BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris has been named chancellor of Appalachian State University, effective March 1. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans made the announcement upon election by the Board of Governors of the 17-campus University of North Carolina System on Feb. 27.
“Dr. Norris has been a widely respected leader and scholar in the Appalachian community for more than two decades, and her service as interim chancellor since last April has been exemplary,” Hans said. “Dr. Norris has risen steadily through the ranks of academic and campus leadership, showing a deep capacity for aligning institutional incentives to student success in a way that has strengthened her university and benefitted a generation of Mountaineer graduates.
“Everyone who has worked with Dr. Norris praises her ability to take on complex problems without losing sight of the university’s core mission of service,” Hans said.
Pictured in May 2024, App State Chancellor Heather Norris applauds the newest graduates of the university during the Spring 2024 Commencement, held May 10 and 11 in Holmes Convocation Center on the Boone campus. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Additionally, Hans praised Norris for her “steady, healing presence” in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene last fall and her work to bring the university and community together in a shared commitment to the region.
UNC Board of Governors Chair Wendy Murphy, who served on the Chancellor Search Advisory Committee, said Norris’ experience and her financial expertise would be an advantage for the university.
“Dr. Norris has held successful leadership roles at the university for years,” Murphy said. “She is a bridge builder and a great champion for students, and I look forward to seeing App State continue to thrive under her watch.”
Mark E. Ricks, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, said the university was poised to advance given its new Carnegie Classification as a Research 2 university for high research activity.
“This is an exciting time for App State,” Ricks said. “Having just achieved Research 2 status, we’re well-positioned to lead innovation in research and creative endeavors for the western part of the state, driving economic development that will help with hurricane recovery and improving economic well-being and quality of life for our region for decades to come. We have the perfect person at the helm to move us forward.”
Ricks thanked Hans and Murphy “for their leadership and for choosing the best candidate we could hope for as our university’s next chancellor.”
App State Chancellor Heather Norris, right in foreground, visits the App State Mountaineers softball team. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
Norris’ career has been characterized by her strong, collaborative leadership and service to both App State and the greater community, and she brings more than two decades of academic leadership, vision and expertise to her role as chancellor.
“It is my honor to continue to advance the mission of our university, which I dearly love,” Norris said. “For over 20 years now, I have had the distinct pleasure of serving this great university and the surrounding communities in a multitude of roles, including in my most recent role as interim chancellor.”
Norris has extensive personal and professional connections to the university’s surrounding communities in the Boone and Hickory areas.
“In addition to my passion for academic excellence and student success, I have a deep appreciation for App State’s mountain heritage and its role in the High Country and Catawba Valley regions,” she said. “I have lived for most of my life in rural Appalachia, and rural Western North Carolina has been my home for over 20 years. I have built my life here, and generations of my family live here.”
Norris pledged to continue the work she and her leadership team have undertaken to improve the university’s relationships with its surrounding communities in the Boone and Hickory areas.
“From my first days as interim chancellor, I recognized the need for App State to bolster relationships, and, in some cases, to rebuild, repair and restore trust with our constituent groups,” Norris said. “In partnership with our Board of Trustees and my leadership team, I earnestly set about that work, which we pledge to continue, recognizing that building and maintaining relationships requires ongoing commitment.”
Pictured in September 2024, App State Chancellor Heather Norris, center, and Hank Foreman, App State vice chancellor of external affairs and strategic initiatives and chief of staff, listen to Watauga County Director of Emergency Management Will Holt, far right, during a visit to Watauga County's Emergency Operations Center on Sept. 30. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State Chancellor Heather Norris, second from right in the foreground, speaks with members of App State’s Council of Chairs at the council’s holiday reception, held in December 2024. The council consists of all academic department chairpersons, the dean or associate dean of libraries, the assistant or associate dean of music, the director of Appalachian studies and, on an ex-officio and non-voting basis, the chair of Faculty Senate.
More than 40 applicants applied for the position. The search process began in August 2024 and was paused for several weeks as the university and region were forced to respond to and begin recovery efforts from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.
The search included a series of listening sessions and sought input from students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the greater community, who shared their thoughts and opinions about what qualities App State’s next chancellor should have.
