Western : the magazine of Western Carolina University |
Previous | 1 of 35 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
|
This page
All
|
CWAeRsOteLrnINA Fall 2017 DDiiavleorgsuiteys UNIVERSITY SELECTS ‘CHEROKEE’ FOR YEARLONG LEARNING THEME CATAMOUNTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE AS PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS NEW PROGRAM OFFERS SUPPORT FOR PARENTLESS STUDENTS Sidewalk chalkings lead to campus conversations 2 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University FALL 2017 | VOLUME 21, NO. 2 CHANCELLOR David O. Belcher CHIEF OF STAFF Melissa Canady Wargo MANAGING EDITOR Bill Studenc MPA ’10 CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Mark Haskett ’87 LEAD DESIGNER Will Huddleston STAFF WRITERS Geoff Cantrell Sean Forrester Denise Gideon Randall Holcombe Daniel Hooker ’01 Christy Martin ’71 MA ’78 Marlon W. Morgan Teresa Killian Tate Steve White ’67 STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ashley T. Evans STAFF DESIGNERS John Balentine Todd Charles INTERN DESIGNER William Studenc III VIDEO EDITOR Samuel Wallace ’16 MARKETING DIRECTOR Robin Oliver PRODUCTION MANAGER Ashley Beavers CIRCULATION MANAGER Stephanie Gibson BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Mallonee Search for this icon throughout the magazine for stories that feature online extras – videos, photographs and more, available ONLY online. magazine.wcu.edu Western CAROLINA The Magazine of Western Carolina University is produced by the Office of Communications and Public Relations for alumni, faculty, staff, friends and students of Western Carolina University. The views and opinions that appear in this publication are not necessarily those of the editorial staff or the official policies of the university. WCU Sticker Contest Winners Announced As part of an online contest announced in the winter 2017 edition of The Magazine of Western Carolina University, alumni and friends from all over the country and even Jamaica shared their #CatamountPride by posting to WCU’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts photos of WCU stickers on their vehicles. Stickers were included in every copy of the magazine, and readers tell us they have spotted an increasing number of WCU decals on vehicles traveling the highways and byways across the state and the nation. The grand prize of season passes to all of the Catamounts’ home games for the 2017-18 season, with the winner selected at random, went to Lesli Williams Moss ’07 of Gastonia (1). Three contestants won insulated WCU coffee tumblers for their winning entries in various categories: Danny Hirt ’73 of Fredericksburg, Texas, for submitting a photograph of the vehicle surrounded by the most purple (2); Donna Howell ’87 of Young Harris, Georgia, for her photograph of the most unusual vehicle to sport the #CatamountPride sticker, a 1931 Pontiac coupe (3); and Chris Watras ’08 MSW ’11 from Mount Vernon, Washington, for his entry from the farthest away from campus, at 2,742 miles from Cullowhee (4). 1 2 3 4 Fall 2017| 3 CONTENTS SECTIONS 4 Opening Notes 5 The Inbox 6 News from the Western Hemisphere 14 Catamount Athletics 40 Alumni Spotlight 44 Class Notes 52 Obituaries 58 The View from Here FEATURES 20 NO PLACE LIKE HOME Old Baptist Student Union houses support program for parentless students 24 DIVERSITY DIALOGUES Campus takes steps to improve climate on issues of race, inclusion 32 COMMUNITY. CULTURE. CONNECTIONS WCU looks to Cherokee for topic of new yearlong learning theme 36 VOLUNTEER VENTURE Alumni, students, faculty are making a difference through the Peace Corps BACK COVER A Cherokee artisan molds a piece of pottery using clay from the mountains and fire to create vessels for utilitarian, ceremonial and decorative uses. That craftsmanship and heritage will be on display Saturday, Sept. 30, at Mountain Heritage Day and will be included in this academic year’s campus learning theme of “Cherokee: Community. Culture. Connections.” 20 24 32 36 4 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University OPENING Notes One of my first priorities after becoming chancellor in 2011 was to initiate the development of a robust and focused strategic plan for Western Carolina University. That ambitious roadmap, our “2020 Vision,” was designed to steer our university’s direction and development over the ensuing decade while strengthening relationships with the communities and region we serve. It’s hard to believe that more than five years have passed since the Board of Trustees endorsed the plan and even harder to believe that less than three remain before we hit the year 2020. The “2020 Vision” plan has guided our university in dynamic fashion, strengthening the institution in many ways. Since the plan’s onset, WCU certainly has grown at a record-breaking pace, but we have done more than simply become larger. We also have matured, and our metrics of success have improved. Our students, faculty and staff have done amazing things, many of which you will read about in the pages that follow. But this is no time to rest on our laurels. Instead, this is a time to recalibrate, to review and to update our plan. Academic year 2017-18 will be a time of reflection and renewal and a time to recommit to our strategic vision and priorities as we move forward. Three primary factors necessitate this activity at this juncture. First, we have accomplished and, in a number of areas, exceeded many of the goals and initiatives articulated in the plan. There is much of which all university stakeholders should be rightfully proud. Conversely, however, we should consider whether initiatives that we have not yet addressed are as important as they were when the plan was endorsed in 2012. In addition, new priorities have emerged in the last few years that should be incorporated into our strategic plan. The legislative actions that resulted in the NC Promise tuition plan and the launching of a new laboratory school effort this fall are but two examples of priorities unimagined when the “2020 Vision” plan was formulated. Second, the process of undergoing reaffirmation of the university’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has revealed some opportunities for improvement that we should consider in our revised strategic plan. For instance, our team of external reviewers has recommended that we focus on more consistent assessment processes across the university, a recommendation that we must integrate into the plan. Finally, the recently approved University of North Carolina strategic plan, “Higher Expectations,” has clear implications for the work of individual UNC institutions, including WCU. Our strategic plan update must align with system goals, which are centered on the areas of access, affordability and efficiency, student success, economic impact and community engagement, and excellent and diverse institutions. The good news is that, in many ways, the essence of the UNC system plan is right in WCU’s wheelhouse. We have assembled a 16-member committee, under the leadership of Carol Burton ’87 MAEd ’89, associate provost for undergraduate studies, which is in the midst of an eight-month process of reviewing and revising the “2020 Vision” plan. This truly is an updating, not a from-the-ground-up comprehensive planning process. When the committee’s work is done by the year’s end, we should have a refreshed strategic plan that is grounded in our university’s mission and budgetary realities, albeit with an eye toward enhancing our fiscal resources; that reaffirms our commitment to excellence, student success, and external focus and engagement; that represents a shared, comprehensive vision; and that aligns with regional and state priorities, state and federal regulations, best practices and an intensifying demand for accountability. The revised “2020 Vision” plan will be truly strategic, beginning with the end goal in mind – our vision of where WCU will be several years hence – rather than starting where we are today. While the latter approach can result in incremental progress, the former – the future perspective – is where transformative change begins. There will be ample opportunity for input from all university stakeholders – students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, friends and residents of the region the university serves. Among those opportunities to help shape our university is through an online survey at the website strategicplan.wcu.edu. I encourage you to participate. We want to hear from you! This is an exciting time for Western Carolina University, a place that is changing lives. I welcome your continuing involvement with your university by contributing to the process of revising our strategic plan. Together, we can chart the path to a bright future, one that capitalizes on our present momentum and that is grounded in our tradition of serving the people of Western North Carolina and meeting the needs of our region, state, nation and world. Go Cats! David O. Belcher Chancellor Fall 2017| 5 THE INBOX COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS Email us at magazinestories@wcu.edu or send us a letter to 420 H.F. Robinson, Cullowhee, N.C., 28723. We’ll select a few to share with your fellow readers. Letters may be edited for clarity and length. Have a comment about this issue? Let us hear from you! As a freshman in 1985, I did not realize Brown Cafeteria existed until I moved to Reynolds Hall for my sophomore year. I recall walking “down the hill” to class and noticing a building I had never seen. When I investigated, I was so surprised to find a cafeteria on “the Hill!” Dodson Cafeteria was full of activity and where you went to see and be seen. But I came to love Brown because it seemed so relaxed. I started eating in Brown often once I found it, as it felt like a hidden gem, only known to those who lived on “the Hill.” I have fond memories of Brown, and look forward to seeing the renovations when I visit Western. Christian Cook ’90 MPA ’93 My favorite memory of Brown Cafeteria has to be spring semester 1993. I was eating lunch with friends from my dorm when in walked a very tall guy wearing a fraternity jacket. My heart stopped and I knew he would be “the one.” Turns out we had the same last name! Two years later, we eloped a day after graduation. He still makes my heart stop, 21 years and two kids later! Lori Frazier Frasure ’95 Brown Cafeteria memories…the pretty color of orange of the doors at the front entrance and the many different desserts. Lyndon Smith ’61 In an effort to find out why there was a WCU sticker in my magazine, I read that to enter your contest I had to reply by one of two types of social media. Well, right there I was left out. I do not subscribe to either one of your methods of entry. Since my back window already has seven stickers on it, I will just keep this sticker someplace where I hope I can find it when needed. I think it is a cheap promotion when there are people who went to WCC before even email was invented. ‘Nuff said. Charles S. Boswell ’66 Thanks for my new sticker! This is a great marketing idea, and I hope it continues in every issue because I’ve got a couple more vehicles that need them! I, too, am tired of those dang evil ‘A’ stickers and love that WCU is taking a new vision on promoting a positive image and marketing. I just wish it had happened when I attended. Thanks again. Go Cats! Andrew Burton ’05 MAT ’10 I just received my Western Carolina Magazine. I absolutely love the fact a WCU sticker was included! An awesome idea! Todd Herms ’05 MPA ’07 After reading the winter 2017 WCU magazine from cover to cover, I just had to read again the article “Professor Provides Peruvian Perspective” and view that awesome photo of the professor and her students! Many decades ago, I stood where Professor Beth Wall-Bassett ’00 and her students stand in the picture! Details of her adventure brought back to me the wonderful memories I hold for taking 10 teenagers on an American Field Service Exchange to Peru. My students were from the coal-mining region of East Tennessee and apparently very healthy kids! I was the only person who succumbed to the dreadful revenge bestowed upon the Spaniards because of the Spanish invasion many centuries ago! Eva Nell Mull Wike Kudos to Bill Studenc MPA ’10 and staff on another wonderful magazine. I love Chancellor Belcher’s openness and honesty about his illness. He is an inspiration. The story on Noble Hall is exciting with all its possibilities. I also commend the high quality of the photography. Anna T. McFadden After reading “Noble Culture,” my mind was flooded with memories of the commercial strip referenced in the article and other memories of WCU: Maw, Coonie and Jimmy always being around; Cullowhee Five-O on patrol; Tripod the three-legged dog that hung around Dodson Cafeteria; throwing Frisbees one spring Saturday barefoot on the lawn between Helder and Leatherwood and the very next Saturday 4 inches of snow were on the same lawn; the Lambda Ki Alpha raft race where first place did not matter, but having the best “party raft” did; calling WCU “UCLA” (University of Cullowhee, left of Asheville); and, finally, driving up to the Jackson County Airport, looking down on the WCU campus and realizing what a truly beautiful place WCU is. Kevin Johnson ’81 I usually scan the magazine and find it to be interesting and informative. However, this time I find that, on page 33, there is an extremely offensive picture. To me, it does not matter how “artistic” this is supposed to be, it does not fit with my concept of my alma mater. If WCU has, indeed, succumbed to the liberal garbage that most colleges are embracing these days, then I am really ashamed to claim it as my school of record. It may be that only the “older, more conservative fuddy-duddy” graduates would feel this way, but I am sure there are others besides me, whether they express it to you or not. Joyce Roberts ’60 The photo in question, 2 Spectators Climbing a Tree, a sculpture by Gerit Grimm 6 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Sgt. Jacob Deal ’09 ’15 of the Western Carolina University Police Department is the inaugural recipient of the University of North Carolina system’s Officer of the Year Award for Outstanding and Exceptional Service in recognition of his work in campus outreach activities, including those focusing on sexual assault prevention. Deal, a member of the WCU Police Department since February 2011, received the award from UNC President Margaret Spellings during an annual meeting of the system’s police chiefs in April in Chapel Hill. “Ensuring the safety and security of our campus communities will always be a top priority,” Spellings said. “I applaud Sgt. Jacob Deal for his leadership in ensuring that Western Carolina University is a safe environment in which our students, faculty and staff can live, learn and grow.” Deal assumed responsibility for the WCU Police Department’s Support Services Section in May 2015, taking on responsibility for leading its efforts in investigations, community programming, victim services, evidence room management and record-keeping. In that role, Deal began to actively promote the department’s community programming activities to students, faculty and staff. In just one year, his efforts resulted in an increase of nearly 100 percent in the number of people who have attended police-delivered programs on campus safety, sexual assault awareness, crime prevention and active shooter training, said WCU Police Chief Ernie Hudson. “It is important to note that much of our programming occurs after ‘normal’ business hours,” Hudson said. “Sgt. Deal has personally attended and participated in most of these programs, as he recognizes the importance of the safety of our community, crime prevention and community/police partnerships.” Deal also has been instrumental in the development of materials designed to assist and support the victims of crime, especially during vulnerable times early in an investigation, Hudson said. “As our experience tells us, victims can be overwhelmed by too much information presented at the outset of an investigation. Criminal investigations, university investigations, mental health and medical services, and community services can all seem too much to ask a victim to remember,” he said. “Sgt. Deal also does a follow-up contact with victims to ensure that their questions or concerns are addressed and that they are fully aware of the various services and support groups available to them.” -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 POLICE OFFICER RECEIVES UNC SYSTEM’S ‘TOP COP’ AWARD Jacob Deal ’09 ’15 discusses campus safety issues with students at Valley Ballyhoo, WCU’s annual welcome back celebration. Fall 2017| 7 Poet and novelist Ron Rash (above), the John and Dorothy Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, is recipient of a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for 2017. Announcement of Rash’s inclusion in the diverse group of 173 scholars, artists and scientists from the U.S. and Canada selected for the fellowships was made in April by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The fellowships are awarded “on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise,” the foundation RASH RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIP said in announcing the recipients. Honorees were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants in the organization’s 93rd competition. Each of the 2017 recipients will receive a $50,000 award to support his or her work. “It truly is an honor for me to be chosen for this award, especially because many writers whom I admire have received this award in the past,” said Rash, a resident of Cullowhee. “I am humbled to find myself mentioned alongside the likes of Cormac McCarthy, Margaret Atwood and Raymond Carver.” Rash came to WCU in 2003 to join the Department of English as the university’s first Parris Distinguished Professor. His latest novel, “The Risen,” hit bookstores last September. He is author of six other novels, including The New York Times bestseller “Serena,” and numerous collections of short stories and poetry. Richard Starnes ’92 MA ’94, dean of WCU’s College of Arts and Sciences, said the fellowship provides another piece of evidence of the author’s stature on the national and international literary scene. “Ron Rash is the defining voice in Appalachian literature today, but he is so much more,” Starnes said. “In the tradition of Eudora Welty and William Faulkner, Ron uses his native region to ask profound questions about the complexities of the human heart, man’s relationship with nature, and sense of place. In this way, his work speaks to people everywhere with power and grace.” The fellowship is the latest in an ever-expanding roster of honors for the native of Boiling Springs. A teacher of poetry, literature and creative writing at WCU, Rash has received the Sherwood Anderson Prize, the Novella Festival Novel Award and the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and is twice winner of O. Henry awards. His 2015 “Above the Waterfall” was the Prince of Tides Literary Prize Winner in the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance’s 2016 Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize competition. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 Brian Kloeppel (above), who had been serving as interim dean of Western Carolina University’s Graduate School and Research since July 2015, now is in the position on a permanent basis after approval of his appointment last summer by the Board of Trustees. Named associate dean of the Graduate School in January 2013, he filled a vacancy created in June 2015 when Mimi Fenton, dean of Graduate School and Research for three years, stepped down to return to a faculty role in the Department of English. Appointment of Kloeppel to the permanent position followed a national search. “Brian distinguished himself as an exceptionally strong candidate through his outstanding service as interim dean and as associate dean before that,” said Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar. “Working in close collaboration with the deans and program directors, he made significant progress in the marketing and support of graduate education at WCU. This has resulted in increased enrollment in a number of our graduate programs.” Prior to coming to WCU in 2008, Kloeppel was a research faculty member with the University of Georgia for 14 years and was the site director for the National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research Program at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory near Otto in Macon County. In addition to his role as an advocate for graduate education at WCU, Kloeppel serves as chief research officer for the university’s Sponsored Research Office, which supports the faculty, staff and students who conduct research funded by external and internal sources. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 KLOEPPEL TAPPED TO LEAD GRADUATE SCHOOL, RESEARCH 8 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Western Carolina University has been recognized as one of America’s “Colleges of Distinction” for 2017 by a national guidebook and online resource, citing WCU as where students go “to learn, to grow and to succeed” in an environment that prioritizes faculty-student mentoring and outstanding teaching as well as diverse academic and co-curricular programs. Since 1999, the Colleges of Distinction website and guidebook have recognized and honored schools throughout the U.S. for excellence in undergraduate-focused higher education. The listings are designed for prospective college students, their parents and high school counselors. High school counselors and educators make the nominations. Each nominated college is then evaluated on key indicators including student engagement, student empowerment and curricular innovation. The selection process also includes a review of each institution’s freshman experience, as well as its general education program, strategic plan, alumni success and satisfaction measures. WCU is one of 10 North Carolina institutions included in the current edition. “High student engagement in college is one of the keys to a successful undergraduate education,” said Tyson Schritter, Colleges of Distinction executive editor. “With an increasing emphasis on hands-on learning techniques, (we) applaud Western Carolina University for practicing methodologies that prepare students for their futures.” -By Geoff Cantrell WCU NAMED TO ‘COLLEGES OF DISTINCTION’ LIST FOR 2017 Recreational therapy student Gretchen Reece and Nettie Green, a resident of the Hermitage assisted living facility in Sylva, enjoy an adaptive device bicycle ride. Fall 2017| 9 Three Western Carolina University faculty members have been named recipients of prestigious Fulbright Scholar awards and will be engaged in individual scholarly projects in Hungary, New Zealand and Mexico. They are Mimi Fenton, professor of English; Turner Goins, the university’s Ambassador Jeanette Hyde Distinguished Professor of Gerontological Social Work; and Paul Worley, assistant professor of English and director of the graduate program in English. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international exchange initiative sponsored by the U.S. government and is administered through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in which Fenton, Goins and Worley will participate sends approximately 800 American scholars and professionals to about 130 countries annually to lecture or conduct research in a variety of academic and professional fields. While WCU has had faculty participation in the program in the past, it is rare for a regional comprehensive university of its size to have three recipients in the same year, and it is an indicator of the overall quality of the faculty, said Alison Morrison- Shetlar, WCU provost. “These faculty members continue to be an inspiration to our community, and especially to our students who, through faculty mentorship and engagement in scholarly endeavors, also may aspire to excellence in a variety of ways, including by seeking Fulbright awards. I am proud of the recognition these awards have brought to WCU,” Morrison-Shetlar said. Fenton’s teaching and research will take her to Budapest, Hungary, from January through June in 2018 to continue her internationally recognized scholarship into the works of English literary giant John Milton. Goins’ research project will lead her to New Zealand from February through November in 2018, where she will take a qualitative approach in examining the meanings, beliefs and practices of healthy aging among a group of older Māori, the indigenous people of that country. Worley will be teaching English at a university in Mexico and collaborating with faculty members there to create English language pedagogical materials designed to assist speakers of the indigenous language Tsotsil Maya as they seek to become teachers and speakers of English. -By Randall Holcombe THREE WCU FACULTY MEMBERS NAMED FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS From left, Mimi Fenton, Paul Worley and Turner Goins are WCU’s Fulbright Scholars. 10 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Julie Johnson-Busbin, professor of sales and marketing in Western Carolina University’s College of Business, has been named one of the top teachers in the University of North Carolina system in recognition of her ability to present information that is applicable to students’ professional and personal lives and to help them succeed in the business world. The 2017 UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching also recognizes Johnson-Busbin’s knack for helping students develop an improved outlook about themselves and their potential for success. “My goal is to afford students the chance to try new skills, receive feedback, critique themselves and try again. I like to push students when they haven’t reached as far as they JOHNSON-BUSBIN NAMED ONE OF UNC SYSTEM’S TOP TEACHERS The unit formerly known as the Division of Development and Alumni Engagement is gearing up for the public phase of Western Carolina University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign by making some internal changes aimed at better positioning the campaign for success. In addition to the recent appointment of an assistant vice chancellor and wrapping up searches that are currently underway to fill vacant development director positions, the division has changed the sign on the front door of its suite. Effective July 1, the unit is known simply as Advancement. The new name for the unit was approved recently by the university’s Executive Council and is based on a recommendation after a comprehensive administrative program review completed by Washburn and McGoldrick, a national consulting firm that has worked with educational institutions across the country. The more succinct name “Advancement” is designed to recognize the change in leadership last year from an associate vice chancellor to a permanent vice chancellor and to more accurately represent the comprehensive nature of the role of the unit, said Lori Lewis, the division’s vice chancellor. “We are not only responsible for alumni engagement and fundraising but also outreach and communication to all constituents about the impact of gifts as well as the importance of financially supporting and being involved with WCU,” Lewis said. Although the university once had a Division of Advancement and External Affairs, the change of name for the unit does not reflect a return to that old organizational structure, Lewis said. WCU’s external affairs functions – including marketing, communications, public relations, government relations and special events – which were part of the previous division that was dissolved in 2013, remain under the executive leadership of Chief of Staff Melissa Canady Wargo in the Chancellor’s Division. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 DEVELOPMENT, ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT DIVISION IS NOW ‘ADVANCEMENT’ are capable, yet provide support when they’ve stretched as far as they can,” she said. “What I would argue is that often the actual content of the class is not what students remember several years down the road. I believe that it is helping students bet ter understand themselves and giving them insight into the potential that makes each one unique.” WCU alumni now employed by companies such as E*TRADE, Financial Corp, United Parcel Service, Sherwin- Williams and IBM raved about Johnson-Busbin’s performance as a teacher and her impact on their success as students and professionals. A former student said Johnson-Busbin “has an innate ability to state the facts of the ‘real world’ to her students and prepare them for those realities better than any other educator I’ve been around.” Johnson-Busbin and the 16 other recipients of the UNC honor, representing an array of academic disciplines, were nominated by special committees on their home campuses and selected by the Board of Governors Committee on Personnel and Tenure. Winners receive a commemorative bronze medallion and $12,500 cash prize. The board established the awards in April 1994 to underscore the importance of teaching and to reward good teaching across the university system. -By Randall Holcombe Julie Johnson- Busbin interacts with students in the College of Business. Fall 2017| 11 Western Carolina University and Jackson County Public Schools are collaborating on the formation of a lab school designed to help students in grades six through eight successfully transition into high school through implementation of a “whole school, whole community, whole child” approach. Christened “the Catamount School” and located on the campus of Smoky Mountain High School, the school will have the capacity to serve 25 students in each of the eligible grade levels (six through eight). It is scheduled to be in operation when the 2017-18 school year begins. WCU is one of eight University of North Carolina system institutions identified as candidates to establish and operate laboratory schools serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade, as required by a provision in the 2016-17 state WCU LAUNCHES THE CATAMOUNT SCHOOL THIS FALL Kim Winter (right), former associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Education and Allied Professions, now has a much shorter job title. That’s because Winter was approved in April by the executive committee of the WCU Board of Trustees to take on the role of dean, succeeding Dale Carpenter, who returned to a faculty position July 1. Winter had been serving as associate dean since 2012. As associate dean, director of WCU’s teacher and professional education programs and professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, Winter had proven herself up to the task of leading the academic unit that is tied most closely to WCU’s founding as a teacher preparatory institution, Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar said. “This is an especially critical time for the College of Education and Allied Professions as we prepare to launch the Catamount School this fall and as we continue to work to help solve a growing teacher shortage facing our state,” Morrison-Shetlar said. “Dr. Winter’s familiarity with these issues, as well as her experiences in the allied fields of human services and psychology, will allow her to hit the ground running on day one in the dean’s office.” Winter said her varied roles as a public school teacher, university faculty member, program coordinator, associate chair, intern, fellow, administrator and parent make her “uniquely suited” to serve as dean. “I have learned so much in the nearly five years I have been here. It is my belief that you learn to become a leader and continue to learn in your role. It is not an easy task to quantify all that I have learned during this time, but know this – the learning never stops,” she said. