Welcome Message

Hello to the Western Carolina Community!

Western Carolina University annually acknowledges and celebrates our faculty’s collective and individual scholarly and creative achievements. In 2025, we are proud to mark the 36th year of this institutional celebration. This year also is the 38th year of the Hunter Scholar Award, which recognizes and rewards faculty who make extensive use of library resources in their research. Each year since 2015, the University also annually recognizes the important work of grant writers.

This year, we are delighted to feature works of 335 scholars in our bibliography on this website. These scholars represent 29 departments from across all colleges and the Hunter Library. Their works include research articles, books, book chapters, poster presentations, literary and artistic contributions, performances, presentations, and more. The purpose of this online bibliography is to provide a broad overview and representations of the scope of faculty scholarship at Western Carolina University. It is not intended to be a comprehensive list of the much greater volume of faculty accomplishments.

Our goal is to inspire our academic community by highlighting and affirming the many ways in which WCU faculty express their creativity and contribute to the advancement of human knowledge and culture.

Sponsors of the 2025 Faculty Scholarship Celebration event are the Graduate School and Research, the Hunter Library, the Office of the Provost, the Office of Undergraduate Studies, the Brinson Honors College, and the Office of the Chancellor. Many thanks go to the Faculty Scholarship Celebration planning committee: Roxane Stiles, Heidi Buchanan, Joshua Everhart, Dana Boyer, and Suzanne Melton.

Thanks also are due to the Hunter Scholar Award Selection Committee:

  • Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, Associate Professor, History Department (2024-25 Hunter Scholar)
  • Kloo Hansen, Office of Research Administration
  • Seth McCormick, Associate Professor, School of Art and Design
  • Emily Virtue, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership
  • Heidi Buchanan, Associate Dean of Library Services, Hunter Library

Chuck Thomas

Dean of Library Services