BOONE, N.C. — An echo from the past, clear and bright, marked the beginning of Founders Day at Appalachian State University, as the Founders Bell rang in celebration of App State’s 125th anniversary. This historic bell, housed in the B.B. Dougherty Administration Building, could be heard in 1899, calling Mountaineer students to classes at Watauga Academy — the small school that paved the way for the App State of today.

Hundreds of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university gathered on the Boone campus Nov. 21 to participate in App State’s seventh annual Founders Day — a tradition celebrated each fall to honor App State’s founders, B.B., D.D. and Lillie Shull Doughtery, and the first day of classes at Watauga Academy, held Sept. 5, 1899. This year’s event commemorated App State’s 125-year history as a leader and innovator in higher education.

“125 years ago, three visionaries established a mission to provide access to education for the children and families of the High Country,” said App State Interim Chancellor Heather Norris. “125 years later, we recognize what an ambitious vision it was and acknowledge their remarkable legacy.”

The day’s festivities began with the Founders Day ceremony, held in the B.B. Dougherty Administration Building lobby and attended by several descendants of the Dougherty family, as well as University of North Carolina System Board of Governors member C. Philip Byers ’85, former App State Chancellor Harvey Durham and his wife, Susan, and former App State first lady Rosanne Peacock, wife of the late App State Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock.

Norris, along with Appalachian State University Foundation Board member and former App State Board of Trustees Chair Jeannine Underdown Collins ’79 ’81, App State Professor Emerita Dr. Bettie Bond, and Justin Somers, who represented App State alumnus and U.S. Sen. Ted Budd ’94, delivered remarks, and Jack Wilhelm, a senior music performance major from Mount Ulla, opened the ceremony with a vocal performance of App State’s alma mater.

In her remarks, Norris recognized the significance of the shared history between App State and the town of Boone, the university’s home for more than a century.

“For 125 years, the institution now known across the nation as Appalachian State University — along with this community — has enriched the quality of life for the High Country by increasing prosperity, wellness and opportunity. We are proud to celebrate this milestone with our community,” Norris said. “We value our collective history with our community, and we’re excited for what the future holds.”

Norris highlighted several examples of university–community collaboration over the past 125 years, including:

• The labor and materials raised by the local community to build App State’s first building — Watauga Academy.
• Appalachian Elementary School — a collaborative institution of Appalachian State Teachers College and Watauga County Schools that provided both facilities and teachers for Watauga County students.
• App State’s Mobilize the Mountains Days of Service, through which student, staff and faculty volunteers contribute hundreds of hours to community service.
• The entire university and local community coming together to overcome the challenges of the global pandemic and work toward recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

“Together, our shared history is one of building lasting institutions and lasting relationships. … It has been these partnerships that have helped our university and our community to grow and be successful,” said Norris.

In her speech honoring App State’s 125th anniversary, Underdown Collins highlighted the meaningful impacts that generations of Mountaineers — students, faculty and staff — have made not only at the university but across the state, nation and world.

“Appalachian is more than the 1,200 acres we comprise, more than brick and mortar. It’s the staff, the faculty and the students, who become a passionate and mighty alumni base, who are the experiences that make up Appalachian and change lives and communities — not just here in Boone but throughout the world,” said Underdown Collins. “Together, we make a lasting impact with our ‘Alma Mater in the hills!’ Happy 125th, Appalachian!”

Bond shared that, since her arrival to Boone in 1971, she and her husband, John, have had the opportunity to know every App State leader since Dr. William H. Plemmons, who served as president of both Appalachian State Teachers College and Appalachian State University from 1955 to 1969.

She encouraged Founders Day ceremony attendees to — as they listened to the toll of the Founders Bell — remember at least one App State Mountaineer who has made a difference in their lives.

Somers presented Norris with a framed copy of the proclamation that Budd delivered on the Senate floor, on Sept. 17, in honor of his alma mater’s 125th year. Somers also read from the proclamation, which has been entered into the Congressional Record:

“Given its worldwide reputation, App State has remained true to its mission as a rural institution known for service to its local and regional communities. On behalf of the citizens of the state of North Carolina, I congratulate Appalachian State University on 125 years of service to our state and our region.”

