Congratulations Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris
Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris
Chancellor
“It is my great honor to continue to serve, building upon the excellence that was established by our founders 125 years ago.”
— App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris
On Feb. 27, 2025, the UNC Board of Governors elected Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris as the next leader of Appalachian State University.
Norris has served as interim chancellor since April 2024. Her 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.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Chancellor Norris and the campus events celebrating her appointment.
Appalachian State University Chancellor Heather Norris shares her first message after being elected chancellor by the UNC Board of Governors.
Appalachian State University welcomed its newest chancellor — Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris — on Feb. 27, following the announcement of her appointment by the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. At the welcome event celebrating her appointment, held in the Grandview Ballroom of Kidd Brewer Stadium’s north end zone facility, Chancellor Norris was greeted by guests with cheers and applause, and she took a moment to give a fist bump to App State Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs J.J. Brown, second from left in the foreground. Members of the Chancellor’s Cabinet in attendance included (pictured from left to right in the foreground): Acting Provost Neva J. Specht, Vice Chancellor Brown, Director of Athletics Doug Gillin, Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management Troy Johnson, Interim Vice Chancellor of University Advancement Will Sears and Interim Chief Financial Officer John Adams. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
App State Chancellor Heather Norris at the welcome event celebrating her appointment as chancellor of Appalachian State University, held Feb. 27 in the Grandview Ballroom of Kidd Brewer Stadium’s north end zone facility. She is pictured interacting with members of App State’s Mountaineers cheerleading team, who were in attendance to help celebrate her. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris delivers remarks at the welcome event celebrating her appointment as the newest chancellor of Appalachian State University, held Feb. 27 in the Grandview Ballroom of Kidd Brewer Stadium’s north end zone facility. App State mascot Yosef, as well as members of the Mountaineer cheerleading team and the Hayes School of Music's Marching Mountaineers, look on in the background. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Former North Carolina Sen. Deanna Ballard, who served as chair of App State’s 13-member Chancellor Search Advisory Committee, speaks at the welcome event honoring Appalachian State University’s newest chancellor — Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris. The event was held Feb. 27 in the Grandview Ballroom of Kidd Brewer Stadium’s north end zone facility. Chancellor Norris was elected to the position by the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors after a national search. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris gives a Mountaineer smile after delivering remarks at the welcome event celebrating her appointment as App State’s newest chancellor, held Feb. 27 in the Grandview Ballroom of Kidd Brewer Stadium’s north end zone facility. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
Pictured at left in the foreground is App State Board of Trustees Vice Chair Tommy Sofield ’76 at the welcome event honoring App State’s newest chancellor — Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. The welcome event was held Feb. 27 in the Grandview Ballroom of Kidd Brewer Stadium’s north end zone facility. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, center, is joined by her daughter, Emma, and her husband, Robert, a 1987 alumnus of App State and retired App State staff member, at the welcome event celebrating her appointment as App State’s newest chancellor. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. The welcome event was held Feb. 27 in the Grandview Ballroom of Kidd Brewer Stadium’s north end zone facility. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
App State Board of Trustees Vice Chair Tommy Sofield ’76 brings congratulatory remarks to App State’s newest chancellor — Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris — on behalf of the Board of Trustees. Chancellor Norris was elected to the position by the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors on Feb. 27, after having served 10 months in the interim role. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, center, with App State student body president Kathryn Long, third from right in the front row, student body vice president Amarah Din, fourth from left in the front row, and other members of App State’s Student Government Association at the welcome event celebrating Norris’ appointment as App State’s newest chancellor, held Feb. 27 in the Grandview Ballroom of Kidd Brewer Stadium’s north end zone facility. Margaret McCoy, executive director of university events at App State, is pictured at left in the background. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Pictured in the foreground are App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, right, and Dr. Rita Joyner, practitioner-in-residence in App State’s Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment. A meet and greet for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, was held Feb. 27 in Plemmons Student Union on the Boone campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, center, Walker College of Business Dean Sandra Vanny, left, and Reich College of Education Dean Melba Spooner pose for a photo at the meet and greet event for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ chancellor appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. The meet and greet was held Feb. 27 in Plemmons Student Union on the Boone campus. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, center, is pictured with Dr. Neel Das, professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management and director of App State’s Master of Business Administration program, right, and Dr. Anindita Das, senior lecturer in App State’s First Year Seminar program, at a meet and greet for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, held Feb. 27 in Plemmons Student Union on the Boone campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
