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A band competes against more than 100 others in the bluegrass band competition during the 89th Annual Old Fiddler's Convention on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, at Felts Park in Galax, Va. Photo by Allison Isley for NPR

Old Fiddler's Convention is pushing 90 and keeping mountain music alive [faculty featured]
Aug 20, 2025

GALAX, Va. — Ellie Massey, 13, stands inside a giant, yellow tent with dozens of other contestants and practices singing the gospel tune, "I'll Fly Away." Her grandfather, Jim Coleman, and uncle, Jacob, accompany her on guitar and mandolin.

Faculty & Staff, Outreach & Community Engagement
People enjoying Guy Ford River in Sugar Grove on July 26, 10 months after Hurricane Helene hit the area. Photo by Emma Green

Stories in the mud: Boone’s rivers after Helene [student featured]
Aug 19, 2025

Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina Sept. 27 with three days of heavy rain, permanently altering the infrastructure and geography of the area.

Students, Outreach & Community Engagement
A Foster Grandparent Program volunteer assists a child with reading.
The Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University
App State environmental science majors Kyia Wing, a senior from Suwanee, Georgia, left, and Kaden Cusack ’25, an App State alumnus from Cary, take a close look at the new boulder donated to the university’s rock garden by Albemarle Corp. Cusak graduated from App State in May, earning his bachelor’s degree in environmental science. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Susan Keefe, Pegge Laine, Carolyn Grimes, Roberta Jackson and Lynn Patterson discussed the recent projects of the Junaluska Heritage Association. Photo by Nick Fogleman

Library celebrates the Junaluska Heritage Association [faculty featured]
Jul 2, 2025

BOONE — The annual Friends of the Watauga County Library celebration featured a panel discussion centered on two recently published books about Boone’s historic Junaluska neighborhood: “Junaluska: Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community” and “The Junaluska A

Faculty & Staff, Outreach & Community Engagement
Tucker Terrell ’25, who graduated from App State in May with a bachelor’s degree in geology-environmental geology, far left, shows community members where a single headstone was located by App State researchers trying to determine the position of grave sites in an area formerly covered with brush behind the Fort Defiance site in Caldwell County. Photo by Bret Yager
App State senior Devin Axtell, a biology major from Baldwin, Florida, prepares a meal for the student group participating in the spring 2025 Restoration and Exploration at the Coast Alternative Service Experience at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. Axtell was one of two peer leaders on the trip. Photo by Kyla Willoughby

App State students help restore national wildlife refuge as part of Alternative Service Experience
Apr 30, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Each spring break, college students from across the nation head to the beaches to enjoy a week off from school — but for many Appalachian State University students, that annual trip to the coast serves a much bigger purpose.

University News, Outreach & Community Engagement, Students
Dr. Mac-Jane Crayton, assistant professor in the Department of Government and Justice Studies and founder of Lab iMPACTLY, addresses Lab iMPACTLY Nonprofit Workshop attendees. Photo by Chase Reynolds
In the Foster Grandparent Program, volunteers assist children in need of academic attention by providing one-on-one classroom assistance. Photo submitted

Foster Grandparent Program celebrates 45 years with Governor's Award nomination
Mar 24, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's award-winning Foster Grandparent Program, a subprogram of Appalachian Senior Programs (ASP), is celebrating 45 years in 2025.

Awards & Honors, College News, Faculty & Staff, Outreach & Community Engagement