Supported by a $7.2 million grant from Ascendium Education Group, the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges, housed at App State, will work to advance higher education and workforce development in rural communities over the next four years as part of its Rural Talent Lab project.

At the App State Academy at Middle Fork, instead of a single teacher handling all responsibilities for one classroom for one grade, a collaborative team of academy educators supports student learning across two combined grade levels.

Tommy Guy ’07 said the out-of-the-box thinking he learned as a Mountaineer has been fundamental to his success since graduating from the university. Now Guy — who works at Microsoft as a principal architect for Copilot AI — remains an engaged member of the App State Community, investing in students and programs across the university.

App State assistant professor Dr. Ashley Adams is conducting research on soil biotic communities across rangelands in California — work that is vital for sustaining one of the world’s top agricultural producers. Her work is part of a $7.9 million USDA investment to promote soil health.

App State’s Aspire Appalachian program for transfer students has earned recognition as a 2025 myFutureNC Champion for Attainment for its dedication to expanding access, success and completion for adult learners across North Carolina.

During the test, App State uses the hi/low tone for emergencies, the discontinuous air horn for tests of the system and the alert tone for the all-clear signal.

App State has earned a Research 2 designation through the Carnegie Classification system for high research activity and doctorate production. App State’s research expenditures in fiscal year 2023 were more than $8.4 million and, in 2022–23, the university awarded 20 doctoral degrees.