Finalists for the position, whose names will remain confidential, participated in campus visits and were able to meet with representatives from the student body, staff, faculty, administration, leadership boards, alumni and community members. Sen. Deanna Ballard, who served as chair of the 13-member Chancellor Search Advisory Committee, thanked everyone who participated in the process, from the open listening sessions to the final interviews, for their engagement and commitment to the integrity of the search, and also expressed her thanks to the committee.
“Our diverse and highly qualified candidate pool was exceptional; however, Dr. Norris’ deep-rooted connection to the institution, her ability to foster stability on and off campus during critical times and her sincere dedication to our community distinguished her,” said Ballard. “I am optimistic about the positive energy and fresh ideas she will bring as she fully assumes her role.”
Norris thanked Hans, Murphy, the Board of Governors, the App State Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. She also recognized her leadership team, which has supported her in her leadership of the university since the resignation of Dr. Sheri Everts from the position in April 2024. In particular, said Norris, her leadership team “helped ensure our institution was literally a beacon in the storm when Hurricane Helene devastated our area in September.”
App State Chancellor Heather Norris, second from right, speaks with students during her tour of the Boone campus on Oct. 16, 2024. App State’s Boone campus sustained significant impacts from the flooding and storm damage caused by Hurricane Helene — one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the institution — which hit the Boone area on Sept. 27, 2024. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State — ensuring access and educational excellence
With a national reputation for opening access to educational excellence, App State, now in its 125th year, enrolls more than 21,500 students at its Boone and Hickory campuses and online. The university recently earned a Research 2 designation for high research activity and doctorate production through the Carnegie Classification system, the nation’s leading framework for categorizing U.S. higher education institutions. App State is one of only five North Carolina public and private universities and colleges with an R2 designation. In fiscal year 2024, App State set a university record for research funding, securing more than $25 million in awards for faculty and staff projects. Over the last five years, App State’s funded research has increased by nearly 75%. The university’s new R2 designation opens the door for additional opportunities for students to conduct groundbreaking research and advance creative endeavors side-by-side with faculty and staff.
The university’s academic accolades include leading the nation for its number of alumni who are National Board Certified Teachers. Additionally, the university regularly earns high rankings from national publications for its online degree programs and is recognized as a national and world leader in business education.
With a strong national reputation for academic excellence, App State also enjoys a dedicated and enthusiastic national fan base for the more than 400 student-athletes who compete in 17 NCAA Division I varsity sports. App State’s championship football team has enjoyed unprecedented success at the highest level of Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision) with seven bowl wins in its first 10 years at the FBS level and four Sun Belt Conference championships. App State student-athletes in all sports pursue daily comprehensive excellence in academics, competition and community involvement. Fall 2024 marked the 25th straight semester with a cumulative GPA above 3.0 among student-athletes.
App State hosts vibrant arts and humanities programming year-round to enrich the cultural and intellectual climate of its campus communities and the region. App State’s Boone campus is home to 14 exhibition and performance venues, including the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts — a state-of-the-art, 1,660-seat venue that is home to a multitude of campus and community events, as well as visiting artists from across the region, nation and world — and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, which features six galleries with changing exhibitions of contemporary artworks by regional, national and international artists. An Appalachian Summer is the university’s monthlong annual celebration of the performing and visual arts, with a mix of music, dance, theater, visual arts and film programming held in venues across the Boone campus. Over its 40 seasons, An Appalachian Summer, which began as a chamber music series, has evolved into one of the nation’s most highly celebrated arts events, respected for both the breadth and quality of its artistic programming.
Pictured during the Welcome Lunch for the 2024 North Carolina School of Banking program, held July 22–26, 2024, at App State’s Boone campus, are, from left to right in foreground, North Carolina School of Banking (NCSB) Dean and App State professor Dr. Harry Davis; App State Chancellor Heather Norris; Jon Kilberg, senior manager at Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia, and an NCSB Instructor; Dr. Justin Cox, assistant professor in App State’s Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance and an NCSB instructor; and App State alumnus Steven Overcash ’09, senior vice president at Encore Bank in Winston-Salem, who is an NCSB first-year student. Photo by Chase Reynolds
About Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris
“As a faculty member, administrator and individual, I value academic freedom and freedom of expression, as well as honesty and integrity,” said Norris. “At heart, I am a servant leader. I understand that our best efforts involve working collaboratively together, and I actively seek out and listen to advice from our many constituent groups.”
