Skip to main content

WCU Stories

WCU player Cord Stansberry taking a shot during a 2024 home game

Donors support Alston Awards for WCU student-athletes’ academic achievements

Supporters of Western Carolina University’s athletics program are finding new ways to back the Catamounts in today’s rapidly shifting intercollegiate sports environment, which now permits financial rewards in recognition of academic performance.  

Catamount family members at the pinning ceremony

All in the family: Legacy Pinning event celebrates generations of Catamount connections

Approximately 50 new Western Carolina University students were welcomed into the Catamount family by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives who previously matriculated at the westernmost institution of the University of North Carolina System.  

Johnny and Dawn Day

Alumni couple establish endowment for parks, rec program

A husband and wife with degrees from the Parks and Recreation Management Program at Western Carolina University have established an endowed fund to support students who are following in their footsteps at their alma mater and to equip PRM professors with additional resources.  

WCU Foundation Board members

New faces join WCU Foundation Board; departing members recognized

Three new members have joined the Western Carolina University Foundation Board of Directors for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, while four departing board members were recently recognized for their service and contributions.  

Battle of the bands logo

Alumni participation sought for WCU Battle of the Bands competition

Perhaps you are a Western Carolina University alumnus who performed in a musical group back in your college days and who has been thinking about getting the band back together. Or maybe your band is still playing today, cranking the amps up to 11.  

Alexis Harp

Young alumni spotlight: Harp passes on guidance as Greek life adviser

Alexis Harp was lost her first few semesters of undergrad. Imposter syndrome was hitting her hard. She was a first-generation college student navigating the world of higher education, and to top it all off, she originally didn’t even want to go to college.   

WCTC women's basketball team in the 1940s

WCU Mountain Heritage Center opens new Clearing the Hurdles exhibit

The Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University (WCU) is proud to announce the opening of its newest exhibit on Sept. 2, Clearing the Hurdles: Women and Sport at WCU, 1889 to the Present.   

Kara McMullen

A Wild Beginning: Alumna Kara McMullen on a career in Panthertown

When Western Carolina University alumna Kara McMullen stands on the wet stone of Salt Rock Gap, thousands of acres of chirping forest span before her, a sprawling network of trails buried just beneath.  

Michael and Rebecca Schlosser photographed in 2019

A gift of hope: Supporting students in their mental health journey

Universities and colleges across the United States are finding that an ever-increasing number of students on their campuses are dealing with a variety of mental health issues, ranging from anxiety and depression to thoughts of suicide.  

Office of Web Services