BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Elizabeth Shay, associate professor in App State’s Department of Geography and Planning, has been honored with a 2026 University of North Carolina Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award. The award is given annually to one outstanding faculty member from each of the UNC System’s 17 institutions.

The UNC Board of Governors also selected six App State faculty to recognize with campus-based awards for their innovative teaching methods:

• Appalachian State University Excellence in Teaching Award:
  • Dr. Pablo Chialvo
• Appalachian State University School/College Awards:
  • Dr. Rebecca Kappus
  • Dr. Justin Kent
  • Dr. Jason Lynch
  • Dr. Savannah Paige Murray
  • Dr. Mark Nunes

Read more about these six awards recipients below.

“The UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching awards are a powerful affirmation of our enduring commitment to student success,” said App State Chancellor Heather Norris. “We are proud to see Dr. Shay and her colleagues — whose exceptional work highlights the rigorous scholarship and real-world problem-solving that take place every day at Appalachian State University — recognized with this esteemed awards program.”

Shay, who has been a faculty member at App State since 2015, serves as the planning program director in the Department of Geography and Planning. Her teaching and research interests include city and regional planning, transportation planning and access, land use, travel behavior, community development and rural resilience. She has been inducted into the Academy of Outstanding Teachers and received the 2022–23 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from the College of Arts and Sciences.

“Dr. Shay grounds her teaching in applied experience, partnering with local communities to translate classroom theory into real-world practice across North Carolina,” said Dr. Mike Madritch, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Her commitment to equipping students with the tools and skills to make meaningful impacts is evident in everything she does — and she will have a long-lasting legacy through her students, who have gone on to work in our local communities.”

During her tenure, she has directed more than 40 internships, hired dozens of student research assistants and chaired five master’s committees. Shay has also led the effort to secure national Planning Accreditation Board recognition for the Bachelor of Science in community and regional planning program and is organizing a study abroad opportunity in Scotland through her international research partnerships.

Shay earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Southern Oregon University. She holds a master’s degree in Russian from the University of Washington and a Master of Library Science from UNC-Chapel Hill. She earned her Ph.D. in city and regional planning from UNC-Chapel Hill before obtaining a professional certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners.

In this Q&A, Shay reflects on her career as a professor at App State, her passion for planning and transportation and her research involving App State students.

Tell us about your initial reaction to receiving the 2026 Board of Governors’ Excellence in Teaching Award — what does this award mean to you?

Humbling and surprising. It’s an honor. This university is known for strong teaching; I’m from a department with a lot of strong teachers. I am grateful to work in a regional public university with a strong public service orientation — because that is what planning is all about. The Code of Ethics for professional planners says that whether you work for the government, the academy or for private sector clients, part of the responsibility of a planner is to serve the greater public good. As a planner, we’re supposed to be making the world a better place, or our community a better place. And I think that’s our role here as teachers.

What led to your interest in planning and transportation?

I’d always been interested in transportation and in how communities are planned — lifelong cyclist and walker — but did not pursue it as a discipline until rather late, after completely unrelated degrees. As a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill employee, I got to take a free class each semester, and one semester I signed up for a transportation policy class taught by a new faculty member — and never looked back. That professor became one of two who shepherded me through my doctorate. And then, I went to work at the North Carolina Department of Transportation for a year after I left UNC — thinking that I was leaving the academic world and going to work in public practice. When I came to Appalachian State, I had to give up my nearly exclusive focus on transportation planning to become more of a planning generalist, because we are a small program that teaches a pretty wide range of courses.

When did you realize you wanted to be a teacher?

I did not set out to do so, although one of my parents was a public high school English teacher. I thought I was basically on a research track; then I left UNC to take the job with NCDOT, and I was a practicing planner. But because planning is an applied discipline, the transition to a teaching role was built into an academic position where teaching is thoroughly intertwined with research and service.

What do you enjoy the most about teaching at App State?

The best part: students, who keep us honest and challenge us. And the applied and service orientation of my profession, so that we train students for a profession that requires knowledge and skill — but one that connects deeply with the community. In general education courses, we introduce the discipline to lots of students across campus. Our upper undergraduate and graduate courses all have applied community-facing components, which lets us train our students with the skills young planners need to have while providing a useful service. There is regular back-and-forth between practitioners and academics, which keeps us busy trying out new things. And there’s a strong regional network of our graduates, whom we call on to mentor our current students or come join a class as a guest speaker.