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 WINTER LEADING COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ALLIED PROFESSIONS budget enacted last July. Under the legislation, the lab schools must be located in public school districts where at least 25 percent of schools have been classified as low-performing, based on student achievement data. They will operate as public schools of choice, with a mission to improve student performance in eligible school districts and provide exposure and training for teachers and principals to successfully address challenges existing in high-needs school settings. Jackson County school officials have worked side-by-side with university personnel in solidifying the details for the Catamount School, said former superintendent Michael Murray MAEd ’88 EdS ’05 EdD ’08, now leading Cherokee Central Schools. “Jackson County Public Schools are excited for this unique opportunity to build on our collaborative educational partnership with Western Carolina University and form an innovative new choice for our middle-level students,” Murray said. “This program will be an excellent example of combining the strengths of both organizations proactively to focus on the whole child during the developmental stage when our children need it the most.” Under the legislation mandating the formation of lab schools, the school’s principal and teachers will be employees of WCU. The university’s Board of Trustees will be the governing body for the school, with responsibility for its operation and outcomes. The board approved Robert Dinsdale MSA ’08, former Smoky Mountain assistant principal, as Catamount School director. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 Robert Dinsdale MSA ’08 checks out the site of the Catamount School. 12 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University The bad news is that Western Carolina University has lost two members of its Board of Trustees. The good news is that WCU now is very well-represented on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, with four former trustees serving on the UNC system’s policy-making body. Earlier this year, the N.C. House of Representatives elected Asheville attorney Carolyn Coward, who had been serving as WCU board secretary, to the Board of Governors, while the N.C. Senate elected former Raleigh mayor Thomas H. Fetzer, a trustee at WCU since 2015, to the UNC board. They joined fellow former WCU trustees W. Louis Bissette Jr., an Asheville attorney who is serving as chairman of the UNC board, and C. Philip Byers MPA ’99, a Rutherford County educational foundation executive. UNC BOARD INCLUDES FOUR FORMER WCU TRUSTEES From left, Tom Fetzer and Carolyn Coward share a moment during their final meeting as members of the WCU Board of Trustees. Filling the remaining two years of the terms of Coward and Fetzer on the WCU board are Timothy W. Haskett ’82 MBA ’84 of Kings Mountain and Rebecca H. Schlosser ’73 of Greensboro. Haskett, a native of Sylva, has held a variety of finance-related positions during his 32-year career with Duke Energy. A Greensboro resident, Schlosser is a former high school teacher and a current community volunteer. In addition, Haden Boliek MS ’94 of Fayetteville and Robert C. Roberts of Asheville were appointed to full four-year terms on the WCU board that began July 1. They fill vacancies created as trustees F. Edward Broadwell Jr. of Asheville and Phil Drake of Franklin completed their terms in June. Boliek is founder of Pediatric Developmental Therapy Inc., a multidisciplinary practice offering speech, physical and occupational therapy. She also hosts the twice-a month “Working Therapist Podcast.” Roberts is regional executive vice president for First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. and serves as chairman of the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority. Appointments to the WCU board were approved by the Board of Governors, which also endorsed the reappointments of trustees Gaither Keener ’72 of Mooresville and Kenny D. Messer ’86 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to four-year terms. In addition, the General Assembly reappointed Joyce Conseen Dugan ’75 MAEd ’81 of Cherokee and John R. Lupoli of Highlands to four-year terms. Fall 2017| 13 Western Carolina University once again has been named a 2017 “Best College Value” in an annual review of colleges and universities released by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. WCU is ranked 98th among public higher education institutions across the nation in terms of value for in-state students and 83rd for out-of-state students. The rankings are based on admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, four-year graduation rates, costs of attending, financial aid and average debt of students at graduation. “We are pleased that Western Carolina University once again has been recognized as one of the top 100 values among public colleges and universities in the nation,” said Chancellor David O. Belcher. “We believe this to be an especially important ranking because it incorporates measurements of both academic quality and affordability, with more weight given to academic quality. Affordability and academic quality are precisely what prospective students and their parents say are among their top issues when deciding where to go for a college education.” WCU is one of seven schools in North Carolina ranked among its top 100 public college values. The magazine’s review begins with a list of 1,200 public and private schools, with a final 300 evaluated as a best value, said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. WCU NAMED A ‘BEST COLLEGE VALUE’ BY KIPLINGER’S MAGAZINE Friends and alumni of Western Carolina University continue to respond to Chancellor David O. Belcher’s plea for additional financial assistance to help deserving students be able to attend the university, with 23 new endowed scholarship funds created in recent months. During his 2012 installation address, Belcher identified increased funding for student support as the institution’s top philanthropic priority. Through endowments of at least $25,000, scholarship assistance can be awarded on an annual and ongoing basis. New endowed scholarship funds established since Oct. 31, 2016, are: Dr. William R. Higgins Endowed English Scholarship, for students majoring in English; donors Gerald Matheny ’70 and Judy Matheny. Bradshaw Family College of Business Endowed Scholarship, for College of Business students with demonstrated financial need, with preference to marketing majors; donors Brad Bradshaw ’76 and Eileen Bradshaw. Randall and Sybil Duckett Endowed Scholarship, to support one undergraduate student and one graduate student in the College of Education and Allied Professions; donors represented by Thomas Duckett and Laura Duckett. Joan and Chris Meister Endowed Scholarship, to be awarded in alternate years to students pursuing degrees in the College of Education and Allied Professions and the College of Engineering and Technology, with preference to first-generation students; donors Joan Meister and Pam Meister. Coach Johnny Wike Athletic Scholarship, awarded to student-athletes competing on either the football team or men’s or women’s golf teams, with preference to teacher education majors; donors represented by Matt Wike ’91. Sherwin-Williams Company Endowed Scholarship, for students pursuing degrees in the College of Business, with preference to sales or marketing majors; donor Sherwin- Williams Company. Honors College Endowed Scholarship, for students admitted to the Honors College; donors represented by Jill Granger. Karen Styles ’94 Endowed Scholarship, for students majoring in recreational therapy; donors represented by Jennifer Hinton and Brenda Holcombe ’94. Bruce and Mary Clayton Family Endowed Scholarship, for students pursuing a major in the College of Business, with preference to Jackson County residents; donor Bruce Clayton ’71. Mark A. Tedder Family Endowed Athletic Scholarship, for student-athletes, with preference to N.C. students in the College of Business; donor Mark A. Tedder ’75. Ted and Avis Phillips Scholarship, for members of the football team from Western North Carolina, with preference to student-athletes from Graham County; donors represented by Teddy Phillips Jr. Michael Paysour Parks and Recreation Management Endowed Scholarship, for students majoring in parks and recreation management; donor Michael Paysour ’74. KKSB (Kappa Kappa Soccer Babes) Legacy Endowed Scholarship; for sophomores, juniors or seniors on the women’s soccer team; donors represented by Tina Weaver ’04. Ed and Donna Broadwell Scholarship, for undergraduate students who graduated from public high schools in Western North Carolina; donors Ed and Donna Broadwell. Daniel B. Yoe Family Endowed Scholarship, for students in the College of Business with demonstrated financial need; donor Daniel Yoe ’74. Dr. Daryl L. Hale Endowed Scholarship, for juniors or seniors majoring in philosophy or in special or interdisciplinary studies; donor Brandon A. Robinson ’05 MA ’10. Harold E. and Henrietta (Saltz) Anderson Endowed Scholarship, for students majoring in teacher education or in birth-kindergarten education; donor Estate of Harold E. Anderson. Florence Bannon Endowed Nursing Scholarship, for students enrolled in the RN to BSN program; donor Florence Bannon. Gaither M. Keener Political Science Scholarship in Honor of Dr. Gerald Schwartz, for students majoring in political science; donor Gaither M. Keener ’72. Myra Grant Endowed Scholarship, for students with demonstrated financial need; donor Myra Grant ’70. Susan Brummell Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts Endowed Scholarship, for students majoring in any program in the College of Fine and Performing Arts; donors David O. Belcher and Susan Brummell Belcher. Drew Lewis White Memorial Scholarship, for first-generation college students with demonstrated financial need, with preference to students from Ohio and Western North Carolina; donors Lori A. Lewis and Jeffry K. White. Dorothy P. Bell College of Fine and Performing Arts Endowed Scholarship, for students with demonstrated financial need majoring in any program in the College of Fine and Performing Arts; donor John L. Bell. For information on how to establish an endowed scholarship, visit the website give.wcu.edu. 23 NEW ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS CREATED 14 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University The website WalletHub.com crunched the numbers earlier this year to determine a list of the “Best & Worst Cities for College Basketball Fans in 2017.” North Carolina has three cities in the top 10. Chapel Hill at No. 1 and Durham at No. 3 probably wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. The No. 10 pick may – Cullowhee. The unincorporated Jackson County community is home to Western Carolina University – and men’s and women’s basketball teams that combined last season to win only 17 of their 62 games. So how did Cullowhee score a Top 10 ranking? WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzales said that factors beyond wins and losses are taken into account when identifying the top cities for college basketball fans. “Western Carolina has about a 50 percent win percentage over the last three seasons. Not the best, but certainly better than almost 150 teams analyzed in the 30th or 40th percentile,” Gonzales said. “The team has a large social media following relative to the size of the school/town, which certainly helps. It also has the ability to fit a large chunk of its student population into its arena, something that Cameron Indoor certainly can’t boast,” she said. “As Cullowhee exemplifies, teams with decent play and followings can certainly climb to the top, as well.” Chad Gerrety, WCU associate athletics director for external affairs, conceded the school was surprised by the ranking, but said the athletics department strives to make each game in Cullowhee as fan-friendly as possible. “We appreciate it, and the ranking did surprise us, especially when you see the size schools and cities we are ranked with. We would be glad to have a team like Kentucky or Duke come experience our atmosphere,” Gerrety said. “Seriously, several people in our athletics department in various jobs worked hard to make sure basketball is fun for students and families. It doesn’t cost an arm and leg, and things like parking are free. We’ve worked hard to put an emphasis on the atmosphere and making it the best it can be.” Along with the atmosphere at games, WCU athletics has more than 13,000 followers on Twitter (@Catamounts) and more than 31,000 followers on Facebook. Gerrety said WCU’s marketing and ticket operations offices target group sales and halftime acts to provide entertainment at games at the 7,826- seat Ramsey Center. He also credited a committee of students, administrators and others that was formed after the 2015-16 season to explore ways to enhance the fan experience. “It really helped us take some steps in the right direction,” Gerrety said. “Among the things we heard was people would like a few Saturday night games. Their kids had activities in the day on Saturday and they wanted the chance to come at night. We worked that in, and it was successful. We’ve got more to do from the committee’s suggestions, but it was good to hear those ideas and listen to what was being said.” The effort has helped with the fan experience, said Jackson County resident Michael Forbis ’02. “My mom and dad go to almost every game, and WHEE RANK CULLOWHEE IS NAMED A TOP 10 SPOT FOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL FANS By TODD VINYARD CATAMOUNT ATHLETICS Clockwise from above, WCU’s Ramsey Center made a national list of top spots for college hoops, thanks in part to the game-day atmosphere contributed to by the cheer and dance teams, Purple Thunder drum line and the Cathouse Band. they take our boys a lot. The ushers are always friendly, and they greet us by name they see us so often. It is great to have something like this in a rural community to help expose your kids to a bigger picture and not just be at home playing video games,” Forbis said. “If you were going to do this in a larger city the cost could be 10 times higher, especially with things like the Catamount Kids Club that offer discounts on tickets to kids for joining,” he said. “Western in general is a great place to take in events that are not tremendously expensive, especially for young families.” Students enjoy the basketball opportunities, too. “It is definitely nice to have these type of events on campus,” said WCU student Kendra Graham. “The friends I’ve made here at WCU and I try to experience new things like the basketball games and sporting events, so it is fun to experience those together as part of being in college.” Reprinted in edited format with permission of the Asheville Citizen-Times HOW CULLOWHEE BECAME A 10 WalletHub analysts looked at 291 U.S. cities that have at least one NCAA Division I basketball team and used seven metrics on which to base its rankings: * number of Division I basketball teams * performance level of team(s) during the past three seasons * number of Division I championship wins * number of regular-season championships * minimum season ticket price * fan engagement (number of Twitter followers, Facebook likes, per capita) * stadium capacity WALLETHUB’S TOP 10 1. Chapel Hill 2. Los Angeles 3. Durham 4. Bloomington, Indiana 5. Philadelphia 6. East Lansing, Michigan 7. Lawrence, Kansas 8. Lexington, Kentucky 9. Storrs, Connecticut 10. Cullowhee Fall 2017| 15 16 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University CATAMOUNT ATHLETICS John Wiley, a former longtime assistant coach at Appalachian State University, has traded in the black and gold for the purple and gold after being named defensive coordinator by Western Carolina head football coach Mark Speir MAEd ’95. Wiley brings more than 30 years of coaching experience at a variety of levels to the Catamount football program. Wiley returns to the familiar mountains of Western North Carolina after spending six seasons in the eastern part of the state at East Carolina. “John is an experienced coach and a proven winner. We coached together at Appalachian State where John led our defense and was a part of that staff that won three national championships and six Southern Conference titles. He also brings over 20 years of experience in recruiting North Carolina to the position,” Speir said. “It is always comforting to hire a guy you have worked with and trust. John will move in from day one and understand our vision and the expectations for this Catamount football program. He will be a great representative for Western Carolina University,” he said. During his six seasons as the associate head coach and linebackers coach at East Carolina, Wiley helped guide the Pirates to four bowl game appearances and helped transform ECU’s defense into one of the nation’s top 40 units in two of his final three years. He was instrumental in producing six all-conference players including three first-team selections, a Freshman All- American and a conference freshman of the year. SPEIR BRINGS IN A FAMILIAR FACE AS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR By DANIEL HOOKER ’01 A story in the winter 2017 edition of this magazine characterized J.T. Poston ’15 as the first Catamount to make the PGA tour. Retired sports information director Steve White ’67, the walking encyclopedia of WCU athletics, points out that former WCU men’s golf team member Stan Shaw ’64 played briefly on the tour in the 1970s while working as a golf pro in Florida. REQUEST FOR A SHAW SHANK REDEMPTION John Wiley is calling the defensive shots for Catamount football. Fall 2017| 17 WOMEN’S SOCCER EARNS NATIONAL ACADEMIC HONORS FOR 11TH TIME By DENISE GIDEON The Western Carolina University women’s soccer team received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America College Team Academic Award again last year, marking the 11th consecutive time the Catamounts earned the academic accolade. The honor was in recognition of the accomplishments of the team during the 2015-16 season. From 2005 to present, the Catamount women’s soccer program has been a staple on the NSCAA Academic Award list. During the 2015-16 season, the Catamounts, coached by Chad Miller, notched a team 3.50 grade point average to earn its latest appearance on the list. A total of 893 soccer teams (315 men’s squads and 578 women’s) from across the United States earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award for exemplary performance in the classroom as a team during the 2015-16 academic year. To qualify for the award, a team must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher for the entire academic year. The team score is determined by adding every player’s GPA, then dividing by the number of players. TAKE YOUR NEXT STEP EARN YOUR GRADUATE DEGREE More than 40 graduate programs in Cullowhee, Asheville, and Online F GRAD.WCU.EDU The soccer Cats’ frequent appearance on the list of top academic-achieving teams in the nation provides another piece of evidence of WCU’s commitment to the “student” half of the term “student-athlete,” said Randy Eaton, director of athletics. “Our top priority is to offer each and every student-athlete a great undergraduate experience in the community, in the classroom and on the fields and courts of competition, and to ensure their WCU experience always culminates with a degree from Western Carolina University,” Eaton said. “I’m proud of what the accomplishments of the members of our women’s soccer program in the classroom say about our commitment to student success.” 18 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University It’s another season, another pair of championships for the Western Carolina University men’s track and field team. The squad captured its fourth-straight Southern Conference Indoor title in February in Johnson City, Tennessee, by downing second-place Samford by 15 points. A couple of months later, the team won its second consecutive conference outdoor track and field crown in Birmingham, Alabama, edging second-place Samford by just six points and clinching the title in the final event MEN’S TRACK TEAM CLAIMS TWO MORE CONFERENCE TITLES By SEAN FORRESTER of the day, the 4x400 relay. The WCU women came up just short of winning their third indoor title in the last four years as they fell to Samford by 56.5 points in February, also taking second place in May’s outdoor meet when they were outpaced by 51 points by Samford. The championships are the first under first-year head coach Cale McDaniel ’10 MAEd ’13, who served as an assistant coach for many WCU championships in the past. WCU crowned four individual champions and one relay champion on the final day of the indoor championships including two women’s individual titles and two men’s individual titles. Sophomore Miles Greer won the competition’s Pinnacle Award, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the championship-winning team in each SoCon sport. In the outdoor events, the Catamount women took home two individual wins and swept the relays while the men had three individual titles and won the 4x400 relay. WCU sophomore Dakota Wright received the men’s Pinnacle Award for the outdoor championships. CATAMOUNT ATHLETICS The men’s outdoor track and field team (above) celebrates its second consecutive conference championship, thanks in part to the performances of Keion Crossen (far right) and Dakota Lamont (near right). Fall 2017| 19 20 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University On virtually any college campus, they’re there — students who have recently exited foster care or who are homeless, wards of the state or orphaned. And most of the time, they’re invisible, blending in with the student body at large and keeping their struggles wrapped in a tight armor of privacy. A new initiative at Western Carolina University, however, will reach out and serve those students in a way that no other college in the state is doing. “It really just fell right into place,” said Keith Henry ’85 MBA ’92, chief operating officer of the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina. “It was like a puzzle ready to be put together.” Called HOMEBASE College Ministry, the program is headquartered in what was once the Baptist Student Union building, on Central Drive next to the Cullowhee Baptist Church, and funded mainly by the Baptist Children’s Homes. Staffed by a full-time director and equipped with a kitchen, stocked pantry, laundry room and big-screen-TV-equipped living room, among other amenities, it’s meant to serve as a home base for students who don’t have a home base. It’s a place to recharge in the company of people who understand and a place to get help with the things that parents would ordinarily supply — anything from a few extra groceries during a week when money is tight to help figuring out what to wear to a job interview. THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOM E The former Baptist Student Union houses a new program offering a support system to parentless students By HOLLY KAYS Fall 2017| 21 “Next year, I want to see the outreach and advocacy really come to life,” said Sophia Calhoun ’17, who was a student leader in the effort. “I think this building is the best way to do it. I want to have speakers. I want to give a student panel where high school students come and ask questions. I want people to start knowing this building is on campus. If that happens, we’ll see more students from our population that we didn’t even know were here.” HELPING THE FORGOTTEN When Lowell Davis, assistant vice chancellor for student success, came to WCU four years ago, it was with the desire to serve the students on his new campus who didn’t have family support. He’d seen the need during his previous job at the University of Alabama and quickly found himself wrapped up in the problem of addressing it. Davis’ involvement at Alabama started when a student from the Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega showed up at the administration building one summer. He wasn’t supposed to enroll until the fall, and he had absolutely no resources to start life on his own. “He needs housing, he needs classes, he needs a meal plan, he needs all these things and he has no one to guide him on what to do,” Davis recalled. Davis worked with him to find housing and enroll in summer classes. He gathered donations from his local church. And then he started thinking. “I began to ask how many other students are on our campus who are very similar to him,” Davis said. “They’ve aged out of foster care, they show up on our campus and they have to figure out what to do.” That led to what became a full-blown community program that drew support from other senior-level university faculty. They partnered with a foundation that offered to support the students, and families in the community volunteered to be paired with students who needed a shoulder to lean on — whether that be someone to call with questions about professional dress or how to fix a car, a place to stay over Christmas break when the dorms are closed, or someone to provide a home-cooked meal when the grocery money runs out. Davis saw the results. That first student, the one who showed up out of the blue from Talladega, is now working for a Fortune 500 company. His sister, who followed him to Alabama, completed a term with Teach for America and is now working full time. “I came to WCU realizing I had a passion for helping the forgotten students,” Davis said. There were plenty of them to be helped. During the fall 2016 semester, Davis counted 103 students who fit the criteria. Initially, he followed the same blueprint he’d developed at Alabama — generating a list of financially independent students, sending out invitations and holding a meeting. “The needs were a little different than Alabama,” Davis said. One of the first requests was always for more counseling support, and students also wanted an adult confidante they could trust, like a parent. Then, of course, financial support and help with necessities like food and books and medication. Calhoun became a member of the group early on. The students dubbed themselves RISA — Resilient Independent Student Association — and began to meet regularly, hanging out for bowling and movie and pizza nights. “For a long time, Wednesday game nights are one of the HOMEBASE activities organized by Jim Dean (standing). 22 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University we stumbled over that ‘what do we want to do’ aspect of it because we didn’t know,” Calhoun said. “Is this going to be a group that someone asks you when we need 20 bucks, or is this going to be a group that does something?” Eventually, the students decided they wanted to be an advocacy group and began to plan what is now a yearly event — “Telling Our Stories.” The students get up on stage, in front of university officials, Board of Trustees members and loved ones they’ve personally invited, and they tell the long versions of what has happened in their lives. It’s a somber event that doesn’t seek to shield audience members from the full force of the stories. It seeks to make them understand. For Calhoun, who became an orphan at the age of 13, the experience was emotional and cathartic in a way she hadn’t expected it to be. At one point in her story, she cried. Usually, when sharing her past with someone, she peppers the tale with jokes and lighthearted comments to make it easier on the listener. “In that case, I had to see what the weight of a story would do without relieving the pressure,” she said. CREATING THE FOUNDATION With RISA thriving, and Davis’ job responsibilities increasing, Davis reached out to Henry to see if Baptist Children’s Homes might be able to help. “Really, it was a no-brainer,” Henry said. “These are the children who grew up in the system, they were part of the foster care system, and now they’re on their own and they need a family. That’s what we do.” And, he had an idea. A WCU alum, Henry knew that the Baptist State Convention had an underutilized building on campus. So he called John Butler, executive director of the convention’s business services group, and asked for the building. “It’s rare that you call somebody and ask them for a building, but he said, ‘Probably.’ So we met the next day at that building,” Henry said. “He drove up from Cary and basically handed me the keys and said, ‘Have at it.’” The Baptist Convention also put in $25,000 to start renovations, and the Baptist Children’s Homes put in another $75,000, with ongoing expenses to total $100,000 per year. Gifts from Phil Drake, a WCU trustee from Macon County, and the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina also contributed, and WCU placed a couple of student workers in the building. With the help of student volunteers and interior design expertise from WCU associate professor Erin Adams, work started last September to haul trash, paint walls, redo flooring, install Wi-Fi and replace furniture. Opening day was getting close. Henry realized the program would need a full-time director, and he knew who his first pick would be — Jim Dean, a pastor, WCU adjunct professor and foster parent. Dean took the job. “This program is really geared to helping students that have no family or parental support,” Dean said, “but Baptist Children’s Home has also said to me, ‘We’re not checking IDs at the door. If a student needs help, help a student.” He’s excited about the possibilities. With the renovated building unveiled last February, the program isn’t expected to fully take off until this fall. However, a nightly schedule of activities already is in place — classes teaching life skills are on Mondays, TED talk discussions are on Tuesdays, game nights are Wednesdays, the Baptist Student Fellowship holds a meal and worship service on Thursdays and movie nights are Fridays. Coming up, HOMEBASE likely will offer weekend trips and outings. Dean is working with WCU to provide services like addiction support groups at the location, because there might be less stigma associated with walking into HOMEBASE than with walking into a counseling office. Calhoun and Dean both hope to do more outreach to find students who need HOMEBASE and draw them in. Davis’ data indicates that more than 100 such students are enrolled at WCU, but Calhoun is in regular contact with only about 30 of them. If the model succeeds, it could spread to other schools as well. Henry’s been getting a lot of interest from other universities in the state, but money is always the issue. “Financially, we’re Annie Soonah shares a light moment with other students at a “Telling Our Stories” program. Fall 2017| 23 not in a place where we can do that right now, but it’s not out of the question for the future,” he said. A GROWING POPULATION The number of parentless students at WCU seems poised to grow. The existence of the program will serve as its own recruiting tool, steering students who fit the population to consider WCU above other schools. And the number of kids in foster care is growing in the state overall, thanks to the opioid drug epidemic. “We’re just seeing families torn apart by this crisis right now, so these kids are in the system and who knows how long they’ll be in the system,” Henry said. “Sometimes they’re in and out pretty quickly. Sometimes when we get them they’re with us or in a foster home until they age out. With more kids coming in, there’s going to be more coming out the other end.” According to the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, the number of youth aging out of foster care jumped 10.4 percent between 2015 and 2016, the highest jump since data compilation began 16 years ago. In January, 10,722 children were in state custody, according to data from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That’s up from 8,721 four years ago. Of former foster kids who attend college, fewer than 10 percent nationwide graduate; more than 90 percent do not. And the resulting low lifetime earnings coupled with the emotional — and sometimes physical — baggage of a troubled past can keep these young adults from realizing their potential, and can even cause them to perpetuate the cycle into which they were born. With HOMEBASE, the hope is that the students will graduate, life will get better and they’ll pass on a legacy of positivity rather than pain. “We hope that the love and care we give them while they’re here will propel them on to a better life,” Henry said, “and break this cycle they were a part of.” Community support is needed to make HOMEBASE work. For more information, contact Jim Dean, jdean@bchfamily. org or 828.508.0035. Mail checks to HOMEBASE at P.O. Box 2133, Cullowhee N.C. 28723. Reprinted in edited format with permission of the Smoky Mountain News Sophia Calhoun ’17 is among the student leaders in the effort to assist students without parents. Taking part in the HOMEBASE ribbon-cutting ceremony are (from left) Baptist Children’s Homes CEO Keith Henry ’85 MBA ’92; Michael Blackwell, president of Baptist Children’s Homes; WCU Provost Alison Morrison- Shetlar; Lowell Davis, assistant vice chancellor for student success; Jim Dean, HOMEBASE director; and Susan Belcher, WCU first lady. 24 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Fall 2017| 25 Perhaps it was inevitable that simmering racial tensions sparked by a spate of police shootings of black men across the U.S. and fueled by a contentious presidential campaign emerged at Western Carolina University during the 2016 spring semester. The rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the pro-police counterpart Blue Lives Matter, angry rhetoric directed at Hispanic and Muslim immigrants, the growth of the alt-right faction and a resurgence of student activism on campuses nationwide were a perfect storm, combining to spawn a racially charged atmosphere. In Cullowhee, the catalyst for heightened tension was a display of student-created posters in the Department of Intercultural Affairs designed to draw attention to the issue of police brutality toward African-Americans. Some students took offense, expressing support for law enforcement via social media posts. Those posts inspired other students to write sidewalk chalk messages showing pride in their various cultures and ethnicities, which in turn led to strong – sometimes racist – posts on a social media platform that allows users to remain anonymous. As part of ongoing efforts to improve the campus climate on issues of race, diversity and inclusion, the university scheduled several open discussions throughout the 2016 spring semester. Among the suggestions arising from those discussions was the need for training for faculty and staff on how to talk about tough issues with other members of the campus community, which led to summer and fall workshops. In addition, after studying the campus climate for much of the 2016-17 academic year, a joint task force on racism, chaired by faculty member Kathleen Brennan, made recommendations to WCU’s administration focused on the need to prioritize diversity and inclusion on campus, and the desire for additional educational opportunities related to diversity and inclusion. During a task force forum this past April, Chancellor David O. Belcher reminded the campus community that WCU “…is not alone in grappling with the issue of racism.” As evidence of what Belcher has characterized as a commitment to “WCU as a vibrant, inclusive and diverse institution,” the university hired its first chief diversity officer, Ricardo Nazario-Colon, last spring. That position, however, had been in the works long before the tensions of 2016; Belcher announced in August 2014 an “an enhanced, in-it-for-the-long-haul commitment to diversity” that would include the budget-neutral creation of a position to lead campus diversity efforts. For predominantly white WCU, such efforts are becoming critical in the face of dramatic demographic shifts among high school graduates. Nationally, demographers predict that the number of Asian high school graduates will increase by 41.28 percent between 2013 and 2027, while Hispanic graduates will increase by 36.29 percent, American Indian/Alaska native by 12.33 percent and African-American by 4.49 percent. Conversely, the white/non-Hispanic segment will decrease by 11.11 percent. As the diversity of the campus inevitably increases, the university has an opportunity to expose students to cultural differences that will make them more effective employees and leaders in the global job market, Nazario-Colon said. “It is important to assist all of our community members in navigating not only this institution but also the communities that we are preparing our students to join. In the end, regardless of our differences, we are all part of the same community, both locally and globally,” he said. “Yes, our campus is not immune from racial, political or ideological discord. But, with an emphasis on ensuring an inclusive living and learning environment, WCU is a welcoming place for all, a place that is leveraging the power of diversity to enhance the productivity and intellectual personality of all members of our campus community,” he said. In the pages that follow, members of the WCU campus community share their perspectives on race, diversity and inclusion, in vignettes compiled by Marlon W. Morgan. WCU takes steps to improve the campus climate on issues of race and inclusion magazine.wcu.edu 26 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Clifton Price '09 Graduate school: School counseling Hometown: Hickory While attending WCU as an undergraduate, Clifton Price ’09 said he never personally encountered any mistreatment as an African-American. He views his experience in Cullowhee as inspiring. “At WCU, I learned so much valuable information. I gained a sense of hope for humanity,” Price said, recalling a day one of his white friends joined him in Brown Cafeteria. “We were casually eating lunch and my friend looked at me and said, ‘Thank you, Clif.’ I was confused, and asked my friend to explain. He said, ‘Clif, I thank you for changing my views of black people.’” Price was still perplexed. “He went on to explain that, before meeting me, he was extremely prejudiced toward people of color. He also explained that, for his entire life, he was taught it was perfectly fine to judge a person of color before getting to know them. So, he thanked me for changing his views,” Price said. “I felt empowered and saddened at the same time – empowered because I broke through a barrier, but sad because I knew there were millions of other people like my buddy who wouldn’t have that breakthrough.” While his campus experiences were mostly positive, Price did witness disturbing events, including a dead bear that was found near the Catamount statue with two Barack Obama campaign posters on its head. He also remembers a noose being discovered in Brown Cafeteria. Off campus, Price said he was treated differently by mechanics and at restaurants, grocery stores and elsewhere. “My experience has been one of difference, injustice and pain,” Price said. “But, it’s also been one of resilience, endearment, triumph and success. My experiences have led me to be courageous, to be empathetic and to be loving, because I’ve seen the alternative. I’ve been down that road. And in order for us to grow as a society, we have to open up our hearts and love a lot more than we already are. We need to look at each other and accept the differences that we see. It’s perfectly fine to be different, but it’s not OK to be treated differently. “My story has been one of many obstacles I’ve had to overcome, and I’ve overcome them. I want people to know that it doesn’t matter what your circumstance may be. You have the power to overcome. You have to find what makes you go. WCU taught me so much and I’m extremely thankful for having had the experience to be a Catamount. There’s a reason I went back to WCU for graduate school.” Antonio Corza '16 Graduate school: Finance and accounting Hometown: Statesville As a Latino graduate student in the finance and accounting program at WCU’s Biltmore Park instructional site, Antonio Corza ’16 views himself as a role model to current and future Latino students. Corza is a first-generation college student. Both of his parents are from Mexico, where they completed only elementary school “because they didn’t have the money to pay for school,” Corza said. After coming to the U.S., Corza’s parents worked hard to ensure that their children would have the opportunity to go to college. “They always told us that school is important,” he said. “They wouldn’t let us work at all because they wanted us to focus on school and not get distracted by anything else. When I graduated from high school, it was not only my moment, but also theirs because they worked hard for me to stay in line.” Although diversity is increasing at WCU, Corza said he often is the only one in his classes. Still, he wants to help pave the way for others. “I feel privileged and blessed to be in a classroom. Even though I’m often the only Latino student, I’m going along with the trend, leaving stepping stones for the next students to come,” he said. “I can talk to Latino students in the undergrad program and be like a role model to them,” he said. “I can be like that point person to talk to and answer any questions they might have. Latinos can relate to each other.” Corza said he has been treated fairly both by his classmates and his professors throughout his time at WCU. “My professors are motivating me to do bigger and better things,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m treated any less as a Latino student.” Fall 2017| 27 Erica McCurdy Year: Sophomore Major: Undecided Hometown: Raleigh Erica McCurdy is technically in the majority as a white student at WCU. But because she prides herself on having friends from various ethnicities, McCurdy often finds herself in the minority. For instance, when she joined WCU’s Inspirational Gospel Choir last year as a freshman, McCurdy was one of just three white members in the mostly African-American choir. Growing up Catholic in Raleigh, McCurdy was definitely out of her comfort zone. “At first, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to sing gospel music,” she said. “I had been singing in school choirs my whole life. I didn’t know if I was going to fit in. But I loved it. It’s just been so interesting to learn. They’re like, ‘You don’t know this song? I learned this song in church when we were like 4 years old,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m brand new to this.’” Growing up in schools where white people were in the minority, McCurdy took advantage of opportunities to learn about other cultures. “I feel like I’ve gained the respect of a lot of people through that,” she said. “I’m trusted for that and it’s always been a part of who I am as a leader. I was the student body president at my high school. I feel like I got that role because people trusted me, because I knew where everyone was coming from.” McCurdy also feels like her relationships with minorities have helped influence other white people. “I don’t hang around that many white people. When I do, they ask me, ‘How do you know those things? Do you just ask them, because I don’t know what to say?’ I say, ‘You just have to keep yourself open and not make it sound accusatory or like you’re just too ignorant to actually understand.’ I think I definitely have opened a lot of eyes,” she said. McCurdy encourages other white people to get out of their comfort zones, like she has done by joining WCU’s choir. “One of the biggest things my mom asked me was, ‘Are there any other white kids in there, Erica?’ I said, ‘Actually, there’s a few. I thought I was going to be the only one.’ There’s more people coming in. I think we have a pretty diverse group. It’s interesting that we all come together for this one thing,” she said. Jacob French Year: Senior Major: Business law Hometown: Reidsville After attending a marching band symposium for high school students in 2012, Jacob French knew he wanted to attend WCU. Today, as a member of the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band, French is in charge of running that summer symposium. Prior to enrolling, French told his mom he was going to WCU strictly for an education. But it didn’t take him long to realize he was going to learn far more outside of the classroom than inside. Growing up in rural Reidsville, French discovered in eighth grade that he was gay, but he kept it to himself. Shortly after arriving at WCU, members of the band made him feel comfortable enough to share who he really was. The first person he told was former drum major Brandon Truitt ’16, who also is gay. “He kind of knew, and he just made me feel comfortable,” French said. “We hung out, and one day I trusted him enough to actually tell him I’m gay. He helped me come out to other people. It made me feel more comfortable coming out to my brothers in my fraternity. My brothers have been so accepting. That’s why I haven’t been really scared to tell other people.” French said that Cullowhee is a place where he feels safe and at home. “(Reidsville) is where the more negative reactions come in, which is why I don’t really go home,” French said. “I always stay at Western, even over the summer when I’m not in school. I just love being at Western and the positive vibes this campus puts out.” French now finds himself in the supportive role Truitt once held. French has been instrumental in helping other gay students at WCU navigate their way. “I’ve helped plenty of people accept who they are,” he said. “That’s why I feel like I was meant to be at Western. I found my help, and I feel like it was my turn to help others. It’s something I definitely enjoy doing, just advocating for equality everywhere. “I’m not ignorant to the fact that not everybody on campus is going to be accepting. That’s kind of what college is. College is a smaller version of the rest of the world. Everybody has different ideas and opinions. That’s just something you live with and don’t let that bring you down,” French said. 28 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Jenifer Montoya Velasquez Year: Junior Major: Criminal justice and biology Hometown: Hickory Among the first things Jenifer Montoya Velasquez noticed when she arrived on campus is the lack of fellow Latino students. That’s why Velasquez joined the Latino Appreciation Student Organization, giving her a support group. Joining LASO is just what the first-generation student needed to blossom. Velasquez, a junior, joined other organizations and is now president of LASO. “As a freshman, I was not the person I am now,” she said. “I’ve grown tremendously with my leadership skills. Being involved in organizations has allowed my leadership skills to flourish. It has really brought me a lot of awareness about the problems we have on campus and around the world.” Velasquez and her family moved to Hickory when she was 4. Her mother owns a cleaning business while her stepfather owns a lawn-mowing company. A criminal justice and biology major, Velasquez realizes the opportunity she has. “I have to do this to have a better life, because I’ve seen the struggles,” Velasquez said. “I’ve seen what it looks like in Latin countries where there’s poverty, school is not even an option and you have to go to work. I’m really appreciative I had the opportunity to come here to have an education.” Velasquez said she has found WCU to be a place where students can express different ideas and beliefs. But her encounters with white students haven’t allowed her to affect awareness of Latinos the way she has seen happen with other minorities. “With other minorities, we learn that we are much more similar than we are different. At the end of the day, we’re all struggling and we’re all in the same pool. Just because you’re Hispanic and just because you’re black doesn’t mean we’re different. We’re all fighting the same struggles and oppressions that we have today in society,” she said. “What I can take away from being at Western is to stand up for who I am and for my culture, to not be afraid to speak up for who you are and what you believe in. Honestly, coming here has allowed me to step out of that comfort zone and develop those skills,” Velasquez said. Keiara Isom Year: Junior Major: Biology Hometown: Charlotte Growing up in Michigan and Charlotte, Keiara Isom was accustomed to being in diverse environments. When she graduated from high school, it would have been easy to follow her friends to colleges with diverse populations. But Isom wanted a different experience. So, she left the city for the mountains of WCU. Isom has found predominantly white WCU to be very accepting of minorities overall. She has noticed the curiosity of some white counterparts, particularly when it comes to her different hairstyles. “It seems weird, but it’s also funny that they’re interested in why my hair is straight one day and super curly the next day,” Isom said. “It’s something I think is normal, but others think it’s fascinating.” While she has enjoyed many positive experiences as a minority at WCU, there have been negative occurrences, such as racially charged chalk writings during the 2015-16 academic year. Discussing that situation with white peers often left her feeling uncomfortable. “It was kind of awkward,” Isom said. “I’m a biology major so, in most of my classes, I may be the only African-American student, or the only African-American female, so everybody was kind of asking me my opinion and how I felt. I had no problem expressing it, but I just kind of felt like the odd person sometimes.” Isom said those incidents brought African-Americans at WCU closer together. It also was a learning experience for her. “It wasn’t like we were trying to be violent, or anything like that. We were just supporting each other. A lot of the chalkings were harsh, and they did hurt some people’s feelings. For me and some of my African-American friends, it was more about being there for each other more than we were in the beginning,” Isom said. “For the people who were asking how I felt about it, they wanted information. They wanted to be educated. I guess it made me feel important. If they didn’t care, they would have never asked.” Fall 2017| 29 Kiara Hines Year: Senior Major: Social work Hometown: Rutherfordton For Kiara Hines, coming to WCU was no different than attending a predominantly white high school in Rutherfordton. It wasn’t until the campus discord surrounding the 2016 presidential election that Hines felt discomfort. “Last year, there were a lot of chalkings around the middle of campus,” Hines said. “I worked as a tour guide, so I had to try to explain that everyone has a right to freedom of expression, but obviously there was a lot of concern about the things they saw. It made me question the character of some of the students.” Hines said a lot of the opportunities she’s had at WCU have come while being one of a few minorities. Last spring, she went to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Memphis. Hines said she was one of about three African- American students selected to attend from WCU. “We’re not always well-represented on campus,” Hines said. “But I feel like the (minority students) who are here do a lot. If we weren’t here, I feel like the campus would be a lot different.” There is one thing Hines would like to see change on campus. “I would like white people to be more understanding and not be so quick to judge people,” she said. “We adapt because we’re used to adapting, but it would be nice if white people would try to change instead of always wanting things to be modified for them.” As president of the Inspirational Gospel Choir, it’s one of the few times on campus when Hines gets to be in the majority. The choir has three white members, but Hines said she would like to see it become more diverse. “I think it’s saying we’re trying,” Hines said of the white members. “I think we’re trying to be more cognizant. It’s going to take some time. I think because of where we are geographically, not everybody is accepting right away. But I think we’re addressing it and we’re taking some steps in the right direction.” Aaron Alexander Year: Senior Major: Marketing and entrepreneurship Hometown: Shelby Whether he agrees with them or not, Aaron Alexander doesn’t have a problem with people speaking their minds, as long as they abide by one simple rule. “I feel like everyone should be able to express their views, whether it’s the College Republicans or the Black Student Union, as long as they stay respectful of everyone,” Alexander said. There were several incidents on the WCU campus during the 2015-16 academic year when that didn’t happen. One that stands out most to Alexander occurred during a Black Lives Matter silent protest that he attended. “There was a student, I think he was a freshman, and you could tell he was totally against it the whole time,” Alexander said. “He said, ‘Gorilla Lives Matter,’ instead of ‘Black Lives Matter.’ I just really couldn’t believe he said that. I felt like it was important to let everyone know that it did happen and stuff like that continues to happen every day. As white people on a predominantly white campus, we shouldn’t pretend that doesn’t happen.” It was a rude awakening for Alexander, who attended a predominantly white high school in Shelby, but had never witnessed racial tensions like he did that year at WCU. “I grew up around African-Americans playing sports,” Alexander said. “For the most part, we got along and treated each other the same. I feel like with the political race, it just kept building and building and building.” Fortunately, Alexander said, the campus has returned to normalcy since the election. But the racial tensions definitely served as a learning experience for everyone, he said. 30 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Channa De Silva Associate professor, bioinorganic chemistry After completing postdoctoral research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Channa De Silva was looking for a position where he could teach and conduct research at the undergraduate and graduate levels. De Silva found the balance he was seeking at WCU, joining the faculty in 2010. A native of Sri Lanka, he had concerns about the small number of international faculty members at WCU and low percentage of Asians in the area. “At that time, there were probably 10 to 20 (international faculty members) out of 200,” he said. “My daughter started going to kindergarten. She was the only Asian student in the whole class. Even nowadays, even though it’s growing a little bit, I went to her sixth-grade honors reception and I was the only one with this (skin) color.” But overriding factors led De Silva to WCU – the weather, mountains and friendliness of the faculty. Not only was his interview process smooth, but he was touched that people remembered him when he returned to start working. “I also like that I have support from the faculty members,” he said. “If I have to use an instrument, if I don’t know anything about it, everybody will jump in and show me how to use it. And when they find research opportunities, they will forward them to me. They helped me to get students in the beginning.” He attended college in Sri Lanka before heading to the University of Arizona to earn his doctorate. Although the landscape at Arizona is more diverse than at WCU, De Silva said being a minority faculty member at WCU has its positives. “Students are curious about my culture,” he said. “I can start a conversation with a student. If I don’t have a topic, we can talk about food or things like that. I have played music at the International Festival. Every year, they invite me to play Sri Lankan or Indian music. I really enjoy that. I consider that a service to the university.” De Silva also answers questions and gives advice to international students. “Even though I’m not an international specialist, I can advise and talk to them like a faculty member and give them options on what to do and what not to do,” he said. Enrique Gomez Associate professor, astronomy and physics One of the appealing things about teaching at WCU for Enrique Gomez was the ability to reach a large population of first-generation students. Gomez was looking for a university where he could teach introductory physics and astronomy while utilizing some of his innovative techniques. Although WCU is a predominantly white campus, Gomez, who is biracial (white mother, Mexican father), looked forward to teaching African-Americans and a growing Latino population. “I grew up navigating between two cultures,” Gomez said. “At times in my life, I felt I thrived more when I helped people from another culture. I lived at the intersection of many identities.” Although conversations about diversity don’t naturally occur in physics and astronomy, Gomez tries to integrate elements from non-Western and non-European teachers into his classes. “I believe minorities have something to say about physics, mainly because of particular concerns with the environment, as well as making science accessible to a large audience,” Gomez said. Gomez said when he earned his doctorate, he was the only Latino with an astrophysics degree graduating that year in the U.S. Those numbers are increasing, and Gomez would like to see more Latino faculty members at WCU. “It is isolating,” he said. “Sometimes I wish I had another person that I could speak Spanish with more often.” In addition to his activities at WCU, Gomez works with K-12 students in local communities where Latino and Asian populations are growing. “I had a Latino student that I encourage at Fairview Middle School in preparing her for the astronomy event in the Science Olympiad. She did very well. I was very proud of that. Little things like that can have quite an impact,” Gomez said. As president of the Jackson County NAACP, Gomez is believed to be the first Latino to lead a North Carolina branch. In that role, he looks to support a broad movement. “I believe we are still trying to integrate into our notion of ‘country’ the sons and daughters of slaves and native people, and recent immigrants,” Gomez said. “We have a lot of unfinished business, which I thought by this time and my age would have been superseded.” Fall 2017| 31 Jane Adams-Dunford Assistant vice chancellor, student affairs It didn’t take Jane Adams-Dunford long to be sold on moving from Oklahoma to WCU. Her husband also was open to the idea. It was her oldest son, a football and basketball player, who needed convincing. At family meetings as they discussed pros and cons of moving to the mountains, Adams-Dunford showed her son Cullowhee’s location on the map. “When I pulled it up on the map, he said, `The pro scouts aren’t going to be able to find me. It’s not on the map, mom,’” she said. “I said, ‘It’s that dot right there.’ We laugh about that to this day.” That was in 1998. Her children are now adults and Adams- Dunford loves the area. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t issues and concerns along the way. “There were the regular concerns – where do we get our hair cut, will the kids have teachers that look like them,” she said. “There were the rebel flags. My boys hadn’t been exposed to that. But they had a really firm and grounded knowledge of who they were as far as their black history and what it meant to be a black male. They were confident and knowledgeable from that perspective, and being a part of a campus community with amazing students was so helpful in their transition to the Whee.” One of the things Adams-Dunford appreciated during her interview process was the time set aside for her to speak with other African-American faculty and staff so they could address her concerns. In time, she assimilated into the community through serving on the Cullowhee Valley PTA, Smoky Mountain High School athletics booster clubs and youth sports organizations. During her time at WCU, Adams-Dunford, a native of Shelby, has seen WCU’s number of African-American faculty members shrink, something she believes could negatively affect the student experience. “It is my hope that we continue to be more intentional in our efforts to recruit and retain faculty and staff of color,” she said. “Students of color have shared that they miss not having an African-American faculty member. I truly believe that it promotes your self-esteem, your ability to engage and be comfortable in your learning environment when you see someone who looks like you,” she said. “There are commonalities for sure, but our experiences make us different. After all, it is the people that make Western such a special place.” Kofi Lomotey Bardo Distinguished Professor Kofi Lomotey arrived at WCU in 2013 as the John and Deborah Bardo Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership. During the interview process, he was impressed by the people he met and excited about WCU’s doctoral program in educational leadership. But Lomotey, an African-American, couldn’t help but notice the limited diversity of WCU’s faculty and student body. “There was one other African-American faculty member who was full-time, and she had been denied tenure, so that was her last year,” Lomotey said. “There was a similar concern with regard to the student population. I know it’s difficult in that part of the country, that part of the state, to attract both a diverse faculty and a diverse student body.” WCU does face challenges in attracting faculty of color, said Lomotey, who commutes to campus from Atlanta because he prefers to live in a major metropolitan area. Last fall, the university had seven black faculty members, 10 Hispanic faculty and 23 Asian. “A prospective faculty member of color does research on Western Carolina, or comes in and interviews at Western Carolina, and they don’t see very many people that look like them. That’s a red flag. Just a simple thing like an African-American woman being concerned about where she can get her hair done, or being concerned about African-American churches.” Lomotey is proud that his program has one of the most diverse faculty groups on campus, with two African-Americans and one Asian, as well as gender orientation diversity. “The program has three African-American students in its most recent cohort in the doctoral program. That’s the most we’ve ever had,” he said. Nevertheless, Lomotey said a more diverse faculty is beneficial, not just for African-American students, but all students. “For many of our students, this is their first experience on a college campus. For African-American students, if they don’t see anybody that looks like them, they might not envision the possibility of becoming a professor,” he said. “When you have a diverse faculty, you have diversities of opinions and views and perspectives on the curriculum, and on life in general. That’s important for all students.” 