Recently in ASU Category

Ed Pilkington, an acting legend in the Southeast, is appearing now in Appalachian State University's Department of Theatre and Dance production "Prelude to a Kiss" at Valborg Theatre. Pilkington taught in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Appalachian for 31 years. He has performed on stages from New York City to Vancouver. He received the North Carolina Theatre Conferences' Distinguished Career Award as well. In "Prelude to a Kiss," he plays the role of the Old Man. Performances begin at 7 p.m. Tonight, Friday, and Saturday, and at 2 pm on Sunday. The Box Office is open weekdays from 2-5 pm and one hour prior to show time.

Purchase tickets in person, or by phone at 262-3063.

The Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition is a national juried competition that continues a long-held tradition of showcasing the best of large-scale, contemporary American sculpture. Each year, ten sculptures are selected for exhibition, and are sited in outdoor, public settings across campus at Appalachian State. Artist Trace O'Connor, winner of the 23rd Annual Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition will be featured in a weeklong residency held on ASU's campus March 1-5. O'Connors' sculpture, Iscariot, was named the Martin and Doris Rosen Award Winner during An Appalachian Summer Festival's Sculpture Walk on July 25th, and is currently located in front of Wey Hall on Appalachian's campus. On Wednesday, March 3rd at 7pm, there will be a public lecture in the Turchin Center for the Visual Art's Lecture Hall. In addition to the lecture, O'Connor will work with students of the university's Department of Art by conducting class lectures, creating a project with students, group and individual critiques, as well as a "meet and greet" with the Facebook group followers on campus.

Additional information for the competition and exhibition, the residency program and O'Connors's full itinerary may be found at rosensculpture.org.

The Mayors of Boone and Blowing Rock, ASU's Chancellor, as well as the Watauga County Commissioners and the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce have proclaimed Friday, January 15, to Sunday, January 24 to be "I Have A Dream Week", a celebration of Martin Luther King's vision and lifetime of service to humanity.

-Jan. 17 kicks off the events with: Commemorating our Unitarian Universalists' Activities during the Civil Rights Movement on Sunday at the Boone Unitarian Universalists from 10:30 AM - Noon. 381 E. King Street, Boone. Call 264-4456.

-Jan. 18 is the MLK CHALLENGE. A Day ON, not a day off! It's the 10th annual day of challenging the community with service projects. It will be on Monday from 8.30 AM - 6.30 PM at Legends. It's sponsored by ACT, University Highlands and the N.C. Carolina Campus Compact. Register with ASU ACT office, call 262-2193.

-Jan. 18 Is also the 13th annual Musical Unity Service. "Watauga's children, building Dr. King's dream with Greg Mortenson...one penny and one brick at a time." Presenters will include: Dr. Connie Ulmer, Mary Gray,Sondra Edwards and music with Pastor Morris Hatton at 7 PM at Mabel Methodist Church on Old Hwy 421. Desserts will follow. Call 297-3568.

-The week of Jan 18-23 is Let's Hold Hands. There will be Paper doll making to celebrate Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute's work of building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan at the Watauga County Library. Call 264-8784.

-Jan. 21 is the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration at ASU. Keynote speaker will be Nikki Giovanni, a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator and Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech. She will speak at 7 p.m at Farthing Auditorium. Call 262-6252.

-Jan. 23 will be Young World Radio Show - the I Have A Dream Special. A one-hour children's radio tribute Saturday to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at 12 Noon on WATA-AM 1450 and WXIT-AM 1200. Call 264-6016.

-Jan. 23 will also be the Dances of Universal Peace dedicated to the Dream on Saturday at 7:30 PM at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Boone. A donation of $5 is requested. Call Akal Dev Sharonne at 264-1384.

-Jan. 24 will be A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday at 11 AM at the Mennonite Brethren Church located off of Church Street in Boone. Call 263-0502.

-Jan. 24 will also feature "Dances with Rumi" with poetry, dance, flute, sitar and percussion. Rumi is a 13th century Persian mystic, who is the most widely read poet in America today. That will begin at 4:00 PM at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Boone. A donation of $5-$10 is requested to compensate performers. Call Akal Dev Sharonne at 264-1384.

This program is funded by generous donations from individuals and organizations who believe in the dream. For more information on the I Have A Dream Task Force, call 264-5620.