Norris arrived at App State in 2003 as assistant professor in the Walker College of Business’ Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance. She became assistant dean for undergraduate programs in 2005 and interim dean in 2015. A national search led to her being chosen as the seventh dean of the Walker College of Business in 2016. During her time as dean of the Walker College of Business, the college grew its fundraising by nearly 70%, securing three endowed professorships and undergoing a major remodeling.
She became provost and executive vice chancellor on an interim basis in 2020 and fully in 2021. As provost, she remained active in the creation of new endowed professorships and redeveloped an existing vice provost role to become vice provost for research and innovation, to focus more strategically on universitywide innovation opportunities that show strong potential for local and regional economic impact.
On April 19, 2024, Hans announced her appointment as interim chancellor, succeeding Everts. As provost and executive vice chancellor, she oversaw the development of the university’s 2022–27 strategic plan, as well as other strategic efforts focused on academic affairs, on research, scholarship and creative activities, and on App State’s Quality Enhancement Plan through 2029.
Pictured in May 2024, App State Chancellor Heather Norris interacts with App State staff members during the university’s annual Staff Appreciation Event, held May 17 in the Holmes Convocation Center. This annual event recognizes App State staff, who are fundamental to the university’s operational success. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Under Norris’ leadership, App State has:
- Experienced intentionally managed enrollment growth, with significant growth in both the Hickory campus and App State Online student populations for 2024–25, as well as a record enrollment of students for the spring 2025 semester.
- Coordinated efforts with the community to respond to and recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene — one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the institution.
- Formed a partnership with Project Kitty Hawk, a nonprofit affiliate of the UNC System, to offer five streamlined App State Online degree programs in 2024–25, all designed for nontraditional learners — part of a statewide effort to expand higher education access to millions of working adults in North Carolina. In January 2025, the UNC System Board of Governors voted to appoint Chancellor Norris to the Project Kitty Hawk Board of Directors.
- Expanded the Aspire Appalachian program to include partnerships with 27 North Carolina community colleges, providing a seamless pathway for transfer students across the state to complete their four-year degrees at App State.
- Joined six other UNC System institutions as a headquarters for NCInnovation, a nonprofit that provides grant funding, mentorship and partnership development to university researchers to support innovative, real-world research at North Carolina’s public universities.
- Launched a comprehensive Civic Literacy Initiative aimed at fostering a nonpartisan, civically engaged and informed university community. Launched in fall 2024, the program includes a strong focus on helping students develop skills to effectively build constructive dialogue around difficult topics and discuss challenging societal issues.
- Established a cross-divisional Chancellor’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force to create guidance and recommendations for AI use across the university while also enhancing protective measures for institutional security and individual privacy.
- Worked on a capital projects review and six-year capital plan — a collaborative effort between campus leadership, App State’s Board of Trustees and members of the UNC System Office and Board of Governors. This plan for capital improvements and repairs ensures the built environment at App State is designed to both support and advance the university’s core missions of teaching, scholarship and service.
On April 29, App State and Project Kitty Hawk (PKH) signed an agreement that will help remove barriers to educational access and increase career readiness and advancement, particularly for adult learners in North Carolina. App State has launched five online degree programs supported by the project in the 2024–25 academic year. Pictured, from left to right, are PKH Chief Operating Officer David Eby, App State Chancellor Heather Norris and UNC System Executive Vice President and PKH Interim President and CEO Andrew Kelly. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Beyond her professional endeavors, Norris has many years of service as a volunteer on boards of directors for organizations in the region, including for Children’s Hope Alliance and the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. Prior to her time at App State, she held faculty positions at Bowling Green State University, Pennsylvania State University and West Virginia University.
“I was first drawn to App State as a finance faculty member in 2003 because of the university’s stated mission of academic excellence and student success, which aligned perfectly with my passion to support students, both inside and outside the classroom,” said Norris. “I am proud that providing access to high-quality education and support for student success remain our focus today. It is my great honor to continue to serve, building upon the excellence that was established by our founders 125 years ago.”
Norris holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from James Madison University and master’s and doctoral degrees in finance from Penn State. Norris and her husband, Robert, a 1987 alumnus of App State and retired App State staff member, have one daughter, Emma. Her father, David Hulburt, also lives locally, and Norris thanked her family for their strong support.
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Provost and executive vice chancellor Heather Norris assumes the role of interim chancellor
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.
Provost and executive vice chancellor Heather Norris assumes the role of interim chancellor
