Appalachian State University

Join App State and Hickory area business leaders for the first installment of The Hickory Leadership Forum: Leading with Compassion on Monday, Sept. 16 from 6–7 p.m. in the App State Hickory campus atrium, located at 800 17th St. NW, Hickory, NC 28601. Hear from community leaders as they discuss what it means to “lead with compassion,” with a networking reception to follow. This event is open to App State students, faculty and staff, as well as the public. Admission is free, but registration is required.

Join App State faculty members for folk music demonstrations and listen and learn to identify the defining characteristics of folk genres. Dr. Laurie Semmes will speak about the bandura, the national instrument of Ukraine, and Mark Freed will present on Appalachian folk music. Following these presentations, Dr. Jacob Kopcienski will lead an audience question-and-answer session. Free and open to the public.

Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a blood donation, but only five percent of the eligible population typically donates. Life would be a nightmare without blood donors. Sign up to donate to the Homecoming Blood Drive at the Holmes Convocation Center. You can earn Homecoming points for your registered club or organization. All donors and volunteers will receive a FREE Homecoming Blood Drive t-shirt.

The Common Reading Program is delighted to offer “The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here,” from acclaimed scientist and author Hope Jahren, as the university’s common reading book for the 2024-2025 academic year. In “The Story of More,” Jahren uses her signature engaging, accessible and sensible style to expand awareness and understanding of the causes and challenges of the climate crisis.

A tradition celebrated each fall to honor App State’s founders and the first day of classes in 1899.

App State Family Weekend promotes the engagement of Mountaineer families through unique programming opportunities in the High Country. Paired with a sporting event and community events, Family Weekend provides families with a chance to experience Boone through the eyes of a student.

The ninth annual Women in Educational Leadership Symposium (WIELS) will be held virtually. The symposium theme is “Advancing the Leader Within: Building Capacity.” This year, WIELS will sponsor two keynote speakers and an invited panel: Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith, Senior Director of the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity; Dr. Lisa Mitchell, Associate Dean School of Education, University of North Carolina at Pembroke; and Amy Wartham, Director of Corporate Training and Executive Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Open House is your opportunity to learn more about App State. Meet faculty and current students, tour campus, and learn more about financial aid, scholarships, the admissions process, and what student life at App State is really like.

Dr. Zedeño, a professor of Anthropology at the University of Arizona, will present "After the Ashfall: What Ancient Environmental Disasters Can Tell Us About Human Attachments to the Landscape." As we live in a world fraught with ever worsening environmental disasters, we reflect on how ancient people in North America coped with various known disasters, especially the Mazama eruption and its aftermath, why they returned to denuded ancestral landscapes and what valuable lessons they may teach us to find avenues for social action.

Steven Dunn (a.k.a Pothole, cuz he’s deep in these streets) is a Whiting Award winner who was shortlisted for Granta Magazine’s Best of Young American Novelists. He’s the author of three novels: Potted Meat (Tarpaulin Sky, 2016), water & power (Tarpaulin Sky, 2018) and Tannery Bay (FC2/University of Alabama Press, 2024), which is co-authored with his homie Katie Jean Shinkle. Dunn holds the 2024 Rachel Rivers-Coffey Distinguished Professorship in Creative Writing.

Open House is your opportunity to learn more about App State. Meet faculty and current students, tour campus, and learn more about financial aid, scholarships, the admissions process, and what student life at App State is really like.

Make your plans to be in the High Country for Homecoming 2024. The fun lasts all week long and culminates with the App State football game on Saturday, October 26. Break out your black and gold — there will be events for all Mountaineers!