BOONE—Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) has awarded a $2 million grant to Appalachian State University to train health care and mental health professionals that will serve the people of North Carolina.

The gift was announced Thursday, Aug. 18, during the fall semester opening meeting for faculty and staff. When matched with state and private foundation funding, the gift will ultimately yield $4.2 million for the university.

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has long been a partner with Appalachian through programs that help the university improve the quality of life of the citizens of our region,” said Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock. “This $2 million gift will further enable the university to train future health and mental health professionals who will serve citizens of the state, as well as expand the university’s health outreach in the region.”

Appalachian’s College of Health Sciences began in July 2010, and is the first new college at Appalachian in 40 years. Programs in the college include nursing, social work, nutrition, exercise science, health care management, speech and language pathology, health promotion, athletic training, recreation management and physical education.  Recently, Appalachian announced a partnership between the College of Health Sciences and Wake Forest School of Medicine that will provide students with an opportunity to have learning experiences outside the traditional classroom environment through high-tech laboratories, clinical sites, internships, research projects with faculty members and study abroad programs.

“This generous gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield will provide support for our new College of Health Sciences that is transformational,” said Dr. Fred Whitt, the college’s founding dean.

“This gift will enable us to innovate – the driving force behind our transformation from a newly developed college to a sustainable college of distinction. Private support is critical in our ability to advance our strategic plan in providing healthcare workers who make a significant difference in the quality of life for North Carolina citizens,” he said. “We will be good stewards of this gift and plan to use a portion of the funding as a match to leverage an additional $1 million in gifts for the college,” he said. “We also will use $400,000 to establish a matching gift opportunity to endow a $1 million distinguished professorship in the college.”

Of BCBSNC’s $2 million gift, a total of $1.585 million has been earmarked for the new College of Health Sciences. In addition, the gift will provide $400,000 to support the Aeschleman Mental Health Endowed Professorship in Psychology and $15,000 to support Appalachian’s entry in the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

The Aeschleman Mental Health Endowed Professorship is named for Dr. Stan Aeschleman, former provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and former Department of Psychology chairman at Appalachian. The endowment, when matched by state and other funds, will total $1 million.

In recognition of the BCBSNC gift, Appalachian’s Institute for Health and Human Services in the College of Health Sciences will be named the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Institute for Health and Human Services. The College of Health Sciences will also initiate a lecture series and distinguished professorship and both will also be named for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is a leader in delivering innovative health care products, services and information to more than 3.7 million members, including approximately 900,000 served on behalf of other Blue Plans. For 77 years, the company has served its customers by offering health insurance at a competitive price and has served the people of North Carolina through support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Access BCBSNC online at http://www.bcbsnc.com.

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