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Hello Catamounts!

This issue of the Ģ������Ƶmagazine celebrates the remarkable accomplishments of our alumni community, the progress of our students and faculty and the bold vision shaping our future.

Celebrating our accomplishments is especially important this year as we honor the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene and its impact on our region. We were lucky to escape significant structural damage and our students in Cullowhee safely remained on campus with access to water, power and eventually, wireless and cell service. This was not the case for many of our faculty, staff, students, and regional partners who live in the harder hit areas. I remain incredibly grateful for those who donated to our relief funds and for those who donated their time and labor to help our beloved region. Catamounts are nothing if not resilient, and I’m so proud of what they’ve done to help this beautiful place so many of us call home. As you read through this magazine, I invite you to reflect with pride on all we’ve achieved together—and all that still lies ahead.

This past year, Ģ������Ƶ officially kicked off the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s 136-year history, an effort to secure $100 million in philanthropic support. The “Fill the Western Sky” campaign has raised significant funds for our academic and student support programs and is now focused on increasing the financial resources necessary for long-delayed upgrades in facilities used by Catamount student-athletes. In June, we broke ground on the E.J. Whitmire Stadium’s westside stands. This is the most comprehensive upgrade to the stadium since its opening 50 years ago. I look forward to having this new space and I encourage you to get involved in the campaign so that we can follow this progress with even more critical upgrades to our athletics facilities.

The fall semester always brings to the forefront conversations about enrollment. Enrollment is an important driver of funding and, more importantly, it is critical to Ģ������Ƶmeeting its regional mission—providing a solid educated workforce to support Western North Carolina’s economic prosperity. For some time, we have been watching the national enrollment trends affecting regional, comprehensive universities. A combination of factors including demographic shifts, the competitive landscape for available students and, more locally, the trailing impact of Hurricane Helene, has converged to make our enrollment efforts more important than ever. Ģ������Ƶis preparing strategies to meet these challenges head on. We will continue to prioritize initiatives and programs that promote Ģ������Ƶas a

high-quality, accessible and affordable college experience. WNC’s economic prosperity depends on our success, as does all of North Carolina.

Your university has much to celebrate over this past year. For example, our current freshman retention rate has hit an all-time record high of 82%, nearly 50% will earn their degree in four years and 2/3 will earn their degree in less than six years. Let me assure you that these metrics are the envy of most regional, public universities. Additionally, for the last two years, nearly half of Ģ������Ƶundergraduates graduated with zero institutional debt. What makes this doubly impressive is that Ģ������Ƶachieves these goals while still serving a student body that has a high proportion of first generation and high-need students. This focus on affordability and access coupled with high quality is a true niche for WCU. We can make this kind of progress around access and affordability because we have the best faculty and staff anywhere. Our faculty and staff are incredibly dedicated professionals who work hard each and every day to make sure our students get the best education and best support possible to achieve their educational goals.

As we look to the future, I am filled with optimism and gratitude. The strength of the Catamount spirit—resilient, scrappy and determined—has carried us through challenges and continues to propel us toward new heights. Whether you are an alum, a student, a faculty or staff member, or a friend of the university, your connection to Western Carolina University matters deeply. Thank you for your continuous support and for being part of this extraordinary community. Together, we will continue to break new ground, support our region, and ensure that Ģ������Ƶremains a beacon of opportunity, excellence and impact for generations to come. I look forward to what the future holds as Chancellor of this amazing university!

Go Cats!

Kelli R. Brown
Chancellor