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Founders Day 2023

A celebration
Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023
Boone Campus

A tradition celebrated each fall to honor App State's founders and the first day of classes in 1899.

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Founders Day Bell Ringers Ceremony and Portrait Dedication

9 – 9:30 a.m.
Founders Plaza

Join Chancellor Sheri Everts for the ringing of the Founders Bell and the induction of the 2023 Bell Ringers Society members:

  • Harvey Durham
  • Judge Rebecca Eggers-Gryder
  • Bruce Guy
  • Linda Guy
  • JP Neri
  • Bob Snead

A dedication ceremony will also be held for the portrait of Lillie Shull Dougherty, one of App State’s three founders.

A livestream of the Founders Day Bell Ringers Ceremony and Portrait Dedication will be available at the Hickory Library and Information Commons on App State's Hickory campus starting at 9 a.m.

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Innovation and Sustainability at Appalachian: Past, Present and Future — Poster Session

12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Grandview Ballroom, North End Zone Facility

The past, present and future of sustainability and innovation at App State will be presented in three segments. First, learn the ways App State has always incorporated sustainability. Next, hear about groundbreaking environmental research from App State faculty. Finally, imagine the future of the university with a presentation on the Innovation District and the exciting ways App State is taking sustainability forward.

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Innovation and Sustainability at Appalachian: Past, Present and Future — Lecture

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Grandview Ballroom, North End Zone Facility

The past, present and future of sustainability and innovation at App State will be presented in three segments:

First, learn the ways App State has always incorporated sustainability — featuring Griffin Honea ’23, historian, former App State Team Sunergy member and postgraduate sustainability scholar in App State’s Office of Sustainability.

Next, hear about groundbreaking environmental research — featuring Dr. Baker Perry, professor in App State’s Department of Geography and Planning.

Finally, imagine the future of the university with a presentation on the Innovation District and the exciting ways App State is taking sustainability forward — featuring Dr. Ava J. Udvadia, professor in and chair of App State’s Department of Biology.

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Solar Team Meet-and-Greet

2:30 – 3 p.m.
Plaza in front of the North End Zone Facility

Meet the members of Team Sunergy, App State’s internationally recognized solar vehicle team, and check out ROSE (Racing on Solar Energy) — the team’s award-winning multi-occupant solar vehicle.

Where's My Bell? | Dave by the Bell: Founders Day Edition

“Dave by the Bell” is a podcast hosted by University Communications’ own Dave Blanks, where he wanders the earth in search of answers to all of life’s questions, great and small. OK, so he mainly stays on Appalachian State University’s campus ... he still wanders though ... and he definitely wonders as he wanders.

In this video edition of Dave By The Bell, Dave goes in search of the bell that used to sit in front of Anne Belk Hall. Learn about App State's Special Collections Research Center from university archivist Kim Sims, and catch a glimpse of interesting historical items from App State’s past!

Previous Founders Days

2022: App State celebrates Founders Day with ‘Year of the Woman’ theme
2022: App State celebrates Founders Day with ‘Year of the Woman’ theme

Statue of D.D. Dougherty dedicated at Founders Plaza

Sep. 30, 2022

App State celebrated its fifth annual Founders Day on Sept. 6 in honor of the first day of classes held at Watauga Academy in 1899. Events included a poster exhibition, panel discussion, statue dedication, ceremony and cemetery tour.

Read the recap of Founders Day 2022
2021: History and tradition — App State’s 4th annual Founders Day celebration
2021: History and tradition — App State’s 4th annual Founders Day celebration
Oct. 8, 2021

App State celebrated its history and traditions during the fourth annual Founders Day, Sept. 17. The day’s events included a Bell Ringers Society ceremony and a lecture and tour of the historic Boone Cemetery, along with AppalFest on Sanford Mall.

Read the recap of Founders Day 2021
2020: The tradition continues — App State celebrates a hybrid Founders Day
2020: The tradition continues — App State celebrates a hybrid Founders Day
Sep. 8, 2020

App State’s third annual Founders Day commemorates a 121-year history. Ceremonies include Bell Ringers Society induction and ribbon cutting ceremony for two new residence halls.

Read the recap of Founders Day 2020
2019: App State celebrates Founders Day and 120 years of education leadership
2019: App State celebrates Founders Day and 120 years of education leadership
Sep. 5, 2019

This year marked the second annual Founders Day celebration. It included dedication of Lillie Shull Dougherty’s statue, ringing of the Founders Bell and more.

Read the recap of Founders Day 2019

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.

Bell Ringers Society Members

2019 Inductees

  • Dr. John E. Thomas
  • Julia Adams ’56
  • John Blackburn
  • Penn Broyhill
  • Philip Byers ’85
  • Dr. Sheri Everts
  • DeJon Milbourne ’20
  • Jerry Moore
  • Reba Moretz ’52 ’53
  • Dr. Rennie Brantz
  • Sammy Hartley ’72 ’73
  • Doris Stam
  • Jeannine Underdown Collins ’79 ’81

2020 Inductees

  • Dr. Karl Campbell
  • Dr. Baker Perry ’98

2021 Inductees

  • Sam Cheatham
  • Bo Henderson ’79
  • Roberta Jackson ’91
  • Maxine McCall ’60 ’65
  • Lynn Patterson ’89
  • Mike Steinback
  • Jim Whittington ’52

2022 Inductees

  • Deanna Ballard
  • Sean Gaillard
  • Dr. Brandy Hadley
  • Emma Hatfield-Sidden
  • Oval Jaynes
  • Larry Nance
  • Anna Boyce Phillips
  • MaKaylia Ray
  • Denise Ringler
  • Nancy Schaffel
  • Neil Schaffel
  • Kim Shepherd

2023 Inductees

  • Dr. Harvey Durham
  • Judge Rebecca Eggers-Gryder
  • Bruce Guy
  • Linda Guy
  • Juan Pablo “J. P.” Neri
  • Bob Snead

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The App State Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. One of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, App State enrolls more than 20,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate majors and 80 graduate programs through its Boone and Hickory campuses and App State Online.

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