE) has awarded seed grants to five collaborative research projects.

Rural Resilience and Innovation Inaugural Seed Grants
Nov 3, 2021

The Department of Rural Resilience and Innovation (RRI) in partnership with Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics (RIEEE) has awarded seed grants to five collaborative research projects.

College News, Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research, Outreach & Community Engagement, Sustainability
Dr. Jeremiah Kitunda, Department of History, photo submitted

Dr. Jeremiah Kitunda receives the I.G. Greer Distinguished Professorship in History
Nov 1, 2021

Dr. Jeremiah Kitunda, professor within Appalachian State University’s Department of History, has been chosen to receive the I.G.

College News, Awards & Honors, Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research
Left to right: Monique Eckerd, College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Michael Dale, Interdisciplinary Studies; Dr. Marc Kissel, Anthropology; Joseph Bathanti, Interdisciplinary Studies/English; Dr. Tammy Wahpeconiah, English; Dr. Amanda Howell, Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences; Dr. Deborah Crocker, Mathematical Sciences; Dr. Kara Dempsey, Geography and Planning; Rick Elmore, Philosophy and Religion and Dr. Amy Dellinger Page, Sociology. Not pictured: Dr. Martha McCaughey, Sociology; Dr. Kyle Stevens, English

CAS Faculty and Staff Award Recipients 2020-21
Oct 21, 2021

Each year, Appalachian State University’s College of Arts and Sciences recognizes several members of the faculty and staff for outstanding service, teaching or scholarly work. 

College News, Faculty & Staff, Awards & Honors
Appalachian State University is located in the Blue Ridge, part of the Appalachian Mountains that extend from Georgia to Pennsylvania. Photo by Marie Freeman

Learning in the High Country — beyond the classroom
Oct 14, 2021

Appalachian State University students and alumni often refer to the university as their “home on the mountain.” The use of this physical reference point for Appalachian reflects the interconnectedness of the university and its location in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

College News, Outreach & Community Engagement, Faculty & Staff, Students
Dr. Mike Madritch, appointed interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences

Madritch appointed interim dean for College of Arts and Sciences
Oct 14, 2021

Dr. Neva J. Specht has been named Vice Provost for Faculty Policies and Development, effective October 11, 2021. Specht has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since 2017 and as a professor of History at Appalachian State University since 1996.

College News, Faculty & Staff
Mountain View image. Photo submitted.

Learning in the High Country — beyond the classroom
Oct 8, 2021

Appalachian State University students and alumni often refer to the university as their “home on the mountain.” The use of this physical reference point for Appalachian reflects the interconnectedness of the university and its location in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

College News, Outreach & Community Engagement, Faculty & Staff, Students
Dr. Patricia Johann, professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Computer Science, was awarded a $510,823 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the logical foundations of computer science. Photo submitted

App State’s Dr. Patricia Johann researches logics used in software programming
Sep 23, 2021

Dr. Patricia Johann was awarded a $510,823 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the logical foundations of computer science.

College News, Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research
Dr. Christine Ogilvie Hendren is the director of Appalachian State University’s Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics and professor of geological and environmental sciences. Photo by Chase Reynolds

App State joins NSF research effort to reduce phosphorus dependence, losses
Sep 22, 2021

Phosphorus is an essential element and a critical nutrient in global food systems, where it is used in fertilizers to improve crop yields. But “the current phosphorus cycle is linear and broken on both ends,” said Dr.

College News, Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research, Sustainability
Traditional data center designs have servers set up in rows and racks, with cables connecting devices. Appalachian State University’s Dr. Abdelbaset Hamza and his App State research team are simulating different configurations — such as this geometric cell-based design — with the goal of improving efficiency and speed of data transfers. Hamza received a nearly $175,00 National Science Foundation grant in support of the project. Illustration provided by Dr. Abdelbaset Hamza

App State’s Dr. Abdelbaset Hamza studies efficiency in internet data centers
Sep 8, 2021

Answers to Google searches, information on websites, files stored in the cloud, and music and movies for streaming — all resources at people’s fingertips as part of their daily lives — are housed in large data centers all over the world.

College News, Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research