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WCU Stories

kelli one day for western

Chancellor Kelli Brown 4-peats on Business NC Power List

For the fourth year in a row, Business North Carolina magazine included WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown in its Power List of the state’s most influential leaders.  

Shannon Swimmer

Shannon Swimmer named director of WCU Cherokee Center

Shannon Swimmer received a master’s degree in human resource management from Western Carolina University in 2007. After several years working in tribal law, Swimmer has returned to WCU in a new capacity, as director of the Cherokee Center.  

reid conway

University recognized for energy efforts

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has formally recognized Western Carolina University for its efforts to reduce energy consumption.  

bee campus 20

WCU certified as a Bee Campus USA affiliate

WCU has become an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program, designed to marshal the strengths of educational campuses for the benefit of pollinators.   

lane perry and Blossom Steem

Students pitch business ideas at competition

At the 2024 Student Innovation Showcase Pitch Competition, students from across campus brought their entrepreneurial minds together to share new business ventures.  

trevor arrowood graduation

New scholarship for criminal justice students honors memory of alumnus, police officer

Family and friends of the late Trevor Arrowood, a Polk County native who died in 2021 after a three-year battle with cancer, have established a scholarship fund for future students majoring in criminology and criminal justice.  

impact awards

Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning celebrates students, faculty with Impact Awards

Several WCU programs, faculty and students were recognized by the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning during the 2024 Impact Awards ceremony.  

nursing students in honduras

Nursing students travel to Honduras, volunteer with Shoulder to Shoulder organization

Last year, Jaclyn Bandell, director of WCU’s family nurse practitioner program, volunteered with Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc., spending a week at the organization’s clinic in Southern Intibucá, Honduras.  

denise morgan

Denise Morgan named Goodnight Distinguished Professor of Early Literacy

In January, Morgan was hired as the Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy at WCU.   

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