BOONE, N.C. — A research collaborative and resource hub dedicated to advancing research and providing insight into the role of regional and rural-serving colleges and universities is now housed in Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education (RCOE).

“With our history of serving rural areas,” RCOE Dean Melba Spooner said, “the addition of this research alliance will bolster our role as leaders in preparing the next generation of educators working in similar settings.”

Dr. Andrew Koricich, co-founder of the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges (ARRC) and an associate professor of higher education at App State, will assume the role of ARRC executive director.

The move to App State — coupled with an expanded leadership team and a new research paper series — signals ARRC’s continued growth as the leading research organization focused on regional colleges, Koricich said.

Koricich said an institutional home will increase the alliance’s capacity to study and support regional colleges. App State was chosen for the center, he said, because of the “special connection between ARRC’s mission and ours.”

ARRC was established in January with seed funding from The Joyce Foundation. The organization has secured more than $500,000 in external research grants, including a current grant from Ascendium Education Group to develop an evidence-based measure of rural-serving postsecondary institutions.

The Kellogg Institute

ARRC will also become the home of The Kellogg Institute, a professional development program for developmental educators that has a history reaching back more than 40 years.

Dr. Patti Levine-Brown, assistant professor of higher education at App State, is joining ARRC as assistant director for professional development, through which she will lead and expand the institute’s virtual and site-based offerings. App State’s Amanda Rogers is also joining the team as ARRC’s administrative specialist.

Emerging Scholars research papers released

Graduate students, practitioners and junior faculty participated in ARRC’s inaugural Emerging Scholars Paper Series this summer. Six papers were authored.

The first two papers were released in mid-July, and the remaining four papers will be released in August and September. These papers will be available for free on ARRC’s website.

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App State higher education professor helps create, co-directs Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges

April 9, 2021

App State’s Dr. Andrew Koricich is one of four co-founders and co-directors of the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges — a grant-funded initiative aimed at increasing appreciation for and understanding of U.S. regional, or rural-serving, colleges and their contributions. To date, the project has received more than half-million dollars in support.

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About the Reich College of Education

Appalachian State University offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls more than 2,000 students in its bachelor's, master's, education specialist and doctoral degree programs. With so many teacher education graduates working in the state, there is at least one RCOE graduate teaching in every county in North Carolina. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, 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.