BOONE—Watauga College, Appalachian State University’s oldest residential learning community, has changed its name to Watauga Global Community.

The change is the result of a year of review and examination by an internal, campus-wide taskforce and better reflects the academic unit’s interdisciplinary and internationally focused residential program.

“This name change is just one of many ways in which Watauga, one of our oldest and most successful living-learning communities, is leading the way in helping our students understand what it means to be part of an intensive local community and also citizens of the world,” said Dave Haney, vice provost for undergraduate education. “I applaud Watauga Global Community for finding a way to continue an important Appalachian tradition while at the same time breaking new ground.”

Watauga College began in 1972 as an alternative to the university’s standard core curriculum. It was part of the former Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Now part of Appalachian’s University College, Watauga Global Community (WGC) will maintain the tradition of academic excellence and inquiry that has been a hallmark of Watauga College for the past 36 years, and will also facilitate a variety of multicultural experiences designed to help students develop an awareness and understanding of local issues and their connections with significant global issues and develop an understanding of the responsibilities of membership in the global community.

“The Watauga College Task Force members deserve many thanks for their year-long examination of the program, affirming much of its past, and proposing a strong curricular and co-curricular global focus for its future,” said David Huntley, WGC director. “With this focus and home in University College, Watauga Global Community will be fully integrated into Appalachian’s General Education Program with teaching opportunities for all Appalachian faculty.”

For more information about Watauga Global Community, visit www.wataugaglobal.appstate.edu.

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