32 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University An interdisciplinary learning theme fosters campus conversations and connects students with collaborative opportunities for an integrated campuswide experience. For the past seven years, WCU has selected a learning theme for such reasons. This marks the first time that faculty, staff and students were able to vote on a topic. Of the six choices, “Cherokee” received nearly a third of the votes. The 2015- 17 theme of “Africa! More than a Continent” ended at the conclusion of the spring semester. In announcing the selection, Carol Burton ’87 MAEd ’89, associate provost for undergraduate studies, said the learning theme “will afford us an opportunity to really dig in and not just articulate better our relationship with the Cherokee, but build on it, enhance it and, more importantly, educate our students and faculty and staff about the Cherokee and this beautiful place where we are and its importance.” The tribal and demographic context for the theme of “Cherokee” will be largely in keeping with WCU’s neighbors, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the portion of their ancestral home that they still retain, the Qualla Boundary. During the Indian Removal of 1838, the Cherokee who owned lands largely in present-day Swain and Jackson counties as a collective – with the deeds held by a white “chief” – were not forced to leave their homes, while others evaded capture by hiding deep in the Great Smoky Mountains. Today, the Eastern Band is a federally recognized tribe, and the 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary and numerous land parcels in Cherokee and Graham counties is a sovereign nation, with its own government, judicial and law enforcement system, schools and more than 15,000 enrolled members. “The Cherokee people have a very rich history in Western North Carolina, some of it right here on our very own campus, something that many folks are not aware of,” said Lisa Bloom, chair of the learning theme steering committee and the Jay M. Robinson Distinguished Professor of Educational Technologies. “Even more importantly, they have a thriving culture that contributes in so many ways to our lives in the region. My hope is that, through the campus theme, our students, faculty and staff will explore the rich culture and heritage of the Cherokee people, understand and appreciate their contributions both past and present, and make connections with the Cherokee community.” BY GEOFF CANTRELL When it came time to select a new interdisciplinary learning theme, Western Carolina University didn’t need to look far. The heritage and tradition of a proud people permeate the very ground upon which the university is built. Thus the selection of the 2017-18 theme of “Cherokee: Community. Culture. Connections.” The title photo above shows a detailed portion of Judaculla Rock, a large boulder near the WCU campus covered in elaborate petroglyphs and revered by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. COMMUNITY. CULTURE. CONNECTIONS. Fall 2017| 33 The ties between WCU and the Eastern Band are indeed deep and historic. WCU’s Cherokee Studies Program, with both undergraduate and graduate degrees, is renowned for its curriculum in the culture, language, history, health and environment of Cherokee and indigenous issues. The Sequoyah Distinguished Professorship in Cherokee Studies, fully funded in 1998, is currently held by Brett Riggs, a research archeologist who has worked with the Eastern Band on projects since the 1990s. In 2016, the university signed a memorandum of agreement with the Eastern Band and two Oklahoma-based Cherokee tribes to continue its commitment to the academic study and promotion of Cherokee language, history and culture. WCU also is a lead partner in the ongoing Cherokee Language Revitalization Project, an initiative to provide broader, more comprehensive training and learning opportunities. For example, Project Songbird, a collaboration with the Eastern Band’s Kituwah Preservation and Education Program, recorded original songs in the Cherokee language. Another example is the work with the New Kituwah Academy, a Cherokee immersion school, where Bo Lossiah ’05, curriculum, instruction and community supervisor, has been a leader in those efforts. Last year, the preservation and education program and WCU’s Cherokee Language Program worked with the WCU Print Shop to create card games for learning Cherokee pronouns, as well as a Cherokee language board game created by WCU graphic design students. The games were given to Hunter Library’s Special Collections and the New Kituwah Academy. “New Kituwah Academy is a multifaceted school, so our first goal is a quality education for the children,” Lossiah said. “Preservation of our language is important, too, though, and must be considered a part of that quality education. As our instruction has evolved, we’ve found conversational Cherokee is a good beginning for learning. Our challenge has been finding volunteers to come in and speak with the students and share life experiences. There are maybe 230 Cherokee speakers now, with 80 percent older than 60, I’d estimate. That really shows the importance of this instruction and Western’s support. Younger students get immersion lessons in Cherokee, older students get dual language.” The WCU Cherokee Center, established in 1975, serves tribal and nontribal residents of the Qualla Boundary and the surrounding communities by improving educational opportunities. “We want to bring as much of Cherokee to WCU as we want Western to come to Cherokee,” said Sky Sampson ’10, recently appointed center director and an enrolled tribal member. “I think we can make connections back and forth with so much we have planned and things under consideration, and there are so many WCU alumni in Cherokee and the Qualla Boundary.” One of the many events in which the Cherokee Center will be involved during the learning theme is a two-day solar eclipse celebration in August. In partnership with the Eastern Band, the Cherokee Historical Association and the Museum of the Cherokee Indians, the center will host events based around the nearly two minutes of total darkness beginning at 2:35 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, making the town of Cherokee a probable prime viewing location. The astronomic phenomenon was described by the ancient Cherokee as when a giant frog that lived in the sky had swallowed the sun, causing darkness to occur during the daytime. The Cherokee would gather and beat drums and make noise so as to frighten the great frog away, allowing the sun to shine brightly again. Also during the year, WCU’s Central Hall, a residence for some 300 students, will be rededicated as Judaculla Hall to commemorate the university’s historic connection to the Eastern Band and to acknowledge the unique heritage and From top to bottom: Board games created by created by WCU graphic design students and produced by the university’s Print Shop help teach the Cherokee language to students at the New Kituwah Academy, a Cherokee immersion school. An archaeological field school explores Cherokee heritage on campus in a dig supported by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Tribal Historic Preservation Office and the N.C. Office of State Archaeology. Exhibits at the Fine Art Museum will support and enhance the campus learning theme, such as Bernadine George’s ceramic two-handled pot that is featured in “Ancient Forms, Modern Minds: Contemporary Cherokee Ceramics,” on display through Friday, Nov. 10. 34 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University history of the Cherokee people. According to Cherokee folklore, all of campus and the surrounding Cullowhee Valley was once the earthly home of a giant, Judaculla (Tsu la ka la), a powerful hunter with slanted pupils in his eyes who could traverse the mountains and the spiritual realm with ease. Judaculla Rock, a large boulder linked to the legend that contains some of the best preserved and most significant petroglyphs east of the Mississippi River, is located south of campus. Indian artistry, crafts and dance will be a significant focus of “Cherokee: Community. Culture. Connections.” The WCU Fine Art Museum is hosting “Ancient Forms, Modern Minds: Contemporary Cherokee Ceramics,” which features the work of 11 Cherokee artists such as Joel Queen ’05 MFA ’08 and Davey Arch and brings together historic and contemporary pottery techniques, through Friday, Nov. 10. The museum also will host a national traveling exhibit, “Return from Exile: Contemporary Southeastern Indian Art,” from Aug. 21 to Friday, Dec. 15, with more than 30 contemporary Southeastern Native American artists working in a variety of media including painting, drawing, printmaking, basketry, sculpture and pottery. A symposium on the exhibit will be held Nov. 10. Signature campus events throughout the academic year will highlight Cherokee connections to the region and the university. Mountain Heritage Day, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30, always has carried Cherokee elements, such as stickball games, as part of the cultural festival. Organizers are planning for expanded and highlighted roles this year. The 16th annual Spring Literary Festival will include a Cherokee theme day. The eighth annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium, a collaborative gathering that seeks to integrate indigenous and local knowledge with health and environmental issues, will continue narratives of Native American culture. Other events to be scheduled are a Cherokee language symposium, a cultural immersion trip and a tentative campus “pow wow.” “We’re super excited about this opportunity, especially since the overall population at WCU selected Cherokee as the next theme,” said Sampson, WCU’s Cherokee Center director. “Those results give me a personal sense of pride in knowing that others are reaching out to learn more about our people and our culture. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the coming year within this fantastic collaboration.” We want to bring as much of Cherokee to WCU as we want Western to come to Cherokee. –Sky Sampson ’10 “ ” Winter 2017| 35 To kick off Western Carolina University’s yearlong campus learning theme focused on “Cherokee,” perhaps nothing could have been more appropriate than an honorary doctorate bestowed upon tribal elder Jeremiah “Jerry” Wolfe during May’s commencement exercises. The 92-year-old Wolfe, a D-Day veteran, teacher, community leader, storyteller and artist, accepted the honorary degree by inviting audience members to sing along to a hymn of deliverance, his voice in Cherokee and theirs in English. U ne hla nv i u we tsi Amazing grace I ga go yv he i How sweet the sound na quo tso sv wi yu lo se That saved a wretch I ga gu yv ho nv Like me Chancellor David O. Belcher called Wolfe “a cherished living repository of his tribe’s wisdom,” whose efforts have enriched the cultural landscape of Western North Carolina, the state and nation. “You have served with exemplary distinction and dedication throughout your life as a member of your community and as a conservator and icon of Cherokee language and culture,” Belcher said. “You have been a tradition-bearer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, preserving and teaching the Cherokee language, stickball traditions, knowledge of plants and traditional medicine, myths and legends, and oral history.” Wolfe is an integral and valuable asset for WCU, with a decades-long list of activities and involvement ranging from interviews for the award-winning documentary “First Language – The Race to Save Cherokee” to serving as a panelist at a Native American Heritage Expo event on campus, participating in chancellor installation ceremonies and taking part in Mountain Heritage Day. When WCU calls, he answers. Wolfe grew up in Big Cove, one of the six townships on the Qualla Boundary, in a household that spoke Cherokee. At the age of 7, he went away BELOVED BEGINNING Cherokee elder Jerry Wolfe receives an honorary doctorate BY GEOFF CANTRELL to boarding school where speaking his native language was strictly forbidden. He left after completing the 10th grade to join the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he survived the Normandy invasion as a landing craft operator, taking infantry ashore at heavily contested Omaha Beach. After the war, he returned home, started a family and was an instructor at the Oconaluftee Job Corps for more than 20 years. Since 1997, Wolfe has worked at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, where he has shared his extensive knowledge of tribal history and culture with thousands of visitors. Over the years, he also has presented programs on those topics across the state and Southeast and has been interviewed and featured in many publications and video productions. The honorary doctorate goes along with many other awards, including a 2010 Brown-Hudson Folklore Award and the tribal title of “Beloved Man,” an honor so rare it had been more than 200 years since the last male designee. 36 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University By TERESA KILLIAN TATE Sydney Blair ’16 captured mosquitoes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park as part of her field work for a Western Carolina University course in which environmental health students help track mosquito species and the diseases they can carry. Now, Blair serves as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda working to prevent the spread of malaria, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes that is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year. When Blair visits Ugandan schools, she talks about the benefits of testing for the disease and early treatment. She takes an insecticide-treated bed net to show what she urges everyone in Uganda to sleep under, even in thatched-roof huts. She helps members of the Bed Net Brigade youth club learn how to go into villages, educate others about malaria prevention and demonstrate how to hang and care for bed nets. “I hope that families will see the children taking initiative with the nets and follow suit,” she said. Blair is one of 94 WCU alumni who have served in the Peace Corps since its founding in 1961, according to 2016 Peace Corps data. Launched by the U.S. government to promote world peace and friendship, the Peace Corps receives thousands of applications from people who want to volunteer, and selection can be competitive. In September 2016, the Peace Corps had 7,213 volunteers and trainees but received more than 23,000 applications over the course of the year. “We want to match the most highly qualified candidates with the positions that are right for them,” said Emily Webb, public affairs specialist for the Peace Corps East Region Office. Peace Corps deploys volunteers to help community members abroad develop sustainable solutions to challenges in agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health and youth development. Volunteers train for three months and commit to serve for two years. In exchange, they receive medical and dental care, transportation to and from their country and enough money to live on in the communities they serve. Today, the Peace Corps volunteers serve in 65 countries, with nearly half of volunteers in Africa and the next largest contingents in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. Last fall, WCU alumni serving in the Peace Corps were based in Uganda, Ethiopia and Guatemala. The work can be fulfilling, with opportunities to help, meet new people, learn a new language and culture, and find adventure. The experience also can be emotionally and physically challenging, said Blair and other Peace Corps volunteers connected to WCU. In addition to working in school-based malaria prevention educational outreach, Blair chairs a malaria prevention think tank that offers educational programs, training and resources Alumni, Students and Faculty Are Making a Difference – and Making Friends – Through Their Work with the Peace Corps Fall 2017| 37 Ada Sloop ’15 (facing page) displays the dreamcatcher she made for her Peace Corps host family. Sydney Blair ’16 (above) visits a Ugandan school to share information about malaria prevention. to Peace Corps volunteers and their counterparts who want to implement activities at their sites. She also is working on programs such as sack gardening, a method in which tall grain sacks are filled with dirt and seeds to form a vertical garden that produces vegetables even during the three- to four-month dry season. A significant part of her work is serving as one of five staff members at a health clinic. On Tuesdays, when mothers bring their babies for vaccinations, Blair helps weigh the children and complete their immunization cards. Among the most difficult moments for her was seeing an HIV-positive orphan whose life depended on urgent treatment for a knee infection but whose caretakers could not afford to go to a hospital. Another was witnessing a 15-year-old give birth in the health clinic without family or friends there for support. “I have seen that happen several times,” said Blair. “There is no way to prepare yourself for those kinds of things.” A native of Wilkesboro, Blair said her experience has helped her to be more patient with herself and more thoughtful about what is important in life. The people she has met are so appreciative and welcoming that even when meeting for the first time they will invite her in for tea. “Time in Uganda is not like time in the United States,” said Blair. “People walk everywhere. Everything is at a slower pace, and people appreciate everything so much more. It is just a different world that’s been really hard to explain to friends and family back home.” For Teawan Gausi ’11, navigating cultural differences and perceptions to make connections with people in her community has been critical to carrying out her work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. Gausi, who earned degrees in psychology and sociology at WCU, is charged with helping young people learn life skills to lead healthier lives, teaching them about substance abuse prevention and reproductive and sexual health, and expanding their leadership skills. Sometimes, community members do not understand what the role of a Peace Corps volunteer is, or exactly what she is there to do. “The challenge is bridging the gap,” said Gausi. Gausi seized the opportunity to be a volunteer when she saw a program at Indiana University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration, that linked coursework with Peace Corps service. She became particularly interested in development work after a two-week WCU summer travel course to Kenya in 2010 led by Anthony Hickey, professor of sociology, and Nyaga Mwaniki, retired anthropology faculty member. The class stayed in the Taita Hills and studied development issues while working with Kosmos Solutions International, a nongovernmental community development and humanitarian organization. Three alumni of the Kenya service learning trips have gone on to serve in the Peace Corps, said Hickey. Service-learning experience at WCU also was meaningful for Ada Sloop ’15, an environmental health graduate who left in June to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda. Sloop was in a course taught by Lane Perry, WCU director of service learning, centered on service and leadership. The students traveled to New York and helped repair homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Afterward, she continued to be involved as the service-learning officer for WCU’s chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers. She encouraged participation in activities such as roadside and river clean-ups. After graduation, while completing an air quality internship in Cherokee, she saw photos of a classmate serving as a Peace Corps volunteer that rekindled her interest in the possibility. “I thought, ‘Wow, that really is something I would like to do,’” said Sloop. Further fueling her interest was what she remembered hearing about the experiences of Phil Kneller, a retired WCU environmental health professor who worked to help eradicate smallpox while serving as a Peace Corps 38 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Sydney Blair ’16 works with mothers and infants at a clinic in Uganda (above). Teawan Gausi ’11 (third from left) is a Peace Corp volunteer in Guatemala. Fall 2017| 39 volunteer in Ethiopia, and conducting research in a class taught by Brian Byrd, WCU associate professor of environmental health. She applied for Peace Corps community health educator positions and was selected for a position centered on preventative health measures related to malaria, HIV/AIDS, maternal child health and hygiene. Perry said he was not surprised Sloop went on to serve in the Peace Corps. Service is in WCU’s DNA, and students who come to the university with a passion to serve graduate as informed, highly active and committed servant leaders, he said. “It is when these two elements align that WCU helps produce the balance between heart, culture, service, knowledge and leadership that produces a Peace Corps volunteer,” said Perry. What Sloop, who grew up on a dairy farm near Statesville, was most looking forward to is immersing herself in a new culture. She was excited to live with a host family and made them a dreamcatcher as a gift before she left. “It’s important to find spiritual connection with my host family, and dreams are a good way to do that,” said Sloop. Sloop said she looks forward to her experience serving and to returning with Peace Corps on her resume. “Everybody in the United States is going to know what Peace Corps is,” said Sloop. “They have a history. They have success stories. They have a foundation.” Jim Lewis, WCU professor emeritus of history, was among the second group of Peace Corps volunteers to work in Venezuela in 1964. Lewis lived in a two-room cement block house in a village of about 300 people. Electricity was available several hours a day, and the roads were mud. He volunteered at a school and helped establish credit union services in a rural coffee-growing region. “The thought was this would mainly benefit people who had no access to banks or for whom banks were not interested in opening accounts with $5 or $3,” said Lewis. “We started with $200 in the credit union, and when we left two years later we had $50,000.” The experience led him to shift his research focus from European to Latin American history, which he taught at WCU while on the faculty for more than three decades. Another former Peace Corps volunteer on WCU’s faculty, Barbara Jo White, professor of computer information systems, initiated the World Map Project for the Peace Corps. While a volunteer in the Dominican Republic in 1988, she realized paper maps would not last in that country’s rainy, humid climate, so she and two students painted a world map on a school wall. She developed a grid method to create the map to scale that is now part of a manual to help volunteers worldwide replicate the project. What faculty and staff members share with students about their personal experiences abroad and in the Peace Corps offers students insight into being citizens of the world. Byrd said seeing former students such as Blair and Sloop go on to tackle global health issues, especially as Peace Corps volunteers, is inspiring. “It is often said that ‘environmental health affects everyone, everywhere and every day,’” said Byrd. “We expect our graduates will make a difference wherever they are in the world. Ada and Sydney are shining examples of what our alumni are trained to do. They were not the first, and they will not be the last.” Faculty member Barbara Jo White (above) and students work on the World Map Project. Ada Sloop ’15 (below) enjoys a Western North Carolina hike before her departure to Uganda as a Peace Corps volunteer. 40 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University alumni SPOTLIGHT Odysseus, the central character in Homer’s eighth-century classic the “Odyssey,” survived 10 years of arduous travel to reach his destination. The circuitous journey of football coach Geoff Collins ’94 has been less dangerous but more than twice as long, with 11 stops between Cullowhee and his current home in Philadelphia. Collins, a starting linebacker for Western Carolina University (1991-92) and the Catamounts’ defensive coordinator for four seasons (2002-05), was introduced as the head football coach at Temple University this past December. Ironically, he replaced Matt Ruhle, who now directs Baylor University’s football program and served under Collins at WCU as a defensive assistant coach. Temple is coming off a landmark 10-4 season in which the Owls won the American Athletic Conference championship, was ranked 23rd nationally and played in a bowl game. Collins was a member of WCU legend Bob Waters’ last recruiting class in 1989 out of Rockdale County High in Conyers, Georgia. A walk-on, he was awarded a scholarship after his freshman season. He recorded 191 tackles in his last three seasons as a Catamount and was a key defensive player on the 1992 team that was five points short of going undefeated in the Southern Conference, was nationally ranked the last three weeks of the season and defeated Marshall, the NCAA I-AA national champion. According to his teammates, coaches and those he worked with in his chosen profession, the coaching trait was detected early in Collins’ DNA. Steve Hodgin MAEd ’83, WCU’s head coach during Collins’ final three seasons, said “…he was like a coach on the field, always prepared as he constantly watched film, had a high football IQ, made adjustments on the fly and helped his teammates do the same.” GRIDIRON ODYSSEY GEOFF COLLINS’ CIRCUITOUS CAREER JOURNEY LEADS FROM CULLOWHEE TO PHILADELPHIA AS HEAD COACH AT TEMPLE By STEVE WHITE ’67 CLIMBING WCU’S FOOTBALL COACHING TREE Western Carolina University has an impressive list of alumni and former football players who are currently coaching at the collegiate and professional levels. Listed alphabetically are the Catamounts, in addition to Temple head coach Geoff Collins ’94, who are in active NCAA and NFL coaching positions, including the years they competed at WCU and current position. Fran Brown ’05 (2003-05), assistant head coach, Baylor Chris Collins ’11 (2006-09), safeties coach, Georgia State Joe D’Alessandris ’77 MAEd ’79 (1973-76), offensive line coach, Baltimore Ravens Lonnie Galloway ’94 (1990-93) co-offensive coordinator, Louisville Mitch Hall ’03 (1999-02), running backs coach, Presbyterian Blake Harrell ’02 (1999-02), defensive coordinator, The Citadel Paul Johnson ’79 (1975-79), head coach, Georgia Tech Brian Rucker ’04 (2000-03), wide receivers coach, The Citadel John Scott ’00 (1995-98), defensive line coach, Arkansas Lamont Seward (2000-03), associate head coach, West Alabama Clyde Simmons ’96 (1982-85), defensive line coach, Cleveland Browns Tom Bodine ’95, a WCU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and the Catamounts’ all-time leading tackler, and Collins were teammates for two seasons. “The younger players would follow his work ethic, and we learned a lot about how to play the game,” Bodine said. “As a graduate assistant coach, Geoff had a unique talent for understanding what the opposing offense was doing. We knew he would be a great coach.” Mark Speir MAEd ’95, WCU’s current head football coach, was a young assistant coach during Collins’ junior and senior seasons, and coached with him in the 1993 and 1994 seasons. “Geoff was a very focused, intelligent player who played hard and physical and was a leader on and off the field,” Speir said. “There are natural football players and there are those like Geoff, who loved the game and worked hard to be great. That’s why he is where he is today.” Hodgin launched Collins’ career in 1993 by awarding him a postgraduate scholarship to serve as an assistant on WCU’s defensive staff. Collins’ first full-time position was at Fordham in 1996. That was followed by stints at Albright (Pennsylvania) and Georgia Tech (1999-2001) before he returned to Cullowhee as defensive coordinator for four seasons alongside then-head coach Kent Briggs ’79 MAEd ’81. Collins made a second stop at Georgia Tech in 2006, followed by positions at Alabama (2007), Central Florida (2008-09) and Florida International (2010) before becoming defensive coordinator at Mississippi State for three seasons, where his 2014 unit was the nation’s best “red-zone” defense. Collins spent the past two seasons at Florida as defensive coordinator, and last year’s squad was ranked in the nation’s top 10 in total defense and scoring defense. He became known as the “Minister of Mayhem” around the Southeastern Conference for his aggressive defenses. Sixteen Collins-coached players have been drafted by NFL teams. Jim McElwain, his boss at Florida, said Collins is “a relentless recruiter that can motivate players and understands the game on both sides of the ball.” Nick Saban, Alabama’s legendary head coach, calls Collins “a very intelligent football coach who brings an extraordinary amount of positive energy and enthusiasm to his job.” Collins credits his time at WCU for preparing him for his coaching career. “I knew in high school I wanted to be a college football coach, and Western Carolina put me on that path,” he said. “WCU will always be special to me and my family, as that is where I was given my first opportunity to go after my dream and is where I met my wife.” Collins and his wife, the former Jennifer Haynes ’96, are the parents of an infant daughter, Astrid. When asked if Philadelphia might be the final stop on his odyssey, Collins laughed and said, “I’m having a blast being a head coach with all that comes with it – recruiting, developing a game plan for winning games and championships, and graduating young men.” Who knows the answer to that question, but keep in mind that Odysseus was thought to have made a stop in the ancient Turkish city of Philadelphia on his way home. Fall 2017| 41 Geoff Collins ’94 leads his Temple team in preseason practice (left) and enjoys a moment with his wife, the former Jennifer Hayne ’96, and daughter Astrid. 42 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University alumni SPOTLIGHT When Poinsett State Park rangers are working outdoors, the office answering machine tells callers “It’s a great day in South Carolina!” The cheerful message adds to the warm, welcoming atmosphere inspired by Thomas “Zabo” McCants ’99, park manager for the past 10 years. For his leadership and exemplary service, McCants earned the 2016 Park Ranger of the Year Award in a national competition. Sixty rangers from across the U.S. were nominated for the award, sponsored by Servicewear Apparel, a Nashville, Tennessee, company that provides work uniforms worn by rangers, law enforcement officers and o
Object Description
Description
Title | Western : the magazine of Western Carolina University |
