Appalachian Today

During an Oct. 12 event at the Hickory campus, App State recognized five community partners for helping the university expand clinical services, strengthen rural healthcare outreach and launch a new Doctor of Nursing Practice program in the Catawba Valley. The partners are Catawba Valley Health System, UNC Health Blue Ridge, UNC Health Caldwell, and the Caldwell Memorial Hospital and Golden LEAF foundations.

App State is teaming up with Vaya Partners on the North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program to strengthen rural healthcare across 12 NC counties. Supported by an $11.5 million-plus grant, App State will develop educational pathways, clinical placements and financial assistance to help prepare and retain healthcare professionals where they are needed most.

App State has received a second consecutive $35 million GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The seven-year award will expand college preparation and career readiness services to thousands of middle and high school students across Western North Carolina.

App State’s Academy at Middle Fork has experienced strong student achievement and growth over the past five academic years, according to recent data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The data reflects substantial academic progress, marked by double-digit increases in students’ reading, math and science proficiency scores from 2024–25 to 2025–26.

App State’s Office of Rural Promise has secured a $10 million federal grant to launch ETL SPARK (Empowering Teacher Learning: Strengthening Professional learning to Advance Reading Knowledge) — a five-year, statewide initiative aimed at elevating classroom instruction and empowering educators in middle grades literacy.