Appalachian State Is Blue Ridge Knowledge Leader
Published Mar 23, 2009
Appalachian State University in Boone drew more than $15 million in research grants in 2007-08.
For much of the nation, Appalachian State University dropped from the deep blue yonder in September 2007 when its football team stunned the University of Michigan. But the Mountaineers’ prowess on the gridiron was no secret to fans, who have seen the Black and Gold win national championships at the Football Championship Subdivision, the sport’s second-highest level.
But ASU is much more than sports. In a region that also includes standouts Western Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Asheville, App State has forged a reputation for providing a high-quality education and being a knowledge leader.
The school, which was founded in 1899, is a perennial presence on U.S. News & World Report’s best-colleges ranking. For 2009, the magazine ranked ASU ninth in the Best Universities-Master’s in the South category. Among public schools in the category, it was ranked fourth.
Incoming freshmen arrived in fall 2008 with a 3.87 GPA and a 1163 SAT score. Once at ASU, students receive a high level of individualized attention. Class sizes average 24 students, and the student-faculty ratio is 17-1.
“The low ratio is definitely something we’re very proud of. It’s a priority,” says Lynn Drury, associate vice chancellor for public affairs. “Having the low student ratio really gives students the opportunity to interact with faculty, in the classroom and outside of it.”
The university offers more than 140 undergraduate and graduate major programs in its arts and sciences, fine and applied arts, education, business and university colleges and music school. More than $15 million in research grants and contracts were awarded to the university in 2007-08.
App State achieved the third-highest freshmen-retention rate and fourth-highest five-year graduation rate in the 16-school University of North Carolina system.
David Mofford, the student body president for 2008-2009, says the intimate feel makes the 16,000-student university seem much smaller. Mofford, a political science major, says he’s never had a class taught by a teacher’s assistant in his time at the school.
“We are a big school numerically, but socially it’s a small-town atmosphere,” he says. “It’s a place where everybody knows each other.”
Story by Sam Scott
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