J.P. Neri, center, a senior history major from Raleigh and the 2023–24 student body president at App State, chats with Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs J.J. Brown, far right, at a meet and greet event held for Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, on Feb. 27 in Plemmons Student Union on the Boone campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, right, snaps a photo with Pam Walker, director of App State’s Campus Store, at a meet and greet for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, held Feb. 27 in Plemmons Student Union on the Boone campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, right, speaks with Kay Borkowski, a retired App State faculty member and the wife of former App State Chancellor Francis Thomas Borkowski, who passed away in January. They are pictured at a meet and greet event for Norris that was held Feb. 27 on the Boone campus, following Norris’ appointment as chancellor by the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, center, with former App State head football coach Jerry Moore, right, and his wife, and Margaret Moore, at the Feb. 28 meet and greet event held for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, in the atrium at App State’s Hickory campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ chancellor appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, right, with Dr. Mark Poarch, president of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (CCC&TI), at the Feb. 28 meet and greet event held for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, in the atrium at App State’s Hickory campus. CCC&TI is one of 27 partner community colleges in App State’s Aspire Appalachian program, which provides a streamlined path for students to complete their bachelor’s degrees at App State. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ chancellor appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Pictured in the foreground, App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, far left, with App State alumnus David Mofford ’09, third from left, his husband, Zac Giffin, second from right, and Dr. Amy Wood, director of corporate and community relations in App State’s Division of University Advancement, second from left, at the Feb. 28 meet and greet event held for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, in the atrium at App State’s Hickory campus. The university’s Hickory campus Food Hub was dedicated in honor of Mofford and Giffin on Feb. 28. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ chancellor appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
City of Lenoir Mayor Joseph L. Gibbons, right in the foreground, speaks with Margaret Moore, wife of former App State head football coach Jerry Moore, at the Feb. 28 meet and greet event held for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, in the atrium at App State’s Hickory campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ chancellor appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management Troy Johnson, second from right, and Anthony Starr, executive director at Western Piedmont Council of Governments, far left, are pictured at the Feb. 28 meet and greet event held for Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, in the atrium at App State’s Hickory campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ chancellor appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Pictured in the foreground, App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, third from left, speaks with Lizzie Muscarello, interprofessional clinic program manager in the Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness at App State’s Beaver College of Health Sciences, second from left, Karen Laws, information desk and lobby manager at the Hickory campus, second from right, and Emily Cunningham, academic advisor in the College Advising and Support Services Hub at App State’s College of Arts and Sciences, far right, at the Feb. 28 meet and greet event held for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, in the atrium at App State’s Hickory campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ chancellor appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Pictured in the foreground, App State Chancellor Heather Hulburt Norris, left, speaks with Dr. Michael Madritch, dean of App State’s College of Arts and Sciences, at the Feb. 28 meet and greet event held for Norris, App State’s newest chancellor, in the atrium at App State’s Hickory campus. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans announced Norris’ chancellor appointment as part of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Feb. 27 meeting, upon her election by the board. Photo by Chase Reynolds
App State students, faculty, staff and community members gathered on the Boone and Hickory campuses Feb. 27 and Feb. 28, respectively, to celebrate Dr. Heather Hulburt Norris, the university’s newest chancellor. Watch this video to relive the excitement!
Meet the chancellor
Two events to celebrate and connect with Chancellor Norris were held on the Boone and Hickory campuses on Feb. 27 and 28.
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.
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