Appalachian State University has started holding information sessions for prospective students at its new Hickory campus opening this fall and has plans to hire 23 new full-time faculty positions for the site, Chancellor Sheri Everts said Friday in her email newsletter to university friends and officials.
The Boone university plans to make available more than 100 undergraduate majors on the campus, she said. It acquired the former Corning Optical headquarters building and 16 adjoining acres for $1 million in 2021 after receiving approval from the UNC System to expand to Hickory, which is 45 miles south of Boone.
Major renovations are underway at the 226,000-square foot building in Hickory, but App State is showing model classrooms and the site of a library during information sessions with students. University staffers are working at the building, Everts said.
App State enrolled nearly 20,500 students at its Boone campus and through online programs in the fall of 2022. It has been among the fastest-growing institutions in the 16-campus UNC System over the last decade.
The Hickory project received $9 million in nonrecurring funding through the most recent state budget. It is the largest metro area in North Carolina without a public university.
