A new chancellor has been chosen for Western Carolina University, with the University of North Carolina Board of Governors unanimously electing Kelli R. Brown, Ph.D., to the position during a special session Thursday, April 25. 

No matter what scale of time you’re using, the newly opened Jean Pittillo Nodding Trillium Garden in Cullowhee has deep roots. 

“Let’s go back about 400 to 700 million years,” said landowner Dan Pittillo as he began his explanation to the group gathered to experience the wildflower trail’s grand opening April 17.

The second go-around in the search for the next chancellor of Western Carolina University is nearing completion with the Board of Trustees’ unanimous vote March 1 to approve a list of three names for consideration. 

A recently released draft report bodes well for the possibility of removing the dilapidated Cullowhee Dam without compromising the water supply it was designed to protect — but Western Carolina University and the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority need additional questions answered before agreeing to pursue removal. 

Randy Eaton isn’t a fortune teller, but the Western Carolina University athletic director sees a winning future for WCU teams. 

By Carl Queen • Guest Columnist

As a long-time resident of Sylva — 48 years — I have had a front row seat to the evolution of N.C. 107 as it transgressed from a mostly rural two-lane highway into its current bustling five lanes. I moved to Sylva in 1970 to attend Western Carolina University where I spent the next four years pursuing both undergraduate and graduate degrees. 

Living in a garage apartment on the west side of Sylva, I traveled N.C. 107 to WCU almost daily for four years.  Beginning at the intersection of U.S. 19 and N.C. 107, the road at that time known as Cullowhee Road ran through a mostly residential area with very few businesses along its path. 

After more than two months in limbo, the search for Western Carolina University’s next leader has re-launched with the goal of naming a new chancellor by the end of the academic year. 

While the University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors has yet to release a revised search process for Western Carolina University’s next chancellor, the WCU Chancellor Search Committee plans to launch the search’s second round during a meeting at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21, in the A.K. Hinds University Center. 

Student housing at Western Carolina University will see a massive shuffle over the coming years as university leadership looks to update old buildings while preparing for the school’s continued growth. 

Western Carolina University’s enrollment hit an all-time high this fall for the seventh out of the past eight years, with the population of student Catamounts increasing 5.48 percent over fall 2017 — roughly twice the enrollment increase Western was aiming for.