Kiplinger.com has ranked Appalachian State number 22 in a list of 100 public colleges across the nation with the best value. The Washington, D.C. based publisher ranked the schools based on academic quality, cost, and financial aid. App State was one of six North Carolina schools to be listed.  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was ranked number one, North Carolina State University was ranked in tenth place, The University of North Carolina at Wilmington was ranked 27th, The University of North Carolina at Asheville was ranked 44th, and North Carolina School of the Arts was ranked 61st. Out of all the North Carolina schools in the Kiplinger's top 100, ASU has the lowest total tuition and the third stingiest admission rate behind Chapel Hill and the NC School of the Arts. Residents can see all of Kiplinger's 100 Best Values for Public Colleges at www.kiplinger.com/reports/best-college-values/ 

Appalachian State University is pushing for the maximum tuition-and-fee increase after the board of trustees voted last Thursday to approve a 6.5 percent tuition increase for the 2010-2011 academic year. The trustees' proposal will be sent to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. If approved, undergraduate tuition would increase $2,341 a year to $2,493 for the year-a total of $152 more. The trustees also want to increase fees by $350 per year. Mike Steinback, chairman of the board's business affairs committee. cited the current economic climate and uncertain state funding levels for universities as reasons for the increase.

A large amount of Appalachian State students graduated on Sunday as the university held their winter commencement ceremonies over the weekend. According to App State's website, graduates from the College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, and University College held their ceremony at 10:00 Sunday morning.  Graduates from the College of Business, the School of Music, and the College of Fine and Applied Arts received their degrees at 2:00 Sunday afternoon. Appalachian will send out their next batch of proud graduates on May 8th and 9th.

The ASU Sustainable Energy Society (ASUSES) presents the 14th annual Solar Tree Lighting at the Jones House in Boone on Wednesday, December 16. The tree lighting ceremony is a traditional event which brings the community together to celebrate the holidays. It is also a great form of celebration for the education and support of renewable energy in Boone.  The evening's activities begin with a reception at 5:00 p.m. at Galileo's Bar & Café, where attendees are invited to enjoy dinner and drinks with family and friends along with live acoustic music from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., bagpiper Casey Smith will lead a processional to the Jones House for the tree lighting ceremony. The tree, located on the Jones House lawn, features 300 feet of LED energy-efficient lights powered by a solar panel system constructed by the club members. It is tradition for the Boone mayor to flip the switch. The lighting will take place rain or shine.

When more than eleven-hundred ASU students pick up their diplomas later this month, they'll be wearing something green. The school isn't changing its commencement attire, but they are going a little more eco-friendly. Students involved in the Sunday December 13, commencement ceremonies will be the first ASU students to wear a unique kind of graduation gown. These gowns, still in the traditional black, are made of fibers from renewable, managed forests. The gown, along with the plastic container it comes in, will decompose in a shorter amount of time than past gowns, according to the university. Two separate graduation ceremonies will take place in the Holmes Convocation Center on December 13, with the first beginning at 10:00 a.m. and the second at 2:00 p.m. The first graduation will be for students graduating from the Reich College of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences and University College. The second graduation is for students earning degrees from the Walker College of Business, the College of Fine and Applied Arts and the Hayes School of Music. According to school officials, the College of Arts and Sciences has the largest class of undergraduates with 318 students. The College of Fine and Applied Arts will graduate 281 students, the Walker College of Business will graduate 142 students and the Reich College of Education will graduate 128 students. The Hayes School of Music will graduate 24 students, and University College will graduate seven students. A total of 220 students will receive graduate degrees.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". As a process and as a goal, social justice means full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs. On November 18 in ASU's Greer Auditorium, Vernon Wall will give a presentation that helps audience members learn how their identities influence all they do and how this knowledge can help them become more aware. Wall has written extensively on issues of inclusion on today's college campuses. His award-winning programs and presentations have been seen by thousands of students, faculty, and staff on campuses across the country and have been described as being "a learning experience - with a touch of wildness."

After consulting with a certified arborist, Appalachian State University officials have decided they will cut down three trees to make way for the expansion to the new Central Dining Hall and Sanford Commons. According to Michael Connor, the director of ASU's Physical Plant, two dogwoods and one sugar maple at the edge of the new Dining Hall will be taken down. University officials made sure to point out that since 2006, the school has planted 248 new trees on campus, and that 22 trees will be planted around the new addition to the Central Dining Hall.