BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Kurt Michael, a licensed psychologist and the Stanley R. Aeschleman Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Appalachian State University’s Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology, is part of a team awarded $2.5 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for the “Rural School Mental Health Training and Service Provision in North Carolina” grant proposal. Michael will serve as the grant’s principal investigator for Appalachian.
The successful proposal, which will be funded over the next five years, is based on a three-way partnership between Appalachian, the Ashe County Schools District and RTI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition.
Appalachian’s initial funds from the grant — $166,665 — cover Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2020, and were conferred through the Ashe County Schools District. Michael expects to receive more than $800,000 in total funding over the five-year cycle of the grant.
“The most important benefit of the grant is to provide ready access to effective, supervised mental health services to youth and families in rural Western North Carolina schools who would otherwise go without these much-needed treatments,” Michael said.
He added, “A significant percentage of students in rural schools are at risk of death by suicide, and this partnership will emphasize the implementation and study of effective assessment and management strategies for youth who present with these concerns.”
The ED grant will support a scaling up of the long-standing partnership between Appalachian and rural K–12 schools in developing and sustaining training sites called Assessment, Support and Counseling (ASC) Centers designed to serve youth and families in rural North Carolina communities. Michael, along with Dr. Angela Quick, director of RTI International’s Center for Education Services, co-founded the original ASC Center at Watauga High School.
Additionally, the grant will help to deepen preprofessional preparation of Appalachian doctoral students in clinical psychology in hopes of deploying them strategically into high-need schools after graduation. Preprofessional preparation will also include advanced, targeted coursework and practicum training in the provision and study of rural school mental health services.
“Overall, these funded efforts across the key partners will bring much-needed workforce preparation through the Appalachian doctoral program in clinical psychology and essential workforce development in the rural schools of North Carolina for years to come,” Michael said.
All of the aforementioned elements will be coordinated through the Ashe County Schools District.
Jamie Little, veteran teacher and director of student services at Ashe County Schools, will act as the grant project manager.
What do you think?
Share your feedback on this story.
A school-based intervention program developed by Appalachian’s Dr. Kurt Michael lowers rural teens’ suicide attempts and boosts their well-being
About the Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology
Appalachian State University’s Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology serves more than 1,400 undergraduate majors seeking the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, as well as 90 graduate students across four graduate programs: experimental psychology (MA), industrial-organizational psychology and human resource management (MA), school psychology (MA/SSP) and clinical psychology (PsyD). Learn more at https://psych.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
A school-based intervention program developed by Appalachian’s Dr. Kurt Michael lowers rural teens’ suicide attempts and boosts their well-being
![App State to offer AI concentration in master’s programs [faculty featured]](/_images/_posts/2025/04/ai-concentration-600x400.jpg)
