Long time music educator and director of bands at Appalachian State University, Joe Phelps passed away Jan. 6, 2018 at the age 73. Phelps, of Vilas, was Professor of Trumpet and became Assistant Director of Bands at Appalachian in 1971 and enjoyed a full-time career of 30 years supplemented with part-time teaching through the fall of 2017.

Gregg Marland, a research professor with the Research Institute for Environment, Energy and Economics at Appalachian State University, weighs in on the subject of using forest biomass to produce power.

Twenty minutes east of Boone, at the end of a twisting gravel road, a team of university researchers peer into the cosmos to learn more about the distant stars. Perched atop an especially dark mountain and driven by a desire to understand the universe we live in, Appalachian’s Dark Sky Observatory is a tribute to the quality of the local scientific community.

This is Dollar General Bowl week and weekend in Mobile. But before the big game Saturday, players and coaches from both Appalachian State University and the University of Toledo visited children at the University of South Alabama's Children's and Women's Hospital.

Cpl. Matt Taylor was recently picked by the command staff at the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office to receive the “2017 Employee of the Year” award. Taylor graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Appalachian State University in 2011.

Appalachian student Charles Walker Austin-Zimmerman's debut EP, "Whole Again" is a remarkable set of music — five songs detailing the anxieties and insecurities of moving away from home and starting college, where Austin-Zimmerman, who performs under the name Charles Walker, studies communications and sociology.

One of Appalachian’s most used academic buildings is slated for renovation, to be funded from proceeds of the student debt services fee. Appalachian’s board of trustees approved a motion to recommend the fee increase on Friday and to endorse renovations and improvements to Sanford Hall as well as the issuance of special obligation bonds or other long-term debt up to $18 million.

On November 4, 2017 the North Carolina Humanities Council announced Mr. Aaron Ballance as the recipient of its 2017 Linda Flowers Literary Award for his entries of “Sugarfoot,” “Old Trouble,” “The Peaks,” “One-Eyed Jenny,” “The Brink,” “Leading Flash to the Barn – January,” and “Rust.”

Pressured by a blooming reputation as well as changes to race regulations, Appalachian's Solar Vehicle Team is now finalizing designs for its second-generation vehicle.