Learning in the High Country — beyond the classroom

Boone’s position in the Blue Ridge Mountains is in the core of an ancient, 1,000-mile-long mountain belt.

“We see high temperature and pressure rocks here, which formed at great depth in the crust. Boone is also located between three fault zones, so students are able to investigate rocks that have experienced deformation from faulting,” said Dr. Jamie Levine, associate professor in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences.

“By the time our students graduate, they are well ahead of their peers in time spent looking at the whole spectrum of rocks — from sedimentary, to igneous, to metamorphic,” she said.

On campus, Appalachian students and the community also have access to the F. Kenneth and Marjorie J. McKinney Geology Teaching Museum and Fred Webb Jr. Outdoor Geology Laboratory/Interactive Rock Garden, both of which offer a snapshot of the area’s geological formations.

North Carolina’s tourism industry generated $25.3 billion in 2018, according to the state’s Department of Commerce, and the High Country is an epicenter for this booming market.

A host of exclusive, gated communities, three regional ski resorts and multiple town centers are located within a short drive of campus, which uniquely positions Appalachian students, particularly those in the hospitality and tourism management program, for internships and post-graduation careers.

The university’s location is core to its very reason for being: 120 years ago, Appalachian’s founders chose to bring educational opportunities to the children of North Carolina’s “lost provinces.” The small school they opened, then known as Watauga Academy, quickly became a destination for educator preparation programs.

Appalachian’s Reich College of Education is nationally recognized for the quality of its programs: In 2019, for the fourth consecutive year, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards ranked Appalachian No. 1 for having the highest number of alumni who are National Board Certified Teachers. Appalachian alumni teach in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties.

“Appalachian is geographically the highest university east of the Mississippi River, at 3,300 feet, and this offers students the opportunity to study high-elevation ecosystems, such as the endangered spruce–fir ecosystem, which contains rare and endangered species,” said Dr. Howard “Howie” Neufeld, professor in Appalachian’s Department of Biology and Honors College faculty member.

“Approximately 70% of the Southern Appalachian Mountains are forested, making it one of the most forested regions in the country,” he said.

Tom Hansell, former interim director of the university’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Honors College faculty member, said the center has “served as a trailblazer for others in the field.” He cited the interdisciplinary program’s work in community-based research and its partnerships with state and national parks, as well as the curricula and programming surrounding Appalachian music, including the banjo’s African roots.

Further amplifying the global importance of Appalachian studies, the program recently developed International Mountain Studies Symposium events that allow exchanges with students from South Africa, Romania, Wales and Canada.

North Carolina is home to more than 38,000 miles of streams and rivers, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Appalachian’s location allows faculty and students to study and inform important discussions about water quality, from the mountains to the coast. Notably, the Upper South Fork of the New River, which flows through the northwest corner of North Carolina and into Virginia, passes through Boone and Appalachian’s campus.

“There are five headwaters within 20 minutes of my lab,” said Cristina Sanders '20, of Taylorsville, a graduate of Appalachian's Master of Science in biology program. “If you like studying anything environmental, Boone is the place to be.”

Approximately 20 miles from Appalachian’s Boone campus, the university’s Sustainable Development Teaching and Research Farm in Ashe County serves as a hub for students to learn about sustainable practices and interdisciplinary inquiry — including practical crop and livestock research. Research on the farm related to sustainable forest management is particularly important in the High Country, where much of the harvesting is done through clear-cutting.

The farm encompasses approximately 35 acres of pasture, 130 acres of woodlot and woodlands, a large greenhouse and a late 19th-century barn. Boasting photovoltaic and thermal solar panels, the farm aims to operate solely on renewable energy.

In rural Western North Carolina, access to health care is often challenging. Appalachian’s Interprofessional Clinic (IPC), housed within the Beaver College of Health Sciences (BCHS), provides services not generally offered in the surrounding area, such as audiology, voice and swallowing therapy. It also creates distinctive opportunities for experiential student learning.