Since opening last summer, App State’s Robotics Lab has expanded its research activities and student involvement, giving student researchers opportunities to explore how robots can learn, adapt and collaborate with humans in dynamic environments. The lab combines research in robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning while also emphasizing experiential learning.

During an Oct. 12 event at the Hickory campus, App State recognized five community partners for helping the university expand clinical services, strengthen rural healthcare outreach and launch a new Doctor of Nursing Practice program in the Catawba Valley. The partners are Catawba Valley Health System, UNC Health Blue Ridge, UNC Health Caldwell, and the Caldwell Memorial Hospital and Golden LEAF foundations.

App State is teaming up with Vaya Partners on the North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program to strengthen rural healthcare across 12 NC counties. Supported by an $11.5 million-plus grant, App State will develop educational pathways, clinical placements and financial assistance to help prepare and retain healthcare professionals where they are needed most.

App State’s Academy at Middle Fork has experienced strong student achievement and growth over the past five academic years, according to recent data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The data reflects substantial academic progress, marked by double-digit increases in students’ reading, math and science proficiency scores from 2024–25 to 2025–26.

Builders Insurance Group, under the leadership of Todd Campbell ’87, has made a $500,000 commitment to App State’s Walker College of Business, supporting the relocation and modernization of the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center. The relocation will help facilitate student connections with peers and industry partners, positioning them for career success.

Two years after Hurricane Helene, recovery work continues across Western NC’s mountain communities. Several App State alumni, including Forrest Gilliam ’08, are helping coordinate the state’s long-term recovery efforts as leading members of GROW NC, the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina. Learn about their work to build back a more resilient region.

App State has reopened Duncan Hall on the Boone campus following the facility’s nearly $32 million renovation, introducing new STEM labs, technically advanced classrooms and modern collaborative spaces for the fall semester. The major infrastructure milestone sets the stage for upcoming campus master planning initiatives.

App State celebrated its ninth annual Founders Day on Sept. 18 at the Boone campus, commemorating the university’s first day of classes in 1899 and honoring App State founders B.B., D.D. and Lillie Shull Dougherty. With the ringing of the Founders Bell, eight new members were inducted into the university’s Bell Ringers Society.

On Aug. 27, App State and nonprofit refurbisher E2D (Eliminate the Digital Divide) distributed 200 new laptops to first-year, first-generation App State students across the Boone, Hickory and online campuses. Since 2022, App State ITS has donated nearly 3,000 devices to E2D, with over 1,100 refurbished and given out in Watauga County.