Aging WCU faculty points to job satisfaction, university says

fr WCUWhen Bruce Henderson first came to Western Carolina University back in 1978, he was just happy to have a job. The market was tight when he finished his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, so he took what he was offered. Within a couple years, he figured, he’d be able to move somewhere more notable than the little college in Cullowhee.

$22.5 million construction project coming to WCU

fr wcubuildingCampus dining is headed for an upgrade at Western Carolina University, with renovation toward a new and improved Brown Building due to start this fall.

Tailgating zone expands at WCU

fr wcucampusThe decision to expand the tailgating area at Western Carolina University boiled down to one simple thing, the university’s attorney Mary Ann Lochner told the Board of Trustees’ Administration, Governance and Trusteeship Committee last week.

University says county development ordinance shouldn’t apply

County and university officials had a sit-down last week over the question of whether Western Carolina University should fall under Jackson County’s revised subdivision ordinance.

WCU to end off-campus busing

Once the spring 2015 semester wraps up at Western Carolina University, off-campus students will no longer have the option of catching the bus to classes. 

While enrollment at the university — and development around it — is increasing, ridership on the off-campus route has been declining. So, WCU has decided to get rid of the off-campus route and funnel those resources instead to the on-campus routes.

‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ to hit WCU stage

art frTransvestite. Transsexual. Transylvania.

Three words that immediately conjure images of extravagant parties, mad scientists, death, rock-n-roll, Meatloaf, aliens, sing-a-longs, freedom and sexual liberation. What “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” did, and continues to do, for society can never be overstated. Originally written as a stage musical, the story hit the big screen in 1975, cueing a new dawn in acceptance and understanding in everyday life. It kicked the door down for punk rock, 20th century cultural evolution, independent filmmaking and LGBT rights by simply stepping over the line of what it means to truly be yourself in a sometimes stifling world where being one-in-the-same is “easier” than being one-in-a-million.

Western plans replacement for burned-out building

fr wcuWestern Carolina University’s slated to get a brand new building on Centennial Drive in place of the one destroyed by fire in November 2013, which was home to businesses such as Rolling Stone Burrito, Subway and Mad Batter Bakery and Café.

Proposed Cullowhee development standards get revised

Following a pair of community input sessions in October, proposed planning regulations for the Cullowhee area have been tweaked a bit. 

“Relatively minor revisions to text and to maps,” explained Jackson County Planning Director Gerald Green. 

Marching toward The Big Apple

cover“The whole world is watching.”

That’s the statement echoing from a megaphone strapped to the side of David Starnes, director of athletic bands at Western Carolina University. On a recent crisp late fall afternoon, 505 college students march up and down a large intramural field in Cullowhee. The instrumental sounds of Journey’s seminal 80s classic “Don’t Stop Believin’” ricochets around the campus, ultimately radiating into the Southern Appalachian mountain range cradling the school.

Economic summit participants point to regional approach as key to success

fr summitThe key to economic and community development in Western North Carolina is for leaders of the public, private and nonprofit sectors to reach beyond town limits and county lines to embrace a more regional approach, steeped in a spirit of cooperation and partnership.

That was the message heard again and again Wednesday, Nov. 12, from speakers and participants at LEAD:WNC, a one-day summit convened by WCU to discuss solutions leading to sustainable economic and community development.

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