The ceremony concluded with the traditional ringing of the Founders Bell, with Underdown Collins presiding over the induction of nine new members into App State’s Bell Ringers Society. This year’s class represented Mountaineers — faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as App State’s founding family, the Doughertys, and former App State first ladies — who have and continue to make an impact on the university. Each inductee had the opportunity to ring the bell before receiving a commemorative pin from Chancellor Norris.

After the ceremony, Founders Day continued in the Plemmons Student Union, where App State students, faculty and staff were served a celebratory pizza lunch and enjoyed games and giveaways, including App State 125th anniversary T-shirts.

Founders Day 2024 , originally scheduled for Sept. 26, was moved due to Hurricane Helene, which hit the Boone area on Sept. 27.

App State — an abbreviated history

Founded in 1899 as Watauga Academy, App State has developed into a premier public institution — one that honors its founding commitment to educational access and excellence and its rural mountain heritage through teaching, research and service. Brothers B.B. and D.D. Dougherty, along with D.D.’s wife, Lillie Shull Dougherty, established Watauga Academy with a goal of providing access to education for those in the isolated and rural “lost provinces” of Western North Carolina.

What started as a small rural academy quickly evolved into a school focused on training quality teachers. It became the Appalachian Training School for teachers (1903), then the Appalachian State Normal School (1925) and later the Appalachian State Teachers College (1929). In 1967, the institution was granted full university status by the state legislature, becoming Appalachian State University — a comprehensive, four-year institution. App State became a constituent institution of the UNC System in 1971.

Today, App State enrolls 21,570 students, employs over 3,600 faculty and staff, has more than 150,000 living alumni and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate degree/certificate programs. The opening of the university’s second campus, the App State Hickory campus, in fall 2023 marked a new chapter in its mission to increase access to higher education. Prior to the campus’s establishment, the Greater Hickory area was the largest metropolitan area in the state without a public university campus. App State has also partnered with ed tech nonprofit Project Kitty Hawk (PKH) to offer streamlined App State Online degree programs designed for nontraditional learners — part of a statewide effort to expand higher education access to millions of working adults in North Carolina.

App State has earned regional and national recognition for its quality academics, innovative teaching, support for military-affiliated students and transfer students, programs to enhance the first-year experience and other aspects, lauded by such publications as U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Forbes magazine and The Wall Street Journal. And the university’s athletics programs continue to claim new victories, on and off the field, with the Mountaineers football team earning App State a place in the national spotlight and student-athletes maintaining academic excellence.

Visit App State’s Our History website at appstate.edu/about/history to learn more about the university’s history and its legacy of Mountaineers. The site features a comprehensive historical timeline of the university, as well as photos of memorable Mountaineer moments and an overview of App State leaders, past and present.

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125 Years of App State

Appalachian State University celebrates 125 years of education leadership in 2024. A thriving institution, App State honors its founding commitment to educational access and excellence and its rural mountain heritage through teaching, research and service.

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Our History

Appalachian State University

Learn the history of Appalachian State University, from its founding in 1899 as a rural academy to its growth into a destination of choice for high-achieving students.

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About Founders Day

Appalachian State University celebrates Founders Day each fall to honor the university’s founders — B.B. Dougherty, D.D. Dougherty and Lillie Shull Dougherty — and the first day of classes at Watauga Academy, held Sept. 5, 1899. App State began this annual tradition in 2018 with the dedication of Founders Plaza, a touchstone to the university’s early days that is located at the campus entrance on Hardin Street.

About the Bell Ringers Society

A new tradition at Appalachian State University — the ringing of the Founders Bell, an iconic symbol of App State’s history — was established Sept. 5, 2019, as the university celebrated its second annual Founders Day. Twelve members of the App State Community were selected to ring the bell 10 times each to signify the university’s 120th anniversary as an innovator and leader in higher education. These 12 bell ringers are the inaugural members of App State’s Bell Ringers Society. New members are inducted into the society each year to ring the bell on Founders Day.

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.