What brought you to App State in 2015 and what were/are your impressions of the campus community?

I was delighted to be offered a faculty position here — the climate and the landscape suit me — and I appreciate the whole package: a collegial department with interesting and accomplished colleagues, a campus that prioritizes strong teaching, and a lively community. Working for a public institution that is well-rooted in its region is really satisfying, and it doesn’t hurt when that region is beautiful and rugged and full of history and culture. App State also has curious and committed students, who make it worth coming to work every day.

Is there any of your current research that you would like to highlight?

I have several current projects that involve students in research, including:

• My students and I recently concluded a transportation-related project, with some funding by NCDOT, looking at how transportation professionals in the state are preparing for the arrival of more connected and automated (self-driving) vehicles.
• Another project, also supported with NCDOT funding, is looking into how households acquire and shed vehicles.
• I am conducting some general community and regional planning projects by interviewing planners, officials and community leaders in Western North Carolina in order to better understand our home region and how to serve its communities.
• I have students doing projects within courses, such as a current planning studio looking at campus parking systems, and a graduate seminar assisting a nonprofit with a community visioning process.

6 App State faculty receive UNC Board of Governors campus-based awards

In addition to the Excellence in Teaching Award, the UNC Board of Governors also selected six App State faculty to receive campus-based awards for their innovative teaching methods in the classroom, making a difference in the way students learn.

The winner of the 2026 Appalachian State University Excellence in Teaching Award:

Dr. Pablo Chialvo

Dr. Pablo Chialvo, lecturer in App State’s Department of Biology, has been a faculty member at App State since 2020. Chialvo has received multiple awards from the college and university, including the 2022 Faculty Award for General Education Teaching, 2023 College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Non-Tenure Track Teaching Excellence Award, 2023 CAS Academy of Outstanding Teachers Award, 2023 Appalachian State University Faculty Enrichment and Teaching Fellowship and the 2025 The Appalachian’s Best Professor on Campus. Chialvo holds a doctorate in entomology from the University of Georgia.

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The winners of the 2026 Appalachian State University School/College Awards:

Dr. Rebecca Kappus

Dr. Rebecca Kappus, associate professor in App State’s Department of Kinesiology, has been a faculty member at App State since 2015. She serves as one of the department’s clinical exercise physiologists and was inducted into the Academy of Outstanding Mentors by App State’s Williams School of Graduate Studies in 2023. Kappus holds a doctorate in kinesiology, nutrition and rehabilitation from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Dr. Justin Kent

Dr. Justin Kent, assistant professor in App State’s Department of Management, has been a faculty member at App State since 2020. Kent was voted Most Helpful Faculty and Staff at Appalachian State University for the 2020–21 academic year. Kent holds a doctorate in business administration from UNC-Chapel Hill.

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Dr. Jason Lynch

Dr. Jason Lynch, associate professor in App State’s Department of Counseling, Family Therapy and Higher Education, has been a faculty member at App State since 2020. He led the creation and coordination of the Graduate Certificate in Trauma-Informed Leadership, the first of its kind nationally, which equips leaders to apply trauma-informed principles across organizational systems and culture. In 2024, he was recognized with the Reich College of Education Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. Lynch holds a doctorate in higher education from Old Dominion University.

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Dr. Savannah Paige Murray

Dr. Savannah Paige Murray, assistant professor in App State’s Department of English, has been a faculty member at the university since 2020. While teaching at App State, Murray has earned numerous award nominations, including the 2023–24 Richard N. Henson Outstanding Advising Award in the College of Arts and Sciences and the 2021–22 award for Most Helpful Faculty and Staff. She holds a doctorate in rhetoric and writing from Virginia Tech.

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Dr. Mark Nunes

Dr. Mark Nunes, professor in App State’s Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, has taught at the university since 2014. While at App State, he chaired the department for eight years and has coordinated the department’s internship program for the last 12 years. Nunes holds an interdisciplinary doctorate from Emory University’s Institute for the Liberal Arts.

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Teaching with heart, vision and an eye for innovation: App State's Dr. Charlie Chen

A Q&A with the university's 2025 UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award winner

April 3, 2025

In this Q&A, Dr. Charlie Chen, App State’s winner of the 2025 UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award, reflects on his 22-year career at the university. The annual award is given to one outstanding faculty member at each UNC System school. Six additional App State faculty have been recognized by the board with campus-based awards.

Read the story

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, cost-effective education. 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.