Appalachian State University

Appalachian State University will welcome students — both new and returning — for the 2019–20 academic year during its 2019 Black and Gold Convocation ceremony. This year’s convocation guest speaker is higher education advocate and Appalachian alumnus Dr. Harry L. Williams ’86 ’88 ’95, who was honored with the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013.

The Reich College of Education (RCOE) will host a back-to-school event to highlight the College's commitment to Inclusive Excellence and belief that educators play an important role in shaping human relationships towards equity and justice.

Ron Rash is the author of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner finalist and New York Times bestseller “Serena,” “The Risen,” and “Above the Waterfall,” in addition to four prizewinning novels, including “The Cove,” “Saints at the River,” and “The World Made Straight.” Twice the recipient of the O. Henry Prize, he is also a Sherwood Anderson Prize recipient, received an Appalachian Book of the Year award for “One Foot in Eden,” and has been inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors.

Appalachian State University will host its annual Founders Day celebration with a full slate of events, including music and refreshments on Sanford Mall, presentations about the university’s history, a panel discussion with a former Chancellor and prior university administrators, the dedication of a new statue and the induction of inaugural members into the Bell Ringers Society. Appalachian faculty, staff and students, as well as the public, are invited to attend.

Born in Lily, Ky., in 1971, Silas House is a New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including “Clay's Quilt” (2001), “A Parchment of Leaves” (2003), “The Coal Tattoo” (2005), “Eli the Good ”(2009), “Same Sun Here” (2012) and, most recently, “Southernmost” (2018), as well as a book of creative nonfiction and three plays.

Join us for an informative day designed just for high school students and prospective transfer students. Meet our faculty, tour campus, and learn more about majors and programs, scholarships, financial aid, the admissions process and what it’s like to be a member of the Appalachian community.

Bryan Stevenson, author of the Common Reading Program 2019-20 book selection “Just Mercy,” will speak and hold a book signing at Appalachian. The event is free and open to the public. “Just Mercy” details the injustices of a broken criminal justice system that punishes poor people, and Stevenson’s work to improve that system. The Common Reading Committee selected “Just Mercy” for its relevance to a wide range of academic disciplines and because Stevenson’s work has had a profound impact on our society.

Solar rooftops. Wind farms. Electric vehicles. Battery storage. Grid modernization. These are the clean energy topics that most North Carolina advocates, policymakers, utilities and consumers are focused on in 2019. What’s missing? The largest, least-cost and most impactful sector of our state’s clean energy economy: energy efficiency.

Artist Bill Brown will join with P. Scott Phillips, NC Field Office Director US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants; Dr. Renee Scherlen, Appalachian State University Professor of Political Science; and others (TBA) to discuss the current international crisis surrounding immigration and refugees.

The First Year Showcase is open to all first-year students who are interested in majoring or minoring in any of the six different degree concentrations in the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history.

Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble is the author of a best-selling book on racist and sexist algorithmic bias in commercial search engines, entitled “Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism.” Her academic research focuses on the design of digital media platforms on the internet and their impact on society.