App State professor Jewel Davis read over 800 picture books to lead the selection of this year’s Caldecott Medal winner — an opportunity to elevate stories that spark a love of reading in a new generation. At App State, Davis brings her expertise directly to students, guiding future educators, librarians and storytellers.

To address child care staffing shortages in the region, App State and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services are partnering to offer three Child Care Academies in Western NC this spring and summer. Each academy will provide intensive child care training and certification at no cost to participants.

App State’s comprehensive, nonpartisan Civic Literacy Initiative — now in its second year — aims to foster a civically engaged and informed university community. Launched in fall 2024, the program’s key focus areas are dialogue across differences, voter participation and free speech and expression.

App State’s Department of Theatre and Dance and Hayes School of Music are collaborating to bring the musical comedy “Once Upon a Mattress” — based on the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea” — to life for university and regional audiences. Five performances are scheduled to take place April 15–19 in Valborg Theatre on the Boone campus.

App State’s Dr. Erin Peters has helped bring new life to the layered history of the ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur — the subject of the Met’s “Dendur Decoded” virtual reality experience. Her work on the project provides opportunities for App State students to explore their classroom studies in a real-world context.

App State’s newly launched Office of Rural Promise fosters regional connections and supports growing programs that advance the success of students and educators in North Carolina schools. It serves as a strategic driver supporting the university’s research and innovation enterprise.

App State has received a $838,276 grant from Dogwood Health Trust in support of the university’s work as part of the Health Policy Research Consortium — an initiative aimed at addressing physical and mental health issues, substance use and misuse, and housing and food insecurity in Western North Carolina.

As Appalachian State University prepares to observe Veterans Day, Student Veterans Association President Jacob “Jack” Sullivan is focused on supporting the growing community of military-affiliated students on campus.

Following a $26 million renovation, App State reopened Wey Hall for classes this fall, followed by the opening of the facility’s new Cathy P. Walling Student Art Gallery in late September. The newly renovated and modernized Wey Hall provides state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology and essential resources for App State students, faculty and staff.