App State releases fall 2020 data showing record enrollment of 20,023 students and significant increases of first-year underrepresented students.

University Post Office staff members Tim Norris, Matt Story and Daniel Greer went above and beyond during Appalachian’s move-in week, when they assembled a bicycle for first-year student Madeline Ryan.

The largest plume of dust to come from the Sahara Desert in 50 years offers an unexpected bright spot for the High Country and opportunities for the university’s AppalAIR researchers.

Nearly 16,000 incoming and current students received an unexpected, personal phone call this summer from Appalachian State University as part of the university’s Mountaineer Connect campaign. Staff offered support and helped connect students with resources as needed.

Appalachian State University will be among 15 University of North Carolina System institutions to receive new cold storage units designated for doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. App State will have the capacity to store 116,200 doses in its new units.

Appalachian’s online bachelor’s and graduate education programs — including those financially beneficial for student veterans and active-duty military members — rank among the best in the nation for 2020, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Appalachian honored Dr. Claudia Cartaya-Marin, Rabbi Stephen Roberts and the Watauga County Schools Coffee Talk program with the inaugural Chancellor’s Awards for Inclusive Excellence during a luncheon held Jan. 13 on the university’s campus.

More than 3,600 Mountaineer graduates who were conferred degrees during Appalachian’s virtual Spring 2020 Commencement celebrated — at a physical distance — with family, friends and Appalachian Community members. They also took to social media to share their black and gold pride and excitement.

By working with speech-language pathologists in Appalachian’s Communication Disorders Clinic, a 3-year-old child diagnosed with severe childhood apraxia of speech is learning to communicate. The speech therapy has given him the ability to call his mother “mama” for the first time.

While working on his master’s thesis at the University of Calgary in Canada, Appalachian alumnus Jared Voris ’16 noticed unique features on some tyrannosaur bones, leading to the discovery of a new species.

A longer-than-usual winter break during the pandemic and an outpouring of support from the university and community have spurred Campus Dining to offer free, chef-inspired meals to the Appalachian Community from Dec. 11–Jan. 14, 2021.

Recently published research co-authored by three members of the App State Community could yield a more cost-effective storage and delivery method for drugs and vaccines — one that eliminates the need for refrigeration. The new approach would allow life-saving medications to reach those in need sooner.

Appalachian has sustained VIQTORY’s Military Friendly® School designation since 2010 and was recently recognized as a Top 10 Military Friendly® School for 2020–21.

Appalachian’s Center for Analytics Research and Education (CARE) launches a global initiative to count the world’s pollinator population.

App State partnered with AppHealthCare on the High Country “Show Your Love” public health campaign, which encourages residents and visitors to follow the 3Ws: wear a face covering, wait 6 feet apart and wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer.

This fall, national publications U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review and personal finance magazine Money.com recognized Appalachian as one of the nation’s top-performing schools for its academics, value, innovation and student veteran services, among other aspects.