Other Title | Magazine of Western Carolina University; Western Carolina |
Date | 2017 |
Description | Fall 2017 |
Digital Characteristics-A | 6.01 MB; 60 p. |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Pres File Name-M | pubs_137281166_serial_western2017fall |
Full Text | CWAeRsOteLrnINA Fall 2017 DDiiavleorgsuiteys UNIVERSITY SELECTS ‘CHEROKEE’ FOR YEARLONG LEARNING THEME CATAMOUNTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE AS PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS NEW PROGRAM OFFERS SUPPORT FOR PARENTLESS STUDENTS Sidewalk chalkings lead to campus conversations 2 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University FALL 2017 | VOLUME 21, NO. 2 CHANCELLOR David O. Belcher CHIEF OF STAFF Melissa Canady Wargo MANAGING EDITOR Bill Studenc MPA ’10 CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Mark Haskett ’87 LEAD DESIGNER Will Huddleston STAFF WRITERS Geoff Cantrell Sean Forrester Denise Gideon Randall Holcombe Daniel Hooker ’01 Christy Martin ’71 MA ’78 Marlon W. Morgan Teresa Killian Tate Steve White ’67 STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ashley T. Evans STAFF DESIGNERS John Balentine Todd Charles INTERN DESIGNER William Studenc III VIDEO EDITOR Samuel Wallace ’16 MARKETING DIRECTOR Robin Oliver PRODUCTION MANAGER Ashley Beavers CIRCULATION MANAGER Stephanie Gibson BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Mallonee Search for this icon throughout the magazine for stories that feature online extras – videos, photographs and more, available ONLY online. magazine.wcu.edu Western CAROLINA The Magazine of Western Carolina University is produced by the Office of Communications and Public Relations for alumni, faculty, staff, friends and students of Western Carolina University. The views and opinions that appear in this publication are not necessarily those of the editorial staff or the official policies of the university. WCU Sticker Contest Winners Announced As part of an online contest announced in the winter 2017 edition of The Magazine of Western Carolina University, alumni and friends from all over the country and even Jamaica shared their #CatamountPride by posting to WCU’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts photos of WCU stickers on their vehicles. Stickers were included in every copy of the magazine, and readers tell us they have spotted an increasing number of WCU decals on vehicles traveling the highways and byways across the state and the nation. The grand prize of season passes to all of the Catamounts’ home games for the 2017-18 season, with the winner selected at random, went to Lesli Williams Moss ’07 of Gastonia (1). Three contestants won insulated WCU coffee tumblers for their winning entries in various categories: Danny Hirt ’73 of Fredericksburg, Texas, for submitting a photograph of the vehicle surrounded by the most purple (2); Donna Howell ’87 of Young Harris, Georgia, for her photograph of the most unusual vehicle to sport the #CatamountPride sticker, a 1931 Pontiac coupe (3); and Chris Watras ’08 MSW ’11 from Mount Vernon, Washington, for his entry from the farthest away from campus, at 2,742 miles from Cullowhee (4). 1 2 3 4 Fall 2017| 3 CONTENTS SECTIONS 4 Opening Notes 5 The Inbox 6 News from the Western Hemisphere 14 Catamount Athletics 40 Alumni Spotlight 44 Class Notes 52 Obituaries 58 The View from Here FEATURES 20 NO PLACE LIKE HOME Old Baptist Student Union houses support program for parentless students 24 DIVERSITY DIALOGUES Campus takes steps to improve climate on issues of race, inclusion 32 COMMUNITY. CULTURE. CONNECTIONS WCU looks to Cherokee for topic of new yearlong learning theme 36 VOLUNTEER VENTURE Alumni, students, faculty are making a difference through the Peace Corps BACK COVER A Cherokee artisan molds a piece of pottery using clay from the mountains and fire to create vessels for utilitarian, ceremonial and decorative uses. That craftsmanship and heritage will be on display Saturday, Sept. 30, at Mountain Heritage Day and will be included in this academic year’s campus learning theme of “Cherokee: Community. Culture. Connections.” 20 24 32 36 4 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University OPENING Notes One of my first priorities after becoming chancellor in 2011 was to initiate the development of a robust and focused strategic plan for Western Carolina University. That ambitious roadmap, our “2020 Vision,” was designed to steer our university’s direction and development over the ensuing decade while strengthening relationships with the communities and region we serve. It’s hard to believe that more than five years have passed since the Board of Trustees endorsed the plan and even harder to believe that less than three remain before we hit the year 2020. The “2020 Vision” plan has guided our university in dynamic fashion, strengthening the institution in many ways. Since the plan’s onset, WCU certainly has grown at a record-breaking pace, but we have done more than simply become larger. We also have matured, and our metrics of success have improved. Our students, faculty and staff have done amazing things, many of which you will read about in the pages that follow. But this is no time to rest on our laurels. Instead, this is a time to recalibrate, to review and to update our plan. Academic year 2017-18 will be a time of reflection and renewal and a time to recommit to our strategic vision and priorities as we move forward. Three primary factors necessitate this activity at this juncture. First, we have accomplished and, in a number of areas, exceeded many of the goals and initiatives articulated in the plan. There is much of which all university stakeholders should be rightfully proud. Conversely, however, we should consider whether initiatives that we have not yet addressed are as important as they were when the plan was endorsed in 2012. In addition, new priorities have emerged in the last few years that should be incorporated into our strategic plan. The legislative actions that resulted in the NC Promise tuition plan and the launching of a new laboratory school effort this fall are but two examples of priorities unimagined when the “2020 Vision” plan was formulated. Second, the process of undergoing reaffirmation of the university’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has revealed some opportunities for improvement that we should consider in our revised strategic plan. For instance, our team of external reviewers has recommended that we focus on more consistent assessment processes across the university, a recommendation that we must integrate into the plan. Finally, the recently approved University of North Carolina strategic plan, “Higher Expectations,” has clear implications for the work of individual UNC institutions, including WCU. Our strategic plan update must align with system goals, which are centered on the areas of access, affordability and efficiency, student success, economic impact and community engagement, and excellent and diverse institutions. The good news is that, in many ways, the essence of the UNC system plan is right in WCU’s wheelhouse. We have assembled a 16-member committee, under the leadership of Carol Burton ’87 MAEd ’89, associate provost for undergraduate studies, which is in the midst of an eight-month process of reviewing and revising the “2020 Vision” plan. This truly is an updating, not a from-the-ground-up comprehensive planning process. When the committee’s work is done by the year’s end, we should have a refreshed strategic plan that is grounded in our university’s mission and budgetary realities, albeit with an eye toward enhancing our fiscal resources; that reaffirms our commitment to excellence, student success, and external focus and engagement; that represents a shared, comprehensive vision; and that aligns with regional and state priorities, state and federal regulations, best practices and an intensifying demand for accountability. The revised “2020 Vision” plan will be truly strategic, beginning with the end goal in mind – our vision of where WCU will be several years hence – rather than starting where we are today. While the latter approach can result in incremental progress, the former – the future perspective – is where transformative change begins. There will be ample opportunity for input from all university stakeholders – students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, friends and residents of the region the university serves. Among those opportunities to help shape our university is through an online survey at the website strategicplan.wcu.edu. I encourage you to participate. We want to hear from you! This is an exciting time for Western Carolina University, a place that is changing lives. I welcome your continuing involvement with your university by contributing to the process of revising our strategic plan. Together, we can chart the path to a bright future, one that capitalizes on our present momentum and that is grounded in our tradition of serving the people of Western North Carolina and meeting the needs of our region, state, nation and world. Go Cats! David O. Belcher Chancellor Fall 2017| 5 THE INBOX COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS Email us at magazinestories@wcu.edu or send us a letter to 420 H.F. Robinson, Cullowhee, N.C., 28723. We’ll select a few to share with your fellow readers. Letters may be edited for clarity and length. Have a comment about this issue? Let us hear from you! As a freshman in 1985, I did not realize Brown Cafeteria existed until I moved to Reynolds Hall for my sophomore year. I recall walking “down the hill” to class and noticing a building I had never seen. When I investigated, I was so surprised to find a cafeteria on “the Hill!” Dodson Cafeteria was full of activity and where you went to see and be seen. But I came to love Brown because it seemed so relaxed. I started eating in Brown often once I found it, as it felt like a hidden gem, only known to those who lived on “the Hill.” I have fond memories of Brown, and look forward to seeing the renovations when I visit Western. Christian Cook ’90 MPA ’93 My favorite memory of Brown Cafeteria has to be spring semester 1993. I was eating lunch with friends from my dorm when in walked a very tall guy wearing a fraternity jacket. My heart stopped and I knew he would be “the one.” Turns out we had the same last name! Two years later, we eloped a day after graduation. He still makes my heart stop, 21 years and two kids later! Lori Frazier Frasure ’95 Brown Cafeteria memories…the pretty color of orange of the doors at the front entrance and the many different desserts. Lyndon Smith ’61 In an effort to find out why there was a WCU sticker in my magazine, I read that to enter your contest I had to reply by one of two types of social media. Well, right there I was left out. I do not subscribe to either one of your methods of entry. Since my back window already has seven stickers on it, I will just keep this sticker someplace where I hope I can find it when needed. I think it is a cheap promotion when there are people who went to WCC before even email was invented. ‘Nuff said. Charles S. Boswell ’66 Thanks for my new sticker! This is a great marketing idea, and I hope it continues in every issue because I’ve got a couple more vehicles that need them! I, too, am tired of those dang evil ‘A’ stickers and love that WCU is taking a new vision on promoting a positive image and marketing. I just wish it had happened when I attended. Thanks again. Go Cats! Andrew Burton ’05 MAT ’10 I just received my Western Carolina Magazine. I absolutely love the fact a WCU sticker was included! An awesome idea! Todd Herms ’05 MPA ’07 After reading the winter 2017 WCU magazine from cover to cover, I just had to read again the article “Professor Provides Peruvian Perspective” and view that awesome photo of the professor and her students! Many decades ago, I stood where Professor Beth Wall-Bassett ’00 and her students stand in the picture! Details of her adventure brought back to me the wonderful memories I hold for taking 10 teenagers on an American Field Service Exchange to Peru. My students were from the coal-mining region of East Tennessee and apparently very healthy kids! I was the only person who succumbed to the dreadful revenge bestowed upon the Spaniards because of the Spanish invasion many centuries ago! Eva Nell Mull Wike Kudos to Bill Studenc MPA ’10 and staff on another wonderful magazine. I love Chancellor Belcher’s openness and honesty about his illness. He is an inspiration. The story on Noble Hall is exciting with all its possibilities. I also commend the high quality of the photography. Anna T. McFadden After reading “Noble Culture,” my mind was flooded with memories of the commercial strip referenced in the article and other memories of WCU: Maw, Coonie and Jimmy always being around; Cullowhee Five-O on patrol; Tripod the three-legged dog that hung around Dodson Cafeteria; throwing Frisbees one spring Saturday barefoot on the lawn between Helder and Leatherwood and the very next Saturday 4 inches of snow were on the same lawn; the Lambda Ki Alpha raft race where first place did not matter, but having the best “party raft” did; calling WCU “UCLA” (University of Cullowhee, left of Asheville); and, finally, driving up to the Jackson County Airport, looking down on the WCU campus and realizing what a truly beautiful place WCU is. Kevin Johnson ’81 I usually scan the magazine and find it to be interesting and informative. However, this time I find that, on page 33, there is an extremely offensive picture. To me, it does not matter how “artistic” this is supposed to be, it does not fit with my concept of my alma mater. If WCU has, indeed, succumbed to the liberal garbage that most colleges are embracing these days, then I am really ashamed to claim it as my school of record. It may be that only the “older, more conservative fuddy-duddy” graduates would feel this way, but I am sure there are others besides me, whether they express it to you or not. Joyce Roberts ’60 The photo in question, 2 Spectators Climbing a Tree, a sculpture by Gerit Grimm 6 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Sgt. Jacob Deal ’09 ’15 of the Western Carolina University Police Department is the inaugural recipient of the University of North Carolina system’s Officer of the Year Award for Outstanding and Exceptional Service in recognition of his work in campus outreach activities, including those focusing on sexual assault prevention. Deal, a member of the WCU Police Department since February 2011, received the award from UNC President Margaret Spellings during an annual meeting of the system’s police chiefs in April in Chapel Hill. “Ensuring the safety and security of our campus communities will always be a top priority,” Spellings said. “I applaud Sgt. Jacob Deal for his leadership in ensuring that Western Carolina University is a safe environment in which our students, faculty and staff can live, learn and grow.” Deal assumed responsibility for the WCU Police Department’s Support Services Section in May 2015, taking on responsibility for leading its efforts in investigations, community programming, victim services, evidence room management and record-keeping. In that role, Deal began to actively promote the department’s community programming activities to students, faculty and staff. In just one year, his efforts resulted in an increase of nearly 100 percent in the number of people who have attended police-delivered programs on campus safety, sexual assault awareness, crime prevention and active shooter training, said WCU Police Chief Ernie Hudson. “It is important to note that much of our programming occurs after ‘normal’ business hours,” Hudson said. “Sgt. Deal has personally attended and participated in most of these programs, as he recognizes the importance of the safety of our community, crime prevention and community/police partnerships.” Deal also has been instrumental in the development of materials designed to assist and support the victims of crime, especially during vulnerable times early in an investigation, Hudson said. “As our experience tells us, victims can be overwhelmed by too much information presented at the outset of an investigation. Criminal investigations, university investigations, mental health and medical services, and community services can all seem too much to ask a victim to remember,” he said. “Sgt. Deal also does a follow-up contact with victims to ensure that their questions or concerns are addressed and that they are fully aware of the various services and support groups available to them.” -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 POLICE OFFICER RECEIVES UNC SYSTEM’S ‘TOP COP’ AWARD Jacob Deal ’09 ’15 discusses campus safety issues with students at Valley Ballyhoo, WCU’s annual welcome back celebration. Fall 2017| 7 Poet and novelist Ron Rash (above), the John and Dorothy Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, is recipient of a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for 2017. Announcement of Rash’s inclusion in the diverse group of 173 scholars, artists and scientists from the U.S. and Canada selected for the fellowships was made in April by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The fellowships are awarded “on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise,” the foundation RASH RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIP said in announcing the recipients. Honorees were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants in the organization’s 93rd competition. Each of the 2017 recipients will receive a $50,000 award to support his or her work. “It truly is an honor for me to be chosen for this award, especially because many writers whom I admire have received this award in the past,” said Rash, a resident of Cullowhee. “I am humbled to find myself mentioned alongside the likes of Cormac McCarthy, Margaret Atwood and Raymond Carver.” Rash came to WCU in 2003 to join the Department of English as the university’s first Parris Distinguished Professor. His latest novel, “The Risen,” hit bookstores last September. He is author of six other novels, including The New York Times bestseller “Serena,” and numerous collections of short stories and poetry. Richard Starnes ’92 MA ’94, dean of WCU’s College of Arts and Sciences, said the fellowship provides another piece of evidence of the author’s stature on the national and international literary scene. “Ron Rash is the defining voice in Appalachian literature today, but he is so much more,” Starnes said. “In the tradition of Eudora Welty and William Faulkner, Ron uses his native region to ask profound questions about the complexities of the human heart, man’s relationship with nature, and sense of place. In this way, his work speaks to people everywhere with power and grace.” The fellowship is the latest in an ever-expanding roster of honors for the native of Boiling Springs. A teacher of poetry, literature and creative writing at WCU, Rash has received the Sherwood Anderson Prize, the Novella Festival Novel Award and the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and is twice winner of O. Henry awards. His 2015 “Above the Waterfall” was the Prince of Tides Literary Prize Winner in the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance’s 2016 Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize competition. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 Brian Kloeppel (above), who had been serving as interim dean of Western Carolina University’s Graduate School and Research since July 2015, now is in the position on a permanent basis after approval of his appointment last summer by the Board of Trustees. Named associate dean of the Graduate School in January 2013, he filled a vacancy created in June 2015 when Mimi Fenton, dean of Graduate School and Research for three years, stepped down to return to a faculty role in the Department of English. Appointment of Kloeppel to the permanent position followed a national search. “Brian distinguished himself as an exceptionally strong candidate through his outstanding service as interim dean and as associate dean before that,” said Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar. “Working in close collaboration with the deans and program directors, he made significant progress in the marketing and support of graduate education at WCU. This has resulted in increased enrollment in a number of our graduate programs.” Prior to coming to WCU in 2008, Kloeppel was a research faculty member with the University of Georgia for 14 years and was the site director for the National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research Program at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory near Otto in Macon County. In addition to his role as an advocate for graduate education at WCU, Kloeppel serves as chief research officer for the university’s Sponsored Research Office, which supports the faculty, staff and students who conduct research funded by external and internal sources. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 KLOEPPEL TAPPED TO LEAD GRADUATE SCHOOL, RESEARCH 8 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Western Carolina University has been recognized as one of America’s “Colleges of Distinction” for 2017 by a national guidebook and online resource, citing WCU as where students go “to learn, to grow and to succeed” in an environment that prioritizes faculty-student mentoring and outstanding teaching as well as diverse academic and co-curricular programs. Since 1999, the Colleges of Distinction website and guidebook have recognized and honored schools throughout the U.S. for excellence in undergraduate-focused higher education. The listings are designed for prospective college students, their parents and high school counselors. High school counselors and educators make the nominations. Each nominated college is then evaluated on key indicators including student engagement, student empowerment and curricular innovation. The selection process also includes a review of each institution’s freshman experience, as well as its general education program, strategic plan, alumni success and satisfaction measures. WCU is one of 10 North Carolina institutions included in the current edition. “High student engagement in college is one of the keys to a successful undergraduate education,” said Tyson Schritter, Colleges of Distinction executive editor. “With an increasing emphasis on hands-on learning techniques, (we) applaud Western Carolina University for practicing methodologies that prepare students for their futures.” -By Geoff Cantrell WCU NAMED TO ‘COLLEGES OF DISTINCTION’ LIST FOR 2017 Recreational therapy student Gretchen Reece and Nettie Green, a resident of the Hermitage assisted living facility in Sylva, enjoy an adaptive device bicycle ride. Fall 2017| 9 Three Western Carolina University faculty members have been named recipients of prestigious Fulbright Scholar awards and will be engaged in individual scholarly projects in Hungary, New Zealand and Mexico. They are Mimi Fenton, professor of English; Turner Goins, the university’s Ambassador Jeanette Hyde Distinguished Professor of Gerontological Social Work; and Paul Worley, assistant professor of English and director of the graduate program in English. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international exchange initiative sponsored by the U.S. government and is administered through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in which Fenton, Goins and Worley will participate sends approximately 800 American scholars and professionals to about 130 countries annually to lecture or conduct research in a variety of academic and professional fields. While WCU has had faculty participation in the program in the past, it is rare for a regional comprehensive university of its size to have three recipients in the same year, and it is an indicator of the overall quality of the faculty, said Alison Morrison- Shetlar, WCU provost. “These faculty members continue to be an inspiration to our community, and especially to our students who, through faculty mentorship and engagement in scholarly endeavors, also may aspire to excellence in a variety of ways, including by seeking Fulbright awards. I am proud of the recognition these awards have brought to WCU,” Morrison-Shetlar said. Fenton’s teaching and research will take her to Budapest, Hungary, from January through June in 2018 to continue her internationally recognized scholarship into the works of English literary giant John Milton. Goins’ research project will lead her to New Zealand from February through November in 2018, where she will take a qualitative approach in examining the meanings, beliefs and practices of healthy aging among a group of older Māori, the indigenous people of that country. Worley will be teaching English at a university in Mexico and collaborating with faculty members there to create English language pedagogical materials designed to assist speakers of the indigenous language Tsotsil Maya as they seek to become teachers and speakers of English. -By Randall Holcombe THREE WCU FACULTY MEMBERS NAMED FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS From left, Mimi Fenton, Paul Worley and Turner Goins are WCU’s Fulbright Scholars. 10 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Julie Johnson-Busbin, professor of sales and marketing in Western Carolina University’s College of Business, has been named one of the top teachers in the University of North Carolina system in recognition of her ability to present information that is applicable to students’ professional and personal lives and to help them succeed in the business world. The 2017 UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching also recognizes Johnson-Busbin’s knack for helping students develop an improved outlook about themselves and their potential for success. “My goal is to afford students the chance to try new skills, receive feedback, critique themselves and try again. I like to push students when they haven’t reached as far as they JOHNSON-BUSBIN NAMED ONE OF UNC SYSTEM’S TOP TEACHERS The unit formerly known as the Division of Development and Alumni Engagement is gearing up for the public phase of Western Carolina University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign by making some internal changes aimed at better positioning the campaign for success. In addition to the recent appointment of an assistant vice chancellor and wrapping up searches that are currently underway to fill vacant development director positions, the division has changed the sign on the front door of its suite. Effective July 1, the unit is known simply as Advancement. The new name for the unit was approved recently by the university’s Executive Council and is based on a recommendation after a comprehensive administrative program review completed by Washburn and McGoldrick, a national consulting firm that has worked with educational institutions across the country. The more succinct name “Advancement” is designed to recognize the change in leadership last year from an associate vice chancellor to a permanent vice chancellor and to more accurately represent the comprehensive nature of the role of the unit, said Lori Lewis, the division’s vice chancellor. “We are not only responsible for alumni engagement and fundraising but also outreach and communication to all constituents about the impact of gifts as well as the importance of financially supporting and being involved with WCU,” Lewis said. Although the university once had a Division of Advancement and External Affairs, the change of name for the unit does not reflect a return to that old organizational structure, Lewis said. WCU’s external affairs functions – including marketing, communications, public relations, government relations and special events – which were part of the previous division that was dissolved in 2013, remain under the executive leadership of Chief of Staff Melissa Canady Wargo in the Chancellor’s Division. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 DEVELOPMENT, ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT DIVISION IS NOW ‘ADVANCEMENT’ are capable, yet provide support when they’ve stretched as far as they can,” she said. “What I would argue is that often the actual content of the class is not what students remember several years down the road. I believe that it is helping students bet ter understand themselves and giving them insight into the potential that makes each one unique.” WCU alumni now employed by companies such as E*TRADE, Financial Corp, United Parcel Service, Sherwin- Williams and IBM raved about Johnson-Busbin’s performance as a teacher and her impact on their success as students and professionals. A former student said Johnson-Busbin “has an innate ability to state the facts of the ‘real world’ to her students and prepare them for those realities better than any other educator I’ve been around.” Johnson-Busbin and the 16 other recipients of the UNC honor, representing an array of academic disciplines, were nominated by special committees on their home campuses and selected by the Board of Governors Committee on Personnel and Tenure. Winners receive a commemorative bronze medallion and $12,500 cash prize. The board established the awards in April 1994 to underscore the importance of teaching and to reward good teaching across the university system. -By Randall Holcombe Julie Johnson- Busbin interacts with students in the College of Business. Fall 2017| 11 Western Carolina University and Jackson County Public Schools are collaborating on the formation of a lab school designed to help students in grades six through eight successfully transition into high school through implementation of a “whole school, whole community, whole child” approach. Christened “the Catamount School” and located on the campus of Smoky Mountain High School, the school will have the capacity to serve 25 students in each of the eligible grade levels (six through eight). It is scheduled to be in operation when the 2017-18 school year begins. WCU is one of eight University of North Carolina system institutions identified as candidates to establish and operate laboratory schools serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade, as required by a provision in the 2016-17 state WCU LAUNCHES THE CATAMOUNT SCHOOL THIS FALL Kim Winter (right), former associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Education and Allied Professions, now has a much shorter job title. That’s because Winter was approved in April by the executive committee of the WCU Board of Trustees to take on the role of dean, succeeding Dale Carpenter, who returned to a faculty position July 1. Winter had been serving as associate dean since 2012. As associate dean, director of WCU’s teacher and professional education programs and professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, Winter had proven herself up to the task of leading the academic unit that is tied most closely to WCU’s founding as a teacher preparatory institution, Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar said. “This is an especially critical time for the College of Education and Allied Professions as we prepare to launch the Catamount School this fall and as we continue to work to help solve a growing teacher shortage facing our state,” Morrison-Shetlar said. “Dr. Winter’s familiarity with these issues, as well as her experiences in the allied fields of human services and psychology, will allow her to hit the ground running on day one in the dean’s office.” Winter said her varied roles as a public school teacher, university faculty member, program coordinator, associate chair, intern, fellow, administrator and parent make her “uniquely suited” to serve as dean. “I have learned so much in the nearly five years I have been here. It is my belief that you learn to become a leader and continue to learn in your role. It is not an easy task to quantify all that I have learned during this time, but know this – the learning never stops,” she said. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 WINTER LEADING COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ALLIED PROFESSIONS budget enacted last July. Under the legislation, the lab schools must be located in public school districts where at least 25 percent of schools have been classified as low-performing, based on student achievement data. They will operate as public schools of choice, with a mission to improve student performance in eligible school districts and provide exposure and training for teachers and principals to successfully address challenges existing in high-needs school settings. Jackson County school officials have worked side-by-side with university personnel in solidifying the details for the Catamount School, said former superintendent Michael Murray MAEd ’88 EdS ’05 EdD ’08, now leading Cherokee Central Schools. “Jackson County Public Schools are excited for this unique opportunity to build on our collaborative educational partnership with Western Carolina University and form an innovative new choice for our middle-level students,” Murray said. “This program will be an excellent example of combining the strengths of both organizations proactively to focus on the whole child during the developmental stage when our children need it the most.” Under the legislation mandating the formation of lab schools, the school’s principal and teachers will be employees of WCU. The university’s Board of Trustees will be the governing body for the school, with responsibility for its operation and outcomes. The board approved Robert Dinsdale MSA ’08, former Smoky Mountain assistant principal, as Catamount School director. -By Bill Studenc MPA ’10 Robert Dinsdale MSA ’08 checks out the site of the Catamount School. 12 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University The bad news is that Western Carolina University has lost two members of its Board of Trustees. The good news is that WCU now is very well-represented on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, with four former trustees serving on the UNC system’s policy-making body. Earlier this year, the N.C. House of Representatives elected Asheville attorney Carolyn Coward, who had been serving as WCU board secretary, to the Board of Governors, while the N.C. Senate elected former Raleigh mayor Thomas H. Fetzer, a trustee at WCU since 2015, to the UNC board. They joined fellow former WCU trustees W. Louis Bissette Jr., an Asheville attorney who is serving as chairman of the UNC board, and C. Philip Byers MPA ’99, a Rutherford County educational foundation executive. UNC BOARD INCLUDES FOUR FORMER WCU TRUSTEES From left, Tom Fetzer and Carolyn Coward share a moment during their final meeting as members of the WCU Board of Trustees. Filling the remaining two years of the terms of Coward and Fetzer on the WCU board are Timothy W. Haskett ’82 MBA ’84 of Kings Mountain and Rebecca H. Schlosser ’73 of Greensboro. Haskett, a native of Sylva, has held a variety of finance-related positions during his 32-year career with Duke Energy. A Greensboro resident, Schlosser is a former high school teacher and a current community volunteer. In addition, Haden Boliek MS ’94 of Fayetteville and Robert C. Roberts of Asheville were appointed to full four-year terms on the WCU board that began July 1. They fill vacancies created as trustees F. Edward Broadwell Jr. of Asheville and Phil Drake of Franklin completed their terms in June. Boliek is founder of Pediatric Developmental Therapy Inc., a multidisciplinary practice offering speech, physical and occupational therapy. She also hosts the twice-a month “Working Therapist Podcast.” Roberts is regional executive vice president for First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. and serves as chairman of the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority. Appointments to the WCU board were approved by the Board of Governors, which also endorsed the reappointments of trustees Gaither Keener ’72 of Mooresville and Kenny D. Messer ’86 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to four-year terms. In addition, the General Assembly reappointed Joyce Conseen Dugan ’75 MAEd ’81 of Cherokee and John R. Lupoli of Highlands to four-year terms. Fall 2017| 13 Western Carolina University once again has been named a 2017 “Best College Value” in an annual review of colleges and universities released by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. WCU is ranked 98th among public higher education institutions across the nation in terms of value for in-state students and 83rd for out-of-state students. The rankings are based on admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, four-year graduation rates, costs of attending, financial aid and average debt of students at graduation. “We are pleased that Western Carolina University once again has been recognized as one of the top 100 values among public colleges and universities in the nation,” said Chancellor David O. Belcher. “We believe this to be an especially important ranking because it incorporates measurements of both academic quality and affordability, with more weight given to academic quality. Affordability and academic quality are precisely what prospective students and their parents say are among their top issues when deciding where to go for a college education.” WCU is one of seven schools in North Carolina ranked among its top 100 public college values. The magazine’s review begins with a list of 1,200 public and private schools, with a final 300 evaluated as a best value, said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. WCU NAMED A ‘BEST COLLEGE VALUE’ BY KIPLINGER’S MAGAZINE Friends and alumni of Western Carolina University continue to respond to Chancellor David O. Belcher’s plea for additional financial assistance to help deserving students be able to attend the university, with 23 new endowed scholarship funds created in recent months. During his 2012 installation address, Belcher identified increased funding for student support as the institution’s top philanthropic priority. Through endowments of at least $25,000, scholarship assistance can be awarded on an annual and ongoing basis. New endowed scholarship funds established since Oct. 31, 2016, are: Dr. William R. Higgins Endowed English Scholarship, for students majoring in English; donors Gerald Matheny ’70 and Judy Matheny. Bradshaw Family College of Business Endowed Scholarship, for College of Business students with demonstrated financial need, with preference to marketing majors; donors Brad Bradshaw ’76 and Eileen Bradshaw. Randall and Sybil Duckett Endowed Scholarship, to support one undergraduate student and one graduate student in the College of Education and Allied Professions; donors represented by Thomas Duckett and Laura Duckett. Joan and Chris Meister Endowed Scholarship, to be awarded in alternate years to students pursuing degrees in the College of Education and Allied Professions and the College of Engineering and Technology, with preference to first-generation students; donors Joan Meister and Pam Meister. Coach Johnny Wike Athletic Scholarship, awarded to student-athletes competing on either the football team or men’s or women’s golf teams, with preference to teacher education majors; donors represented by Matt Wike ’91. Sherwin-Williams Company Endowed Scholarship, for students pursuing degrees in the College of Business, with preference to sales or marketing majors; donor Sherwin- Williams Company. Honors College Endowed Scholarship, for students admitted to the Honors College; donors represented by Jill Granger. Karen Styles ’94 Endowed Scholarship, for students majoring in recreational therapy; donors represented by Jennifer Hinton and Brenda Holcombe ’94. Bruce and Mary Clayton Family Endowed Scholarship, for students pursuing a major in the College of Business, with preference to Jackson County residents; donor Bruce Clayton ’71. Mark A. Tedder Family Endowed Athletic Scholarship, for student-athletes, with preference to N.C. students in the College of Business; donor Mark A. Tedder ’75. Ted and Avis Phillips Scholarship, for members of the football team from Western North Carolina, with preference to student-athletes from Graham County; donors represented by Teddy Phillips Jr. Michael Paysour Parks and Recreation Management Endowed Scholarship, for students majoring in parks and recreation management; donor Michael Paysour ’74. KKSB (Kappa Kappa Soccer Babes) Legacy Endowed Scholarship; for sophomores, juniors or seniors on the women’s soccer team; donors represented by Tina Weaver ’04. Ed and Donna Broadwell Scholarship, for undergraduate students who graduated from public high schools in Western North Carolina; donors Ed and Donna Broadwell. Daniel B. Yoe Family Endowed Scholarship, for students in the College of Business with demonstrated financial need; donor Daniel Yoe ’74. Dr. Daryl L. Hale Endowed Scholarship, for juniors or seniors majoring in philosophy or in special or interdisciplinary studies; donor Brandon A. Robinson ’05 MA ’10. Harold E. and Henrietta (Saltz) Anderson Endowed Scholarship, for students majoring in teacher education or in birth-kindergarten education; donor Estate of Harold E. Anderson. Florence Bannon Endowed Nursing Scholarship, for students enrolled in the RN to BSN program; donor Florence Bannon. Gaither M. Keener Political Science Scholarship in Honor of Dr. Gerald Schwartz, for students majoring in political science; donor Gaither M. Keener ’72. Myra Grant Endowed Scholarship, for students with demonstrated financial need; donor Myra Grant ’70. Susan Brummell Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts Endowed Scholarship, for students majoring in any program in the College of Fine and Performing Arts; donors David O. Belcher and Susan Brummell Belcher. Drew Lewis White Memorial Scholarship, for first-generation college students with demonstrated financial need, with preference to students from Ohio and Western North Carolina; donors Lori A. Lewis and Jeffry K. White. Dorothy P. Bell College of Fine and Performing Arts Endowed Scholarship, for students with demonstrated financial need majoring in any program in the College of Fine and Performing Arts; donor John L. Bell. For information on how to establish an endowed scholarship, visit the website give.wcu.edu. 23 NEW ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS CREATED 14 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University The website WalletHub.com crunched the numbers earlier this year to determine a list of the “Best & Worst Cities for College Basketball Fans in 2017.” North Carolina has three cities in the top 10. Chapel Hill at No. 1 and Durham at No. 3 probably wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. The No. 10 pick may – Cullowhee. The unincorporated Jackson County community is home to Western Carolina University – and men’s and women’s basketball teams that combined last season to win only 17 of their 62 games. So how did Cullowhee score a Top 10 ranking? WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzales said that factors beyond wins and losses are taken into account when identifying the top cities for college basketball fans. “Western Carolina has about a 50 percent win percentage over the last three seasons. Not the best, but certainly better than almost 150 teams analyzed in the 30th or 40th percentile,” Gonzales said. “The team has a large social media following relative to the size of the school/town, which certainly helps. It also has the ability to fit a large chunk of its student population into its arena, something that Cameron Indoor certainly can’t boast,” she said. “As Cullowhee exemplifies, teams with decent play and followings can certainly climb to the top, as well.” Chad Gerrety, WCU associate athletics director for external affairs, conceded the school was surprised by the ranking, but said the athletics department strives to make each game in Cullowhee as fan-friendly as possible. “We appreciate it, and the ranking did surprise us, especially when you see the size schools and cities we are ranked with. We would be glad to have a team like Kentucky or Duke come experience our atmosphere,” Gerrety said. “Seriously, several people in our athletics department in various jobs worked hard to make sure basketball is fun for students and families. It doesn’t cost an arm and leg, and things like parking are free. We’ve worked hard to put an emphasis on the atmosphere and making it the best it can be.” Along with the atmosphere at games, WCU athletics has more than 13,000 followers on Twitter (@Catamounts) and more than 31,000 followers on Facebook. Gerrety said WCU’s marketing and ticket operations offices target group sales and halftime acts to provide entertainment at games at the 7,826- seat Ramsey Center. He also credited a committee of students, administrators and others that was formed after the 2015-16 season to explore ways to enhance the fan experience. “It really helped us take some steps in the right direction,” Gerrety said. “Among the things we heard was people would like a few Saturday night games. Their kids had activities in the day on Saturday and they wanted the chance to come at night. We worked that in, and it was successful. We’ve got more to do from the committee’s suggestions, but it was good to hear those ideas and listen to what was being said.” The effort has helped with the fan experience, said Jackson County resident Michael Forbis ’02. “My mom and dad go to almost every game, and WHEE RANK CULLOWHEE IS NAMED A TOP 10 SPOT FOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL FANS By TODD VINYARD CATAMOUNT ATHLETICS Clockwise from above, WCU’s Ramsey Center made a national list of top spots for college hoops, thanks in part to the game-day atmosphere contributed to by the cheer and dance teams, Purple Thunder drum line and the Cathouse Band. they take our boys a lot. The ushers are always friendly, and they greet us by name they see us so often. It is great to have something like this in a rural community to help expose your kids to a bigger picture and not just be at home playing video games,” Forbis said. “If you were going to do this in a larger city the cost could be 10 times higher, especially with things like the Catamount Kids Club that offer discounts on tickets to kids for joining,” he said. “Western in general is a great place to take in events that are not tremendously expensive, especially for young families.” Students enjoy the basketball opportunities, too. “It is definitely nice to have these type of events on campus,” said WCU student Kendra Graham. “The friends I’ve made here at WCU and I try to experience new things like the basketball games and sporting events, so it is fun to experience those together as part of being in college.” Reprinted in edited format with permission of the Asheville Citizen-Times HOW CULLOWHEE BECAME A 10 WalletHub analysts looked at 291 U.S. cities that have at least one NCAA Division I basketball team and used seven metrics on which to base its rankings: * number of Division I basketball teams * performance level of team(s) during the past three seasons * number of Division I championship wins * number of regular-season championships * minimum season ticket price * fan engagement (number of Twitter followers, Facebook likes, per capita) * stadium capacity WALLETHUB’S TOP 10 1. Chapel Hill 2. Los Angeles 3. Durham 4. Bloomington, Indiana 5. Philadelphia 6. East Lansing, Michigan 7. Lawrence, Kansas 8. Lexington, Kentucky 9. Storrs, Connecticut 10. Cullowhee Fall 2017| 15 16 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University CATAMOUNT ATHLETICS John Wiley, a former longtime assistant coach at Appalachian State University, has traded in the black and gold for the purple and gold after being named defensive coordinator by Western Carolina head football coach Mark Speir MAEd ’95. Wiley brings more than 30 years of coaching experience at a variety of levels to the Catamount football program. Wiley returns to the familiar mountains of Western North Carolina after spending six seasons in the eastern part of the state at East Carolina. “John is an experienced coach and a proven winner. We coached together at Appalachian State where John led our defense and was a part of that staff that won three national championships and six Southern Conference titles. He also brings over 20 years of experience in recruiting North Carolina to the position,” Speir said. “It is always comforting to hire a guy you have worked with and trust. John will move in from day one and understand our vision and the expectations for this Catamount football program. He will be a great representative for Western Carolina University,” he said. During his six seasons as the associate head coach and linebackers coach at East Carolina, Wiley helped guide the Pirates to four bowl game appearances and helped transform ECU’s defense into one of the nation’s top 40 units in two of his final three years. He was instrumental in producing six all-conference players including three first-team selections, a Freshman All- American and a conference freshman of the year. SPEIR BRINGS IN A FAMILIAR FACE AS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR By DANIEL HOOKER ’01 A story in the winter 2017 edition of this magazine characterized J.T. Poston ’15 as the first Catamount to make the PGA tour. Retired sports information director Steve White ’67, the walking encyclopedia of WCU athletics, points out that former WCU men’s golf team member Stan Shaw ’64 played briefly on the tour in the 1970s while working as a golf pro in Florida. REQUEST FOR A SHAW SHANK REDEMPTION John Wiley is calling the defensive shots for Catamount football. Fall 2017| 17 WOMEN’S SOCCER EARNS NATIONAL ACADEMIC HONORS FOR 11TH TIME By DENISE GIDEON The Western Carolina University women’s soccer team received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America College Team Academic Award again last year, marking the 11th consecutive time the Catamounts earned the academic accolade. The honor was in recognition of the accomplishments of the team during the 2015-16 season. From 2005 to present, the Catamount women’s soccer program has been a staple on the NSCAA Academic Award list. During the 2015-16 season, the Catamounts, coached by Chad Miller, notched a team 3.50 grade point average to earn its latest appearance on the list. A total of 893 soccer teams (315 men’s squads and 578 women’s) from across the United States earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award for exemplary performance in the classroom as a team during the 2015-16 academic year. To qualify for the award, a team must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher for the entire academic year. The team score is determined by adding every player’s GPA, then dividing by the number of players. TAKE YOUR NEXT STEP EARN YOUR GRADUATE DEGREE More than 40 graduate programs in Cullowhee, Asheville, and Online F GRAD.WCU.EDU The soccer Cats’ frequent appearance on the list of top academic-achieving teams in the nation provides another piece of evidence of WCU’s commitment to the “student” half of the term “student-athlete,” said Randy Eaton, director of athletics. “Our top priority is to offer each and every student-athlete a great undergraduate experience in the community, in the classroom and on the fields and courts of competition, and to ensure their WCU experience always culminates with a degree from Western Carolina University,” Eaton said. “I’m proud of what the accomplishments of the members of our women’s soccer program in the classroom say about our commitment to student success.” 18 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University It’s another season, another pair of championships for the Western Carolina University men’s track and field team. The squad captured its fourth-straight Southern Conference Indoor title in February in Johnson City, Tennessee, by downing second-place Samford by 15 points. A couple of months later, the team won its second consecutive conference outdoor track and field crown in Birmingham, Alabama, edging second-place Samford by just six points and clinching the title in the final event MEN’S TRACK TEAM CLAIMS TWO MORE CONFERENCE TITLES By SEAN FORRESTER of the day, the 4x400 relay. The WCU women came up just short of winning their third indoor title in the last four years as they fell to Samford by 56.5 points in February, also taking second place in May’s outdoor meet when they were outpaced by 51 points by Samford. The championships are the first under first-year head coach Cale McDaniel ’10 MAEd ’13, who served as an assistant coach for many WCU championships in the past. WCU crowned four individual champions and one relay champion on the final day of the indoor championships including two women’s individual titles and two men’s individual titles. Sophomore Miles Greer won the competition’s Pinnacle Award, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the championship-winning team in each SoCon sport. In the outdoor events, the Catamount women took home two individual wins and swept the relays while the men had three individual titles and won the 4x400 relay. WCU sophomore Dakota Wright received the men’s Pinnacle Award for the outdoor championships. CATAMOUNT ATHLETICS The men’s outdoor track and field team (above) celebrates its second consecutive conference championship, thanks in part to the performances of Keion Crossen (far right) and Dakota Lamont (near right). Fall 2017| 19 20 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University On virtually any college campus, they’re there — students who have recently exited foster care or who are homeless, wards of the state or orphaned. And most of the time, they’re invisible, blending in with the student body at large and keeping their struggles wrapped in a tight armor of privacy. A new initiative at Western Carolina University, however, will reach out and serve those students in a way that no other college in the state is doing. “It really just fell right into place,” said Keith Henry ’85 MBA ’92, chief operating officer of the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina. “It was like a puzzle ready to be put together.” Called HOMEBASE College Ministry, the program is headquartered in what was once the Baptist Student Union building, on Central Drive next to the Cullowhee Baptist Church, and funded mainly by the Baptist Children’s Homes. Staffed by a full-time director and equipped with a kitchen, stocked pantry, laundry room and big-screen-TV-equipped living room, among other amenities, it’s meant to serve as a home base for students who don’t have a home base. It’s a place to recharge in the company of people who understand and a place to get help with the things that parents would ordinarily supply — anything from a few extra groceries during a week when money is tight to help figuring out what to wear to a job interview. THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOM E The former Baptist Student Union houses a new program offering a support system to parentless students By HOLLY KAYS Fall 2017| 21 “Next year, I want to see the outreach and advocacy really come to life,” said Sophia Calhoun ’17, who was a student leader in the effort. “I think this building is the best way to do it. I want to have speakers. I want to give a student panel where high school students come and ask questions. I want people to start knowing this building is on campus. If that happens, we’ll see more students from our population that we didn’t even know were here.” HELPING THE FORGOTTEN When Lowell Davis, assistant vice chancellor for student success, came to WCU four years ago, it was with the desire to serve the students on his new campus who didn’t have family support. He’d seen the need during his previous job at the University of Alabama and quickly found himself wrapped up in the problem of addressing it. Davis’ involvement at Alabama started when a student from the Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega showed up at the administration building one summer. He wasn’t supposed to enroll until the fall, and he had absolutely no resources to start life on his own. “He needs housing, he needs classes, he needs a meal plan, he needs all these things and he has no one to guide him on what to do,” Davis recalled. Davis worked with him to find housing and enroll in summer classes. He gathered donations from his local church. And then he started thinking. “I began to ask how many other students are on our campus who are very similar to him,” Davis said. “They’ve aged out of foster care, they show up on our campus and they have to figure out what to do.” That led to what became a full-blown community program that drew support from other senior-level university faculty. They partnered with a foundation that offered to support the students, and families in the community volunteered to be paired with students who needed a shoulder to lean on — whether that be someone to call with questions about professional dress or how to fix a car, a place to stay over Christmas break when the dorms are closed, or someone to provide a home-cooked meal when the grocery money runs out. Davis saw the results. That first student, the one who showed up out of the blue from Talladega, is now working for a Fortune 500 company. His sister, who followed him to Alabama, completed a term with Teach for America and is now working full time. “I came to WCU realizing I had a passion for helping the forgotten students,” Davis said. There were plenty of them to be helped. During the fall 2016 semester, Davis counted 103 students who fit the criteria. Initially, he followed the same blueprint he’d developed at Alabama — generating a list of financially independent students, sending out invitations and holding a meeting. “The needs were a little different than Alabama,” Davis said. One of the first requests was always for more counseling support, and students also wanted an adult confidante they could trust, like a parent. Then, of course, financial support and help with necessities like food and books and medication. Calhoun became a member of the group early on. The students dubbed themselves RISA — Resilient Independent Student Association — and began to meet regularly, hanging out for bowling and movie and pizza nights. “For a long time, Wednesday game nights are one of the HOMEBASE activities organized by Jim Dean (standing). 22 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University we stumbled over that ‘what do we want to do’ aspect of it because we didn’t know,” Calhoun said. “Is this going to be a group that someone asks you when we need 20 bucks, or is this going to be a group that does something?” Eventually, the students decided they wanted to be an advocacy group and began to plan what is now a yearly event — “Telling Our Stories.” The students get up on stage, in front of university officials, Board of Trustees members and loved ones they’ve personally invited, and they tell the long versions of what has happened in their lives. It’s a somber event that doesn’t seek to shield audience members from the full force of the stories. It seeks to make them understand. For Calhoun, who became an orphan at the age of 13, the experience was emotional and cathartic in a way she hadn’t expected it to be. At one point in her story, she cried. Usually, when sharing her past with someone, she peppers the tale with jokes and lighthearted comments to make it easier on the listener. “In that case, I had to see what the weight of a story would do without relieving the pressure,” she said. CREATING THE FOUNDATION With RISA thriving, and Davis’ job responsibilities increasing, Davis reached out to Henry to see if Baptist Children’s Homes might be able to help. “Really, it was a no-brainer,” Henry said. “These are the children who grew up in the system, they were part of the foster care system, and now they’re on their own and they need a family. That’s what we do.” And, he had an idea. A WCU alum, Henry knew that the Baptist State Convention had an underutilized building on campus. So he called John Butler, executive director of the convention’s business services group, and asked for the building. “It’s rare that you call somebody and ask them for a building, but he said, ‘Probably.’ So we met the next day at that building,” Henry said. “He drove up from Cary and basically handed me the keys and said, ‘Have at it.’” The Baptist Convention also put in $25,000 to start renovations, and the Baptist Children’s Homes put in another $75,000, with ongoing expenses to total $100,000 per year. Gifts from Phil Drake, a WCU trustee from Macon County, and the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina also contributed, and WCU placed a couple of student workers in the building. With the help of student volunteers and interior design expertise from WCU associate professor Erin Adams, work started last September to haul trash, paint walls, redo flooring, install Wi-Fi and replace furniture. Opening day was getting close. Henry realized the program would need a full-time director, and he knew who his first pick would be — Jim Dean, a pastor, WCU adjunct professor and foster parent. Dean took the job. “This program is really geared to helping students that have no family or parental support,” Dean said, “but Baptist Children’s Home has also said to me, ‘We’re not checking IDs at the door. If a student needs help, help a student.” He’s excited about the possibilities. With the renovated building unveiled last February, the program isn’t expected to fully take off until this fall. However, a nightly schedule of activities already is in place — classes teaching life skills are on Mondays, TED talk discussions are on Tuesdays, game nights are Wednesdays, the Baptist Student Fellowship holds a meal and worship service on Thursdays and movie nights are Fridays. Coming up, HOMEBASE likely will offer weekend trips and outings. Dean is working with WCU to provide services like addiction support groups at the location, because there might be less stigma associated with walking into HOMEBASE than with walking into a counseling office. Calhoun and Dean both hope to do more outreach to find students who need HOMEBASE and draw them in. Davis’ data indicates that more than 100 such students are enrolled at WCU, but Calhoun is in regular contact with only about 30 of them. If the model succeeds, it could spread to other schools as well. Henry’s been getting a lot of interest from other universities in the state, but money is always the issue. “Financially, we’re Annie Soonah shares a light moment with other students at a “Telling Our Stories” program. Fall 2017| 23 not in a place where we can do that right now, but it’s not out of the question for the future,” he said. A GROWING POPULATION The number of parentless students at WCU seems poised to grow. The existence of the program will serve as its own recruiting tool, steering students who fit the population to consider WCU above other schools. And the number of kids in foster care is growing in the state overall, thanks to the opioid drug epidemic. “We’re just seeing families torn apart by this crisis right now, so these kids are in the system and who knows how long they’ll be in the system,” Henry said. “Sometimes they’re in and out pretty quickly. Sometimes when we get them they’re with us or in a foster home until they age out. With more kids coming in, there’s going to be more coming out the other end.” According to the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, the number of youth aging out of foster care jumped 10.4 percent between 2015 and 2016, the highest jump since data compilation began 16 years ago. In January, 10,722 children were in state custody, according to data from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That’s up from 8,721 four years ago. Of former foster kids who attend college, fewer than 10 percent nationwide graduate; more than 90 percent do not. And the resulting low lifetime earnings coupled with the emotional — and sometimes physical — baggage of a troubled past can keep these young adults from realizing their potential, and can even cause them to perpetuate the cycle into which they were born. With HOMEBASE, the hope is that the students will graduate, life will get better and they’ll pass on a legacy of positivity rather than pain. “We hope that the love and care we give them while they’re here will propel them on to a better life,” Henry said, “and break this cycle they were a part of.” Community support is needed to make HOMEBASE work. For more information, contact Jim Dean, jdean@bchfamily. org or 828.508.0035. Mail checks to HOMEBASE at P.O. Box 2133, Cullowhee N.C. 28723. Reprinted in edited format with permission of the Smoky Mountain News Sophia Calhoun ’17 is among the student leaders in the effort to assist students without parents. Taking part in the HOMEBASE ribbon-cutting ceremony are (from left) Baptist Children’s Homes CEO Keith Henry ’85 MBA ’92; Michael Blackwell, president of Baptist Children’s Homes; WCU Provost Alison Morrison- Shetlar; Lowell Davis, assistant vice chancellor for student success; Jim Dean, HOMEBASE director; and Susan Belcher, WCU first lady. 24 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Fall 2017| 25 Perhaps it was inevitable that simmering racial tensions sparked by a spate of police shootings of black men across the U.S. and fueled by a contentious presidential campaign emerged at Western Carolina University during the 2016 spring semester. The rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the pro-police counterpart Blue Lives Matter, angry rhetoric directed at Hispanic and Muslim immigrants, the growth of the alt-right faction and a resurgence of student activism on campuses nationwide were a perfect storm, combining to spawn a racially charged atmosphere. In Cullowhee, the catalyst for heightened tension was a display of student-created posters in the Department of Intercultural Affairs designed to draw attention to the issue of police brutality toward African-Americans. Some students took offense, expressing support for law enforcement via social media posts. Those posts inspired other students to write sidewalk chalk messages showing pride in their various cultures and ethnicities, which in turn led to strong – sometimes racist – posts on a social media platform that allows users to remain anonymous. As part of ongoing efforts to improve the campus climate on issues of race, diversity and inclusion, the university scheduled several open discussions throughout the 2016 spring semester. Among the suggestions arising from those discussions was the need for training for faculty and staff on how to talk about tough issues with other members of the campus community, which led to summer and fall workshops. In addition, after studying the campus climate for much of the 2016-17 academic year, a joint task force on racism, chaired by faculty member Kathleen Brennan, made recommendations to WCU’s administration focused on the need to prioritize diversity and inclusion on campus, and the desire for additional educational opportunities related to diversity and inclusion. During a task force forum this past April, Chancellor David O. Belcher reminded the campus community that WCU “…is not alone in grappling with the issue of racism.” As evidence of what Belcher has characterized as a commitment to “WCU as a vibrant, inclusive and diverse institution,” the university hired its first chief diversity officer, Ricardo Nazario-Colon, last spring. That position, however, had been in the works long before the tensions of 2016; Belcher announced in August 2014 an “an enhanced, in-it-for-the-long-haul commitment to diversity” that would include the budget-neutral creation of a position to lead campus diversity efforts. For predominantly white WCU, such efforts are becoming critical in the face of dramatic demographic shifts among high school graduates. Nationally, demographers predict that the number of Asian high school graduates will increase by 41.28 percent between 2013 and 2027, while Hispanic graduates will increase by 36.29 percent, American Indian/Alaska native by 12.33 percent and African-American by 4.49 percent. Conversely, the white/non-Hispanic segment will decrease by 11.11 percent. As the diversity of the campus inevitably increases, the university has an opportunity to expose students to cultural differences that will make them more effective employees and leaders in the global job market, Nazario-Colon said. “It is important to assist all of our community members in navigating not only this institution but also the communities that we are preparing our students to join. In the end, regardless of our differences, we are all part of the same community, both locally and globally,” he said. “Yes, our campus is not immune from racial, political or ideological discord. But, with an emphasis on ensuring an inclusive living and learning environment, WCU is a welcoming place for all, a place that is leveraging the power of diversity to enhance the productivity and intellectual personality of all members of our campus community,” he said. In the pages that follow, members of the WCU campus community share their perspectives on race, diversity and inclusion, in vignettes compiled by Marlon W. Morgan. WCU takes steps to improve the campus climate on issues of race and inclusion magazine.wcu.edu 26 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Clifton Price '09 Graduate school: School counseling Hometown: Hickory While attending WCU as an undergraduate, Clifton Price ’09 said he never personally encountered any mistreatment as an African-American. He views his experience in Cullowhee as inspiring. “At WCU, I learned so much valuable information. I gained a sense of hope for humanity,” Price said, recalling a day one of his white friends joined him in Brown Cafeteria. “We were casually eating lunch and my friend looked at me and said, ‘Thank you, Clif.’ I was confused, and asked my friend to explain. He said, ‘Clif, I thank you for changing my views of black people.’” Price was still perplexed. “He went on to explain that, before meeting me, he was extremely prejudiced toward people of color. He also explained that, for his entire life, he was taught it was perfectly fine to judge a person of color before getting to know them. So, he thanked me for changing his views,” Price said. “I felt empowered and saddened at the same time – empowered because I broke through a barrier, but sad because I knew there were millions of other people like my buddy who wouldn’t have that breakthrough.” While his campus experiences were mostly positive, Price did witness disturbing events, including a dead bear that was found near the Catamount statue with two Barack Obama campaign posters on its head. He also remembers a noose being discovered in Brown Cafeteria. Off campus, Price said he was treated differently by mechanics and at restaurants, grocery stores and elsewhere. “My experience has been one of difference, injustice and pain,” Price said. “But, it’s also been one of resilience, endearment, triumph and success. My experiences have led me to be courageous, to be empathetic and to be loving, because I’ve seen the alternative. I’ve been down that road. And in order for us to grow as a society, we have to open up our hearts and love a lot more than we already are. We need to look at each other and accept the differences that we see. It’s perfectly fine to be different, but it’s not OK to be treated differently. “My story has been one of many obstacles I’ve had to overcome, and I’ve overcome them. I want people to know that it doesn’t matter what your circumstance may be. You have the power to overcome. You have to find what makes you go. WCU taught me so much and I’m extremely thankful for having had the experience to be a Catamount. There’s a reason I went back to WCU for graduate school.” Antonio Corza '16 Graduate school: Finance and accounting Hometown: Statesville As a Latino graduate student in the finance and accounting program at WCU’s Biltmore Park instructional site, Antonio Corza ’16 views himself as a role model to current and future Latino students. Corza is a first-generation college student. Both of his parents are from Mexico, where they completed only elementary school “because they didn’t have the money to pay for school,” Corza said. After coming to the U.S., Corza’s parents worked hard to ensure that their children would have the opportunity to go to college. “They always told us that school is important,” he said. “They wouldn’t let us work at all because they wanted us to focus on school and not get distracted by anything else. When I graduated from high school, it was not only my moment, but also theirs because they worked hard for me to stay in line.” Although diversity is increasing at WCU, Corza said he often is the only one in his classes. Still, he wants to help pave the way for others. “I feel privileged and blessed to be in a classroom. Even though I’m often the only Latino student, I’m going along with the trend, leaving stepping stones for the next students to come,” he said. “I can talk to Latino students in the undergrad program and be like a role model to them,” he said. “I can be like that point person to talk to and answer any questions they might have. Latinos can relate to each other.” Corza said he has been treated fairly both by his classmates and his professors throughout his time at WCU. “My professors are motivating me to do bigger and better things,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m treated any less as a Latino student.” Fall 2017| 27 Erica McCurdy Year: Sophomore Major: Undecided Hometown: Raleigh Erica McCurdy is technically in the majority as a white student at WCU. But because she prides herself on having friends from various ethnicities, McCurdy often finds herself in the minority. For instance, when she joined WCU’s Inspirational Gospel Choir last year as a freshman, McCurdy was one of just three white members in the mostly African-American choir. Growing up Catholic in Raleigh, McCurdy was definitely out of her comfort zone. “At first, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to sing gospel music,” she said. “I had been singing in school choirs my whole life. I didn’t know if I was going to fit in. But I loved it. It’s just been so interesting to learn. They’re like, ‘You don’t know this song? I learned this song in church when we were like 4 years old,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m brand new to this.’” Growing up in schools where white people were in the minority, McCurdy took advantage of opportunities to learn about other cultures. “I feel like I’ve gained the respect of a lot of people through that,” she said. “I’m trusted for that and it’s always been a part of who I am as a leader. I was the student body president at my high school. I feel like I got that role because people trusted me, because I knew where everyone was coming from.” McCurdy also feels like her relationships with minorities have helped influence other white people. “I don’t hang around that many white people. When I do, they ask me, ‘How do you know those things? Do you just ask them, because I don’t know what to say?’ I say, ‘You just have to keep yourself open and not make it sound accusatory or like you’re just too ignorant to actually understand.’ I think I definitely have opened a lot of eyes,” she said. McCurdy encourages other white people to get out of their comfort zones, like she has done by joining WCU’s choir. “One of the biggest things my mom asked me was, ‘Are there any other white kids in there, Erica?’ I said, ‘Actually, there’s a few. I thought I was going to be the only one.’ There’s more people coming in. I think we have a pretty diverse group. It’s interesting that we all come together for this one thing,” she said. Jacob French Year: Senior Major: Business law Hometown: Reidsville After attending a marching band symposium for high school students in 2012, Jacob French knew he wanted to attend WCU. Today, as a member of the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band, French is in charge of running that summer symposium. Prior to enrolling, French told his mom he was going to WCU strictly for an education. But it didn’t take him long to realize he was going to learn far more outside of the classroom than inside. Growing up in rural Reidsville, French discovered in eighth grade that he was gay, but he kept it to himself. Shortly after arriving at WCU, members of the band made him feel comfortable enough to share who he really was. The first person he told was former drum major Brandon Truitt ’16, who also is gay. “He kind of knew, and he just made me feel comfortable,” French said. “We hung out, and one day I trusted him enough to actually tell him I’m gay. He helped me come out to other people. It made me feel more comfortable coming out to my brothers in my fraternity. My brothers have been so accepting. That’s why I haven’t been really scared to tell other people.” French said that Cullowhee is a place where he feels safe and at home. “(Reidsville) is where the more negative reactions come in, which is why I don’t really go home,” French said. “I always stay at Western, even over the summer when I’m not in school. I just love being at Western and the positive vibes this campus puts out.” French now finds himself in the supportive role Truitt once held. French has been instrumental in helping other gay students at WCU navigate their way. “I’ve helped plenty of people accept who they are,” he said. “That’s why I feel like I was meant to be at Western. I found my help, and I feel like it was my turn to help others. It’s something I definitely enjoy doing, just advocating for equality everywhere. “I’m not ignorant to the fact that not everybody on campus is going to be accepting. That’s kind of what college is. College is a smaller version of the rest of the world. Everybody has different ideas and opinions. That’s just something you live with and don’t let that bring you down,” French said. 28 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Jenifer Montoya Velasquez Year: Junior Major: Criminal justice and biology Hometown: Hickory Among the first things Jenifer Montoya Velasquez noticed when she arrived on campus is the lack of fellow Latino students. That’s why Velasquez joined the Latino Appreciation Student Organization, giving her a support group. Joining LASO is just what the first-generation student needed to blossom. Velasquez, a junior, joined other organizations and is now president of LASO. “As a freshman, I was not the person I am now,” she said. “I’ve grown tremendously with my leadership skills. Being involved in organizations has allowed my leadership skills to flourish. It has really brought me a lot of awareness about the problems we have on campus and around the world.” Velasquez and her family moved to Hickory when she was 4. Her mother owns a cleaning business while her stepfather owns a lawn-mowing company. A criminal justice and biology major, Velasquez realizes the opportunity she has. “I have to do this to have a better life, because I’ve seen the struggles,” Velasquez said. “I’ve seen what it looks like in Latin countries where there’s poverty, school is not even an option and you have to go to work. I’m really appreciative I had the opportunity to come here to have an education.” Velasquez said she has found WCU to be a place where students can express different ideas and beliefs. But her encounters with white students haven’t allowed her to affect awareness of Latinos the way she has seen happen with other minorities. “With other minorities, we learn that we are much more similar than we are different. At the end of the day, we’re all struggling and we’re all in the same pool. Just because you’re Hispanic and just because you’re black doesn’t mean we’re different. We’re all fighting the same struggles and oppressions that we have today in society,” she said. “What I can take away from being at Western is to stand up for who I am and for my culture, to not be afraid to speak up for who you are and what you believe in. Honestly, coming here has allowed me to step out of that comfort zone and develop those skills,” Velasquez said. Keiara Isom Year: Junior Major: Biology Hometown: Charlotte Growing up in Michigan and Charlotte, Keiara Isom was accustomed to being in diverse environments. When she graduated from high school, it would have been easy to follow her friends to colleges with diverse populations. But Isom wanted a different experience. So, she left the city for the mountains of WCU. Isom has found predominantly white WCU to be very accepting of minorities overall. She has noticed the curiosity of some white counterparts, particularly when it comes to her different hairstyles. “It seems weird, but it’s also funny that they’re interested in why my hair is straight one day and super curly the next day,” Isom said. “It’s something I think is normal, but others think it’s fascinating.” While she has enjoyed many positive experiences as a minority at WCU, there have been negative occurrences, such as racially charged chalk writings during the 2015-16 academic year. Discussing that situation with white peers often left her feeling uncomfortable. “It was kind of awkward,” Isom said. “I’m a biology major so, in most of my classes, I may be the only African-American student, or the only African-American female, so everybody was kind of asking me my opinion and how I felt. I had no problem expressing it, but I just kind of felt like the odd person sometimes.” Isom said those incidents brought African-Americans at WCU closer together. It also was a learning experience for her. “It wasn’t like we were trying to be violent, or anything like that. We were just supporting each other. A lot of the chalkings were harsh, and they did hurt some people’s feelings. For me and some of my African-American friends, it was more about being there for each other more than we were in the beginning,” Isom said. “For the people who were asking how I felt about it, they wanted information. They wanted to be educated. I guess it made me feel important. If they didn’t care, they would have never asked.” Fall 2017| 29 Kiara Hines Year: Senior Major: Social work Hometown: Rutherfordton For Kiara Hines, coming to WCU was no different than attending a predominantly white high school in Rutherfordton. It wasn’t until the campus discord surrounding the 2016 presidential election that Hines felt discomfort. “Last year, there were a lot of chalkings around the middle of campus,” Hines said. “I worked as a tour guide, so I had to try to explain that everyone has a right to freedom of expression, but obviously there was a lot of concern about the things they saw. It made me question the character of some of the students.” Hines said a lot of the opportunities she’s had at WCU have come while being one of a few minorities. Last spring, she went to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Memphis. Hines said she was one of about three African- American students selected to attend from WCU. “We’re not always well-represented on campus,” Hines said. “But I feel like the (minority students) who are here do a lot. If we weren’t here, I feel like the campus would be a lot different.” There is one thing Hines would like to see change on campus. “I would like white people to be more understanding and not be so quick to judge people,” she said. “We adapt because we’re used to adapting, but it would be nice if white people would try to change instead of always wanting things to be modified for them.” As president of the Inspirational Gospel Choir, it’s one of the few times on campus when Hines gets to be in the majority. The choir has three white members, but Hines said she would like to see it become more diverse. “I think it’s saying we’re trying,” Hines said of the white members. “I think we’re trying to be more cognizant. It’s going to take some time. I think because of where we are geographically, not everybody is accepting right away. But I think we’re addressing it and we’re taking some steps in the right direction.” Aaron Alexander Year: Senior Major: Marketing and entrepreneurship Hometown: Shelby Whether he agrees with them or not, Aaron Alexander doesn’t have a problem with people speaking their minds, as long as they abide by one simple rule. “I feel like everyone should be able to express their views, whether it’s the College Republicans or the Black Student Union, as long as they stay respectful of everyone,” Alexander said. There were several incidents on the WCU campus during the 2015-16 academic year when that didn’t happen. One that stands out most to Alexander occurred during a Black Lives Matter silent protest that he attended. “There was a student, I think he was a freshman, and you could tell he was totally against it the whole time,” Alexander said. “He said, ‘Gorilla Lives Matter,’ instead of ‘Black Lives Matter.’ I just really couldn’t believe he said that. I felt like it was important to let everyone know that it did happen and stuff like that continues to happen every day. As white people on a predominantly white campus, we shouldn’t pretend that doesn’t happen.” It was a rude awakening for Alexander, who attended a predominantly white high school in Shelby, but had never witnessed racial tensions like he did that year at WCU. “I grew up around African-Americans playing sports,” Alexander said. “For the most part, we got along and treated each other the same. I feel like with the political race, it just kept building and building and building.” Fortunately, Alexander said, the campus has returned to normalcy since the election. But the racial tensions definitely served as a learning experience for everyone, he said. 30 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Channa De Silva Associate professor, bioinorganic chemistry After completing postdoctoral research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Channa De Silva was looking for a position where he could teach and conduct research at the undergraduate and graduate levels. De Silva found the balance he was seeking at WCU, joining the faculty in 2010. A native of Sri Lanka, he had concerns about the small number of international faculty members at WCU and low percentage of Asians in the area. “At that time, there were probably 10 to 20 (international faculty members) out of 200,” he said. “My daughter started going to kindergarten. She was the only Asian student in the whole class. Even nowadays, even though it’s growing a little bit, I went to her sixth-grade honors reception and I was the only one with this (skin) color.” But overriding factors led De Silva to WCU – the weather, mountains and friendliness of the faculty. Not only was his interview process smooth, but he was touched that people remembered him when he returned to start working. “I also like that I have support from the faculty members,” he said. “If I have to use an instrument, if I don’t know anything about it, everybody will jump in and show me how to use it. And when they find research opportunities, they will forward them to me. They helped me to get students in the beginning.” He attended college in Sri Lanka before heading to the University of Arizona to earn his doctorate. Although the landscape at Arizona is more diverse than at WCU, De Silva said being a minority faculty member at WCU has its positives. “Students are curious about my culture,” he said. “I can start a conversation with a student. If I don’t have a topic, we can talk about food or things like that. I have played music at the International Festival. Every year, they invite me to play Sri Lankan or Indian music. I really enjoy that. I consider that a service to the university.” De Silva also answers questions and gives advice to international students. “Even though I’m not an international specialist, I can advise and talk to them like a faculty member and give them options on what to do and what not to do,” he said. Enrique Gomez Associate professor, astronomy and physics One of the appealing things about teaching at WCU for Enrique Gomez was the ability to reach a large population of first-generation students. Gomez was looking for a university where he could teach introductory physics and astronomy while utilizing some of his innovative techniques. Although WCU is a predominantly white campus, Gomez, who is biracial (white mother, Mexican father), looked forward to teaching African-Americans and a growing Latino population. “I grew up navigating between two cultures,” Gomez said. “At times in my life, I felt I thrived more when I helped people from another culture. I lived at the intersection of many identities.” Although conversations about diversity don’t naturally occur in physics and astronomy, Gomez tries to integrate elements from non-Western and non-European teachers into his classes. “I believe minorities have something to say about physics, mainly because of particular concerns with the environment, as well as making science accessible to a large audience,” Gomez said. Gomez said when he earned his doctorate, he was the only Latino with an astrophysics degree graduating that year in the U.S. Those numbers are increasing, and Gomez would like to see more Latino faculty members at WCU. “It is isolating,” he said. “Sometimes I wish I had another person that I could speak Spanish with more often.” In addition to his activities at WCU, Gomez works with K-12 students in local communities where Latino and Asian populations are growing. “I had a Latino student that I encourage at Fairview Middle School in preparing her for the astronomy event in the Science Olympiad. She did very well. I was very proud of that. Little things like that can have quite an impact,” Gomez said. As president of the Jackson County NAACP, Gomez is believed to be the first Latino to lead a North Carolina branch. In that role, he looks to support a broad movement. “I believe we are still trying to integrate into our notion of ‘country’ the sons and daughters of slaves and native people, and recent immigrants,” Gomez said. “We have a lot of unfinished business, which I thought by this time and my age would have been superseded.” Fall 2017| 31 Jane Adams-Dunford Assistant vice chancellor, student affairs It didn’t take Jane Adams-Dunford long to be sold on moving from Oklahoma to WCU. Her husband also was open to the idea. It was her oldest son, a football and basketball player, who needed convincing. At family meetings as they discussed pros and cons of moving to the mountains, Adams-Dunford showed her son Cullowhee’s location on the map. “When I pulled it up on the map, he said, `The pro scouts aren’t going to be able to find me. It’s not on the map, mom,’” she said. “I said, ‘It’s that dot right there.’ We laugh about that to this day.” That was in 1998. Her children are now adults and Adams- Dunford loves the area. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t issues and concerns along the way. “There were the regular concerns – where do we get our hair cut, will the kids have teachers that look like them,” she said. “There were the rebel flags. My boys hadn’t been exposed to that. But they had a really firm and grounded knowledge of who they were as far as their black history and what it meant to be a black male. They were confident and knowledgeable from that perspective, and being a part of a campus community with amazing students was so helpful in their transition to the Whee.” One of the things Adams-Dunford appreciated during her interview process was the time set aside for her to speak with other African-American faculty and staff so they could address her concerns. In time, she assimilated into the community through serving on the Cullowhee Valley PTA, Smoky Mountain High School athletics booster clubs and youth sports organizations. During her time at WCU, Adams-Dunford, a native of Shelby, has seen WCU’s number of African-American faculty members shrink, something she believes could negatively affect the student experience. “It is my hope that we continue to be more intentional in our efforts to recruit and retain faculty and staff of color,” she said. “Students of color have shared that they miss not having an African-American faculty member. I truly believe that it promotes your self-esteem, your ability to engage and be comfortable in your learning environment when you see someone who looks like you,” she said. “There are commonalities for sure, but our experiences make us different. After all, it is the people that make Western such a special place.” Kofi Lomotey Bardo Distinguished Professor Kofi Lomotey arrived at WCU in 2013 as the John and Deborah Bardo Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership. During the interview process, he was impressed by the people he met and excited about WCU’s doctoral program in educational leadership. But Lomotey, an African-American, couldn’t help but notice the limited diversity of WCU’s faculty and student body. “There was one other African-American faculty member who was full-time, and she had been denied tenure, so that was her last year,” Lomotey said. “There was a similar concern with regard to the student population. I know it’s difficult in that part of the country, that part of the state, to attract both a diverse faculty and a diverse student body.” WCU does face challenges in attracting faculty of color, said Lomotey, who commutes to campus from Atlanta because he prefers to live in a major metropolitan area. Last fall, the university had seven black faculty members, 10 Hispanic faculty and 23 Asian. “A prospective faculty member of color does research on Western Carolina, or comes in and interviews at Western Carolina, and they don’t see very many people that look like them. That’s a red flag. Just a simple thing like an African-American woman being concerned about where she can get her hair done, or being concerned about African-American churches.” Lomotey is proud that his program has one of the most diverse faculty groups on campus, with two African-Americans and one Asian, as well as gender orientation diversity. “The program has three African-American students in its most recent cohort in the doctoral program. That’s the most we’ve ever had,” he said. Nevertheless, Lomotey said a more diverse faculty is beneficial, not just for African-American students, but all students. “For many of our students, this is their first experience on a college campus. For African-American students, if they don’t see anybody that looks like them, they might not envision the possibility of becoming a professor,” he said. “When you have a diverse faculty, you have diversities of opinions and views and perspectives on the curriculum, and on life in general. That’s important for all students.” 