There was a 2.2 magnitude earthquake west of Asheville earlier this week. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it's the fourth small quake felt in the area in the past month. But Appalachian State University Geophysicist Scott Marshall says that's not really surprising. “Damaging earthquakes in the eastern U.S. are rare,” Marshall said. “Small earthquakes in the eastern U.S. are pretty common. Several hundred per year.”

Dula family reunions in western North Carolina include members of the black and white sides of the family. But for decades these two sides did not communicate or even acknowledge their relation. Filmmaker Beth Davison, a faculty member at Appalachian State University, explored this story in her recent documentary “Dulatown.”

According to a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, people who prioritize moral purity over compassion are more likely to dehumanize gay and transgender people, which leads to more prejudice and support for discriminatory public policies. “After the Supreme Court decision affirming marriage equality and the debate over bathroom rights for transgender people, we realized that the arguments were often not about facts but about opposing moral beliefs,” said lead author Dr. Andrew E. Monroe, from Appalachian State University.

With a track record and style that are ideal fits for Appalachian State's high-scoring, championship-winning program, Eliah Drinkwitz has agreed to become the Mountaineers' next head football coach. Drinkwitz, 35, has been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for record-setting NC State teams the past three seasons, as he joined the Wolfpack after excelling in a similar role at Group of Five conference power Boise State.

Kurt Michael says he got “a front-seat view of human suffering” while volunteering for a crisis line for three years as a psychology major at the University of Colorado at Boulder.