Campus Forum April 20 to address “Whose State Is This?”

Posted April 13, 2015 at 10:02 a.m.

BOONE—A campus forum on the theme “Whose State Is This?” will be held Monday, April 20, at 7 p.m. in Belk Library room 114 at Appalachian State University. The public is invited to attend.

The forum is organized by the Appalachian State University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors. It is intended to provide information and encourage discussion about the major changes that the University of North Carolina system could face in the near future.

North Carolina has a longstanding and highly progressive commitment to public education. In recent years, however, a new generation of leaders at the state level has proposed policies that would appear to call this commitment into question—or, at the very least, impose a very different educational model.

This event is a follow-up to the Nov. 10, 2015, forum “Whose University Is This?”

Forum speakers, including faculty and students, will make brief presentations exploring various aspects of these policies. A public discussion will follow. Particular emphasis will be placed on how the Appalachian campus should respond to the proposed changes. All members of the campus community—particularly students—are encouraged to attend.

Forum speakers will include: Dr. Michael C. Behrent (history), Dr. Karl Campbell (history), Dr. Louis Gallien (educational leadership), Tamia Haygood (instructor, history), Dr. Nickolas Jordan (human development and psychological counseling), Mary Lyons (student, education major) and Dr. Greg Reck (anthropology).

For more information, contact Behrent, AAUP Chapter president, at behrentmc@appstate.edu or 828-719-5759.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.