The effort to introduce zoning laws in Cullowhee is being taken up by Jackson County Commissioners at an upcoming workshop at 2 p.m. June 17 at the county’s Administration and Justice Building near Sylva.

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching in Jackson County had its funding slashed in half in 2011, and this year, Raleigh may finish the job.

Lackluster at best and run-down at worst, it’s no question the has-been commercial district on Western Carolina University’s doorstep needs a life line.

Western Carolina University is grappling with whether to cut unpopular or obsolete majors, posing a conundrum as it and other universities examine their deeper role in society: to provide a well-rounded, liberal arts education or steer students toward degrees in promising career fields?

The curriculum at Western Carolina University is fluid — every year, degrees are added and subtracted from its list of offerings to meet shifts in student demand.

For Norma Hendrix, it’s all about connecting the dots.

“I love working in a community of artists,” she said. “I really like pulling all of those dots together, where you create a sense of community with the energy of people working side-by-side.”

Films created by Western Carolina University students will be screened at the fifth annual Controlled Chaos Film Festival at 7 p.m. Friday, May 3, in the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at WCU.

Western Carolina University is open to suggestions — from students, faculty and the general public — as it undergoes a campus-wide planning process that will steer infrastructure at the institution for the coming decade.

Showcasing the finest in Southern Appalachian and national writing talent, the Western Carolina University Spring Literary Festival comes into its 20th year with bevy of events, author appearances, readings and talks from April 8-11.

Employees at Western Carolina University are distilling the recently released results of a Harvard University study to see if regional comprehensive universities have lower faculty satisfaction rates.

Every three years, Western Carolina University gets a report card.

It does not prescribe the university an A, B, C or even F, but the report does tell WCU what it does right and where it needs to improve. Then, it instructs the university to do better.

“It’s not ‘this is your grade’ and you’re done,” said Mark Lord, WCU’s interim associate provost. “It’s really supposed to be a call to action.”