NCCAT searches for salvation in Raleigh

fr nccatThe North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching is sweating out the legislative short session. Gov. Pat McCrory didn’t include any funding for the Cullowhee-based center in his proposed budget, and unless legislators carve out a place in the final budget, the center will close June 30. 

Writers join Cullowhee Mountain ARTS summer series

art frNow celebrating its third season, Cullowhee Mountain ARTS will be hosting creative writing workshops, taught by nationally recognized writers, as part of the 2014 Summer ARTS Series of artists’ workshops, presentations and youth art camps. 

The Summer ARTS Series is held at Western Carolina University in the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center from June 15 to July 26. The artist and writer workshops/retreats will be May 18-23 and Sept. 15-21 at the Lake Logan Retreat Center in Canton.

Cullowhee plan inches toward finish line

fr cullowheeDon Kostelec stood in front of a flip pad in the cafeteria of Cullowhee Valley Elementary School. He asked for it all. Hold nothing back.

Graduation, and beyond

coverAlumni Tower is enjoying a late-semester afternoon on the Western Carolina University campus. Its clock keeps watch over students as they hustle between exams or toss a Frisbee on the grass.

A short walk from the tower, a fountain has attracted two sophomores and a puppy named Emma. 

Cullowhee prepares for 2014 spring commencement ceremony

Western Carolina University will hold a trio of commencement ceremonies over a two-day period – Friday and Saturday, May 9-10 – to recognize the academic achievements of what is expected to be a record-breaking spring class.

Cullowhee considers development standards

fr wcuCullowhee is awash in new developments. Specifically, the community is buzzing with the construction of high-density developments aimed at housing Western Carolina University’s growing student population. 

WCU fine-tunes its course for Millennial Campus

Western Carolina University is expected to get the go-ahead this month to place development of the Millennial Campus under the control of WCU’s endowment fund. 

University officials believe the endowment fund would serve as a better vehicle to foster the public-private initiatives envisioned for Millennial Campus, according to the proposal.

In search of the perfect word: Literary festival returns to WCU

art frA writer looking at a blank page is a like a painter staring at a fresh canvas, a sculptor facing a block of clay or a woodworker holding a chunk of wood. The desire to grab words from thin air and construct them into sentences, notions and ideas comes from an internal fire to describe human emotion and situation. It is a calling, one that picks its creators when the time and place is prime. Writers are messengers, connecting the unknown cosmos to an everyday modern reality.

SEE ALSO: Wordsmiths converge on WCU for Spring Literary Festival

Western Carolina University will be once again play host to an array of writers during the 12th annual Spring Literary Festival, which runs March 31 through April 4. The event is a celebration of the written word, where finely-aged veterans intermingle with the young faces of future generations eager to find their voice. It is a bountiful cross-pollination, one crucial to the perpetuation of the craft.

The Kudzu Cocktail, Cat Catch and other bright ideas from WCU students

fr wcuentrepreneurJake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

For as long as he can remember, Austin Brown’s fascination with plants has remained rooted in their relationship with people.

WCU to mark 125th year in 2014

When the clock strikes midnight and Dec. 31 gives way to Jan. 1, the tolling of the bell won’t symbolize the start of just another typical new year at Western Carolina University. Instead, the first day of 2014 will mark the beginning of WCU’s 125th year of existence, and university faculty, staff and students are planning a yearlong celebration to mark the milestone.

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