32 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University An interdisciplinary learning theme fosters campus conversations and connects students with collaborative opportunities for an integrated campuswide experience. For the past seven years, WCU has selected a learning theme for such reasons. This marks the first time that faculty, staff and students were able to vote on a topic. Of the six choices, “Cherokee” received nearly a third of the votes. The 2015- 17 theme of “Africa! More than a Continent” ended at the conclusion of the spring semester. In announcing the selection, Carol Burton ’87 MAEd ’89, associate provost for undergraduate studies, said the learning theme “will afford us an opportunity to really dig in and not just articulate better our relationship with the Cherokee, but build on it, enhance it and, more importantly, educate our students and faculty and staff about the Cherokee and this beautiful place where we are and its importance.” The tribal and demographic context for the theme of “Cherokee” will be largely in keeping with WCU’s neighbors, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the portion of their ancestral home that they still retain, the Qualla Boundary. During the Indian Removal of 1838, the Cherokee who owned lands largely in present-day Swain and Jackson counties as a collective – with the deeds held by a white “chief” – were not forced to leave their homes, while others evaded capture by hiding deep in the Great Smoky Mountains. Today, the Eastern Band is a federally recognized tribe, and the 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary and numerous land parcels in Cherokee and Graham counties is a sovereign nation, with its own government, judicial and law enforcement system, schools and more than 15,000 enrolled members. “The Cherokee people have a very rich history in Western North Carolina, some of it right here on our very own campus, something that many folks are not aware of,” said Lisa Bloom, chair of the learning theme steering committee and the Jay M. Robinson Distinguished Professor of Educational Technologies. “Even more importantly, they have a thriving culture that contributes in so many ways to our lives in the region. My hope is that, through the campus theme, our students, faculty and staff will explore the rich culture and heritage of the Cherokee people, understand and appreciate their contributions both past and present, and make connections with the Cherokee community.” BY GEOFF CANTRELL When it came time to select a new interdisciplinary learning theme, Western Carolina University didn’t need to look far. The heritage and tradition of a proud people permeate the very ground upon which the university is built. Thus the selection of the 2017-18 theme of “Cherokee: Community. Culture. Connections.” The title photo above shows a detailed portion of Judaculla Rock, a large boulder near the WCU campus covered in elaborate petroglyphs and revered by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. COMMUNITY. CULTURE. CONNECTIONS. Fall 2017| 33 The ties between WCU and the Eastern Band are indeed deep and historic. WCU’s Cherokee Studies Program, with both undergraduate and graduate degrees, is renowned for its curriculum in the culture, language, history, health and environment of Cherokee and indigenous issues. The Sequoyah Distinguished Professorship in Cherokee Studies, fully funded in 1998, is currently held by Brett Riggs, a research archeologist who has worked with the Eastern Band on projects since the 1990s. In 2016, the university signed a memorandum of agreement with the Eastern Band and two Oklahoma-based Cherokee tribes to continue its commitment to the academic study and promotion of Cherokee language, history and culture. WCU also is a lead partner in the ongoing Cherokee Language Revitalization Project, an initiative to provide broader, more comprehensive training and learning opportunities. For example, Project Songbird, a collaboration with the Eastern Band’s Kituwah Preservation and Education Program, recorded original songs in the Cherokee language. Another example is the work with the New Kituwah Academy, a Cherokee immersion school, where Bo Lossiah ’05, curriculum, instruction and community supervisor, has been a leader in those efforts. Last year, the preservation and education program and WCU’s Cherokee Language Program worked with the WCU Print Shop to create card games for learning Cherokee pronouns, as well as a Cherokee language board game created by WCU graphic design students. The games were given to Hunter Library’s Special Collections and the New Kituwah Academy. “New Kituwah Academy is a multifaceted school, so our first goal is a quality education for the children,” Lossiah said. “Preservation of our language is important, too, though, and must be considered a part of that quality education. As our instruction has evolved, we’ve found conversational Cherokee is a good beginning for learning. Our challenge has been finding volunteers to come in and speak with the students and share life experiences. There are maybe 230 Cherokee speakers now, with 80 percent older than 60, I’d estimate. That really shows the importance of this instruction and Western’s support. Younger students get immersion lessons in Cherokee, older students get dual language.” The WCU Cherokee Center, established in 1975, serves tribal and nontribal residents of the Qualla Boundary and the surrounding communities by improving educational opportunities. “We want to bring as much of Cherokee to WCU as we want Western to come to Cherokee,” said Sky Sampson ’10, recently appointed center director and an enrolled tribal member. “I think we can make connections back and forth with so much we have planned and things under consideration, and there are so many WCU alumni in Cherokee and the Qualla Boundary.” One of the many events in which the Cherokee Center will be involved during the learning theme is a two-day solar eclipse celebration in August. In partnership with the Eastern Band, the Cherokee Historical Association and the Museum of the Cherokee Indians, the center will host events based around the nearly two minutes of total darkness beginning at 2:35 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, making the town of Cherokee a probable prime viewing location. The astronomic phenomenon was described by the ancient Cherokee as when a giant frog that lived in the sky had swallowed the sun, causing darkness to occur during the daytime. The Cherokee would gather and beat drums and make noise so as to frighten the great frog away, allowing the sun to shine brightly again. Also during the year, WCU’s Central Hall, a residence for some 300 students, will be rededicated as Judaculla Hall to commemorate the university’s historic connection to the Eastern Band and to acknowledge the unique heritage and From top to bottom: Board games created by created by WCU graphic design students and produced by the university’s Print Shop help teach the Cherokee language to students at the New Kituwah Academy, a Cherokee immersion school. An archaeological field school explores Cherokee heritage on campus in a dig supported by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Tribal Historic Preservation Office and the N.C. Office of State Archaeology. Exhibits at the Fine Art Museum will support and enhance the campus learning theme, such as Bernadine George’s ceramic two-handled pot that is featured in “Ancient Forms, Modern Minds: Contemporary Cherokee Ceramics,” on display through Friday, Nov. 10. 34 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University history of the Cherokee people. According to Cherokee folklore, all of campus and the surrounding Cullowhee Valley was once the earthly home of a giant, Judaculla (Tsu la ka la), a powerful hunter with slanted pupils in his eyes who could traverse the mountains and the spiritual realm with ease. Judaculla Rock, a large boulder linked to the legend that contains some of the best preserved and most significant petroglyphs east of the Mississippi River, is located south of campus. Indian artistry, crafts and dance will be a significant focus of “Cherokee: Community. Culture. Connections.” The WCU Fine Art Museum is hosting “Ancient Forms, Modern Minds: Contemporary Cherokee Ceramics,” which features the work of 11 Cherokee artists such as Joel Queen ’05 MFA ’08 and Davey Arch and brings together historic and contemporary pottery techniques, through Friday, Nov. 10. The museum also will host a national traveling exhibit, “Return from Exile: Contemporary Southeastern Indian Art,” from Aug. 21 to Friday, Dec. 15, with more than 30 contemporary Southeastern Native American artists working in a variety of media including painting, drawing, printmaking, basketry, sculpture and pottery. A symposium on the exhibit will be held Nov. 10. Signature campus events throughout the academic year will highlight Cherokee connections to the region and the university. Mountain Heritage Day, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30, always has carried Cherokee elements, such as stickball games, as part of the cultural festival. Organizers are planning for expanded and highlighted roles this year. The 16th annual Spring Literary Festival will include a Cherokee theme day. The eighth annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium, a collaborative gathering that seeks to integrate indigenous and local knowledge with health and environmental issues, will continue narratives of Native American culture. Other events to be scheduled are a Cherokee language symposium, a cultural immersion trip and a tentative campus “pow wow.” “We’re super excited about this opportunity, especially since the overall population at WCU selected Cherokee as the next theme,” said Sampson, WCU’s Cherokee Center director. “Those results give me a personal sense of pride in knowing that others are reaching out to learn more about our people and our culture. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the coming year within this fantastic collaboration.” We want to bring as much of Cherokee to WCU as we want Western to come to Cherokee. –Sky Sampson ’10 “ ” Winter 2017| 35 To kick off Western Carolina University’s yearlong campus learning theme focused on “Cherokee,” perhaps nothing could have been more appropriate than an honorary doctorate bestowed upon tribal elder Jeremiah “Jerry” Wolfe during May’s commencement exercises. The 92-year-old Wolfe, a D-Day veteran, teacher, community leader, storyteller and artist, accepted the honorary degree by inviting audience members to sing along to a hymn of deliverance, his voice in Cherokee and theirs in English. U ne hla nv i u we tsi Amazing grace I ga go yv he i How sweet the sound na quo tso sv wi yu lo se That saved a wretch I ga gu yv ho nv Like me Chancellor David O. Belcher called Wolfe “a cherished living repository of his tribe’s wisdom,” whose efforts have enriched the cultural landscape of Western North Carolina, the state and nation. “You have served with exemplary distinction and dedication throughout your life as a member of your community and as a conservator and icon of Cherokee language and culture,” Belcher said. “You have been a tradition-bearer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, preserving and teaching the Cherokee language, stickball traditions, knowledge of plants and traditional medicine, myths and legends, and oral history.” Wolfe is an integral and valuable asset for WCU, with a decades-long list of activities and involvement ranging from interviews for the award-winning documentary “First Language – The Race to Save Cherokee” to serving as a panelist at a Native American Heritage Expo event on campus, participating in chancellor installation ceremonies and taking part in Mountain Heritage Day. When WCU calls, he answers. Wolfe grew up in Big Cove, one of the six townships on the Qualla Boundary, in a household that spoke Cherokee. At the age of 7, he went away BELOVED BEGINNING Cherokee elder Jerry Wolfe receives an honorary doctorate BY GEOFF CANTRELL to boarding school where speaking his native language was strictly forbidden. He left after completing the 10th grade to join the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he survived the Normandy invasion as a landing craft operator, taking infantry ashore at heavily contested Omaha Beach. After the war, he returned home, started a family and was an instructor at the Oconaluftee Job Corps for more than 20 years. Since 1997, Wolfe has worked at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, where he has shared his extensive knowledge of tribal history and culture with thousands of visitors. Over the years, he also has presented programs on those topics across the state and Southeast and has been interviewed and featured in many publications and video productions. The honorary doctorate goes along with many other awards, including a 2010 Brown-Hudson Folklore Award and the tribal title of “Beloved Man,” an honor so rare it had been more than 200 years since the last male designee. 36 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University By TERESA KILLIAN TATE Sydney Blair ’16 captured mosquitoes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park as part of her field work for a Western Carolina University course in which environmental health students help track mosquito species and the diseases they can carry. Now, Blair serves as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda working to prevent the spread of malaria, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes that is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year. When Blair visits Ugandan schools, she talks about the benefits of testing for the disease and early treatment. She takes an insecticide-treated bed net to show what she urges everyone in Uganda to sleep under, even in thatched-roof huts. She helps members of the Bed Net Brigade youth club learn how to go into villages, educate others about malaria prevention and demonstrate how to hang and care for bed nets. “I hope that families will see the children taking initiative with the nets and follow suit,” she said. Blair is one of 94 WCU alumni who have served in the Peace Corps since its founding in 1961, according to 2016 Peace Corps data. Launched by the U.S. government to promote world peace and friendship, the Peace Corps receives thousands of applications from people who want to volunteer, and selection can be competitive. In September 2016, the Peace Corps had 7,213 volunteers and trainees but received more than 23,000 applications over the course of the year. “We want to match the most highly qualified candidates with the positions that are right for them,” said Emily Webb, public affairs specialist for the Peace Corps East Region Office. Peace Corps deploys volunteers to help community members abroad develop sustainable solutions to challenges in agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health and youth development. Volunteers train for three months and commit to serve for two years. In exchange, they receive medical and dental care, transportation to and from their country and enough money to live on in the communities they serve. Today, the Peace Corps volunteers serve in 65 countries, with nearly half of volunteers in Africa and the next largest contingents in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. Last fall, WCU alumni serving in the Peace Corps were based in Uganda, Ethiopia and Guatemala. The work can be fulfilling, with opportunities to help, meet new people, learn a new language and culture, and find adventure. The experience also can be emotionally and physically challenging, said Blair and other Peace Corps volunteers connected to WCU. In addition to working in school-based malaria prevention educational outreach, Blair chairs a malaria prevention think tank that offers educational programs, training and resources Alumni, Students and Faculty Are Making a Difference – and Making Friends – Through Their Work with the Peace Corps Fall 2017| 37 Ada Sloop ’15 (facing page) displays the dreamcatcher she made for her Peace Corps host family. Sydney Blair ’16 (above) visits a Ugandan school to share information about malaria prevention. to Peace Corps volunteers and their counterparts who want to implement activities at their sites. She also is working on programs such as sack gardening, a method in which tall grain sacks are filled with dirt and seeds to form a vertical garden that produces vegetables even during the three- to four-month dry season. A significant part of her work is serving as one of five staff members at a health clinic. On Tuesdays, when mothers bring their babies for vaccinations, Blair helps weigh the children and complete their immunization cards. Among the most difficult moments for her was seeing an HIV-positive orphan whose life depended on urgent treatment for a knee infection but whose caretakers could not afford to go to a hospital. Another was witnessing a 15-year-old give birth in the health clinic without family or friends there for support. “I have seen that happen several times,” said Blair. “There is no way to prepare yourself for those kinds of things.” A native of Wilkesboro, Blair said her experience has helped her to be more patient with herself and more thoughtful about what is important in life. The people she has met are so appreciative and welcoming that even when meeting for the first time they will invite her in for tea. “Time in Uganda is not like time in the United States,” said Blair. “People walk everywhere. Everything is at a slower pace, and people appreciate everything so much more. It is just a different world that’s been really hard to explain to friends and family back home.” For Teawan Gausi ’11, navigating cultural differences and perceptions to make connections with people in her community has been critical to carrying out her work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. Gausi, who earned degrees in psychology and sociology at WCU, is charged with helping young people learn life skills to lead healthier lives, teaching them about substance abuse prevention and reproductive and sexual health, and expanding their leadership skills. Sometimes, community members do not understand what the role of a Peace Corps volunteer is, or exactly what she is there to do. “The challenge is bridging the gap,” said Gausi. Gausi seized the opportunity to be a volunteer when she saw a program at Indiana University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration, that linked coursework with Peace Corps service. She became particularly interested in development work after a two-week WCU summer travel course to Kenya in 2010 led by Anthony Hickey, professor of sociology, and Nyaga Mwaniki, retired anthropology faculty member. The class stayed in the Taita Hills and studied development issues while working with Kosmos Solutions International, a nongovernmental community development and humanitarian organization. Three alumni of the Kenya service learning trips have gone on to serve in the Peace Corps, said Hickey. Service-learning experience at WCU also was meaningful for Ada Sloop ’15, an environmental health graduate who left in June to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda. Sloop was in a course taught by Lane Perry, WCU director of service learning, centered on service and leadership. The students traveled to New York and helped repair homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Afterward, she continued to be involved as the service-learning officer for WCU’s chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers. She encouraged participation in activities such as roadside and river clean-ups. After graduation, while completing an air quality internship in Cherokee, she saw photos of a classmate serving as a Peace Corps volunteer that rekindled her interest in the possibility. “I thought, ‘Wow, that really is something I would like to do,’” said Sloop. Further fueling her interest was what she remembered hearing about the experiences of Phil Kneller, a retired WCU environmental health professor who worked to help eradicate smallpox while serving as a Peace Corps 38 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University Sydney Blair ’16 works with mothers and infants at a clinic in Uganda (above). Teawan Gausi ’11 (third from left) is a Peace Corp volunteer in Guatemala. Fall 2017| 39 volunteer in Ethiopia, and conducting research in a class taught by Brian Byrd, WCU associate professor of environmental health. She applied for Peace Corps community health educator positions and was selected for a position centered on preventative health measures related to malaria, HIV/AIDS, maternal child health and hygiene. Perry said he was not surprised Sloop went on to serve in the Peace Corps. Service is in WCU’s DNA, and students who come to the university with a passion to serve graduate as informed, highly active and committed servant leaders, he said. “It is when these two elements align that WCU helps produce the balance between heart, culture, service, knowledge and leadership that produces a Peace Corps volunteer,” said Perry. What Sloop, who grew up on a dairy farm near Statesville, was most looking forward to is immersing herself in a new culture. She was excited to live with a host family and made them a dreamcatcher as a gift before she left. “It’s important to find spiritual connection with my host family, and dreams are a good way to do that,” said Sloop. Sloop said she looks forward to her experience serving and to returning with Peace Corps on her resume. “Everybody in the United States is going to know what Peace Corps is,” said Sloop. “They have a history. They have success stories. They have a foundation.” Jim Lewis, WCU professor emeritus of history, was among the second group of Peace Corps volunteers to work in Venezuela in 1964. Lewis lived in a two-room cement block house in a village of about 300 people. Electricity was available several hours a day, and the roads were mud. He volunteered at a school and helped establish credit union services in a rural coffee-growing region. “The thought was this would mainly benefit people who had no access to banks or for whom banks were not interested in opening accounts with $5 or $3,” said Lewis. “We started with $200 in the credit union, and when we left two years later we had $50,000.” The experience led him to shift his research focus from European to Latin American history, which he taught at WCU while on the faculty for more than three decades. Another former Peace Corps volunteer on WCU’s faculty, Barbara Jo White, professor of computer information systems, initiated the World Map Project for the Peace Corps. While a volunteer in the Dominican Republic in 1988, she realized paper maps would not last in that country’s rainy, humid climate, so she and two students painted a world map on a school wall. She developed a grid method to create the map to scale that is now part of a manual to help volunteers worldwide replicate the project. What faculty and staff members share with students about their personal experiences abroad and in the Peace Corps offers students insight into being citizens of the world. Byrd said seeing former students such as Blair and Sloop go on to tackle global health issues, especially as Peace Corps volunteers, is inspiring. “It is often said that ‘environmental health affects everyone, everywhere and every day,’” said Byrd. “We expect our graduates will make a difference wherever they are in the world. Ada and Sydney are shining examples of what our alumni are trained to do. They were not the first, and they will not be the last.” Faculty member Barbara Jo White (above) and students work on the World Map Project. Ada Sloop ’15 (below) enjoys a Western North Carolina hike before her departure to Uganda as a Peace Corps volunteer. 40 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University alumni SPOTLIGHT Odysseus, the central character in Homer’s eighth-century classic the “Odyssey,” survived 10 years of arduous travel to reach his destination. The circuitous journey of football coach Geoff Collins ’94 has been less dangerous but more than twice as long, with 11 stops between Cullowhee and his current home in Philadelphia. Collins, a starting linebacker for Western Carolina University (1991-92) and the Catamounts’ defensive coordinator for four seasons (2002-05), was introduced as the head football coach at Temple University this past December. Ironically, he replaced Matt Ruhle, who now directs Baylor University’s football program and served under Collins at WCU as a defensive assistant coach. Temple is coming off a landmark 10-4 season in which the Owls won the American Athletic Conference championship, was ranked 23rd nationally and played in a bowl game. Collins was a member of WCU legend Bob Waters’ last recruiting class in 1989 out of Rockdale County High in Conyers, Georgia. A walk-on, he was awarded a scholarship after his freshman season. He recorded 191 tackles in his last three seasons as a Catamount and was a key defensive player on the 1992 team that was five points short of going undefeated in the Southern Conference, was nationally ranked the last three weeks of the season and defeated Marshall, the NCAA I-AA national champion. According to his teammates, coaches and those he worked with in his chosen profession, the coaching trait was detected early in Collins’ DNA. Steve Hodgin MAEd ’83, WCU’s head coach during Collins’ final three seasons, said “…he was like a coach on the field, always prepared as he constantly watched film, had a high football IQ, made adjustments on the fly and helped his teammates do the same.” GRIDIRON ODYSSEY GEOFF COLLINS’ CIRCUITOUS CAREER JOURNEY LEADS FROM CULLOWHEE TO PHILADELPHIA AS HEAD COACH AT TEMPLE By STEVE WHITE ’67 CLIMBING WCU’S FOOTBALL COACHING TREE Western Carolina University has an impressive list of alumni and former football players who are currently coaching at the collegiate and professional levels. Listed alphabetically are the Catamounts, in addition to Temple head coach Geoff Collins ’94, who are in active NCAA and NFL coaching positions, including the years they competed at WCU and current position. Fran Brown ’05 (2003-05), assistant head coach, Baylor Chris Collins ’11 (2006-09), safeties coach, Georgia State Joe D’Alessandris ’77 MAEd ’79 (1973-76), offensive line coach, Baltimore Ravens Lonnie Galloway ’94 (1990-93) co-offensive coordinator, Louisville Mitch Hall ’03 (1999-02), running backs coach, Presbyterian Blake Harrell ’02 (1999-02), defensive coordinator, The Citadel Paul Johnson ’79 (1975-79), head coach, Georgia Tech Brian Rucker ’04 (2000-03), wide receivers coach, The Citadel John Scott ’00 (1995-98), defensive line coach, Arkansas Lamont Seward (2000-03), associate head coach, West Alabama Clyde Simmons ’96 (1982-85), defensive line coach, Cleveland Browns Tom Bodine ’95, a WCU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and the Catamounts’ all-time leading tackler, and Collins were teammates for two seasons. “The younger players would follow his work ethic, and we learned a lot about how to play the game,” Bodine said. “As a graduate assistant coach, Geoff had a unique talent for understanding what the opposing offense was doing. We knew he would be a great coach.” Mark Speir MAEd ’95, WCU’s current head football coach, was a young assistant coach during Collins’ junior and senior seasons, and coached with him in the 1993 and 1994 seasons. “Geoff was a very focused, intelligent player who played hard and physical and was a leader on and off the field,” Speir said. “There are natural football players and there are those like Geoff, who loved the game and worked hard to be great. That’s why he is where he is today.” Hodgin launched Collins’ career in 1993 by awarding him a postgraduate scholarship to serve as an assistant on WCU’s defensive staff. Collins’ first full-time position was at Fordham in 1996. That was followed by stints at Albright (Pennsylvania) and Georgia Tech (1999-2001) before he returned to Cullowhee as defensive coordinator for four seasons alongside then-head coach Kent Briggs ’79 MAEd ’81. Collins made a second stop at Georgia Tech in 2006, followed by positions at Alabama (2007), Central Florida (2008-09) and Florida International (2010) before becoming defensive coordinator at Mississippi State for three seasons, where his 2014 unit was the nation’s best “red-zone” defense. Collins spent the past two seasons at Florida as defensive coordinator, and last year’s squad was ranked in the nation’s top 10 in total defense and scoring defense. He became known as the “Minister of Mayhem” around the Southeastern Conference for his aggressive defenses. Sixteen Collins-coached players have been drafted by NFL teams. Jim McElwain, his boss at Florida, said Collins is “a relentless recruiter that can motivate players and understands the game on both sides of the ball.” Nick Saban, Alabama’s legendary head coach, calls Collins “a very intelligent football coach who brings an extraordinary amount of positive energy and enthusiasm to his job.” Collins credits his time at WCU for preparing him for his coaching career. “I knew in high school I wanted to be a college football coach, and Western Carolina put me on that path,” he said. “WCU will always be special to me and my family, as that is where I was given my first opportunity to go after my dream and is where I met my wife.” Collins and his wife, the former Jennifer Haynes ’96, are the parents of an infant daughter, Astrid. When asked if Philadelphia might be the final stop on his odyssey, Collins laughed and said, “I’m having a blast being a head coach with all that comes with it – recruiting, developing a game plan for winning games and championships, and graduating young men.” Who knows the answer to that question, but keep in mind that Odysseus was thought to have made a stop in the ancient Turkish city of Philadelphia on his way home. Fall 2017| 41 Geoff Collins ’94 leads his Temple team in preseason practice (left) and enjoys a moment with his wife, the former Jennifer Hayne ’96, and daughter Astrid. 42 | The Magazine of Western Carolina University alumni SPOTLIGHT When Poinsett State Park rangers are working outdoors, the office answering machine tells callers “It’s a great day in South Carolina!” The cheerful message adds to the warm, welcoming atmosphere inspired by Thomas “Zabo” McCants ’99, park manager for the past 10 years. For his leadership and exemplary service, McCants earned the 2016 Park Ranger of the Year Award in a national competition. Sixty rangers from across the U.S. were nominated for the award, sponsored by Servicewear Apparel, a Nashville, Tennessee, company that provides work uniforms worn by rangers, law enforcement officers and o |
OCLC number | 137281166; 697806100 |