BOONE, N.C. — Dr. William ("Billy") Schumann ’94 ’99 ’00 has been appointed the 2024-27 Sharpe Chair. Made possible through an endowment established by Hiddenite Arts and Heritage Center founders R.Y. and Eileen Lackey Sharpe, the Sharpe Chair helps develop arts programming at the Center and throughout Alexander County.
In 1982, the Hiddenite Arts and Heritage Center, a non-profit arts organization serving northwestern North Carolina, and Appalachian State partnered to create the Sharpe Chair. The Sharpe Chair is responsible for furthering the Center's mission to 1) connect the public with the rich arts, cultural and natural heritage of the northwest North Carolina region by making quality arts and heritage programming accessible for all, and 2) serve as a catalyst for economic development and tourism, supporting and uniting artists and craftspeople across regional northwest North Carolina communities.
Sharpe Chairs are selected from tenured faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Fine and Applied Arts and Hayes School of Music.
Dr. Schumann is a professor of community-based research in Appalachian State's Department of Rural Resilience and Innovation. He is a three-time alumnus of the College of Arts and Sciences, earning a bachelor's degree in anthropology and master's degrees in Appalachian studies and political science. He went on to earn his doctorate in anthropology from the University of Florida.
Schumann brings 25 years of research, teaching and project management experience in Appalachia, the Republic of South Africa and Wales to the Sharpe Chair position. He is the author of two ethnographic monographs and the co-editor of three books, including Engaging Appalachia: A Guidebook for Building Capacity and Sustainability (University Press of Kentucky, 2023). Schumann has led successful grant writing, public outreach and fundraising efforts as the director of Appalachian State's Center for Appalachian Studies (2014-19) and the director of the Allegheny Institute for Natural History at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford (2011-14).
As Sharpe Chair, Schumann plans to draw from his experiences in interdisciplinary programming and non-profit collaboration to build on Appalachian State’s long-term partnership with the Hiddenite Arts and Heritage Center and Alexander County.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Schumann on his new role.
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About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at appstate.edu.
By Lauren Gibbs
January 30, 2025
BOONE, N.C.
Dr. William ("Billy") Schumann ’94 ’99 ’00, professor of community-based research in Appalachian State's Department of Rural Resilience and Innovation, has been appointed the 2024-27 Sharpe Chair. Photo by Ellen Burnette
Dr. William ("Billy") Schumann ’94 ’99 ’00, professor of community-based research in Appalachian State's Department of Rural Resilience and Innovation, has been appointed the 2024-27 Sharpe Chair. Photo by Ellen Burnette