Becoming a teacher through Western Carolina University just got a little easier for people wanting to switch careers and enter high-demand fields of education.

With Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature last Friday on a legislative “mini-budget” providing the final $16.5 million appropriation to fund replacement of Western Carolina University’s decades-old steam plant, university officials say that late Chancellor David Belcher must be smiling down from above.

The construction of Western Carolina University’s first structured parking facility, between the Ramsey Center and Hennon Stadium, has begun.

After much anticipation, Western Carolina University has officially announced changes to the fall semester calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees will meet Friday, June 5. All meetings will be conducted using Zoom.

It will be May in December for members of Western Carolina University’s spring graduating class of 2020 who were originally scheduled to participate in commencement ceremonies this month until the events were postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Western Carolina University will be moving its on-campus orientation programs scheduled for May and June online instead of the typical in-person format as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to force changes in university operations.

Summer school classes at Western Carolina University will be held online or via another form of distance education course delivery through the end of the second summer term in August.

In-person events like job fairs may not be prudent or feasible during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many of the area’s essential employers are eagerly seeking workers to fill vital job roles.

Wendy Williams, a 2005 graduate from Southwestern Community College’s Medical Laboratory Technology program, is now facing the COVID-19 pandemic head-on as the director of Laboratory and Pathology Services for the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System in Boone.

Kailiann Sadeski of Cullowhee made the President’s List at The College of Coastal Georgia. Students earned their place on the President’s List by their academic performance during the fall 2019 semester.

Assistant Chief Brian Thomas of the Western Carolina University Police Department was one of five North Carolina law enforcement officers to graduate from the FBI National Academy on March 13, during a ceremony held in Quantico, Virginia.

Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering youth and adult swim classes this month at Reid Gym on WCU’s campus.

Southwestern Community College has a pair of job fairs coming up March 4 and 5.

Matthew Toedt of Sylva earned the distinction of Faculty Honors for Fall 2019 at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This designation is awarded to undergraduate students who have a 4.0 academic average for the semester.

More than 11,400 Catamounts settle in for 2020 classes

Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering a “Website Construction 101: Learn the Basics of Coding” workshop from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, and again on Friday, April 3, for those who want a next-level course.

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, the region’s largest employer, made a commitment to take its support of Southwestern Community College and its students to an entirely new level.

A Southwestern Community College student from Tuckasegee and two others were recently sworn in as the newest members of Southwestern Community College’s Board of Trustees.

The Small Business Center at Southwestern Community College will host a “Regional Business Plan Competition” to help individuals transform their ideas into fully realized businesses.

Southwestern Community College is working with Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort to offer training and certification for blackjack dealers with evening classes starting Jan. 27.

The campus committee leading the national search for Western Carolina University’s next vice chancellor for advancement is working with Aspen Leadership Group. WCU has scheduled a series of meetings designed to provide input to committee members and ALG.

The Western Carolina University community Dec. 5 celebrated renovations to a curation facility for archaeological collections associated with the Cherokee, including objects from the Trail of Tears and the Unicoi Turnpike.

While most Western Carolina University offices will be closed during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, WCU’s Advancement office will be open for special hours on two days to assist donors with year-end giving.

Southwestern Community College’s new $21 million Health Sciences Building is starting to take shape on the west side of the campus as construction remains on schedule to finish by the summer of 2021.

Western Carolina University will hold a pair of commencement ceremonies Saturday, to honor its fall graduating class and a group of newly minted university alumni who were awarded degrees after this year’s summer school sessions.

Southwestern Community College’s fall commencement will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec.18, in Myers Auditorium in the Balsam Building.

Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center is offering a “Human Resources Summit” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9, to teach business leaders efficient and effective practices for managing human resources. The one-day conference will be held in the Burrell Building.

Western Carolina University is inviting prospective students and their families and friends to visit the campus during Open House on Saturday, Nov. 23.

While local schools are closed for Veterans Day on Monday, Nov. 11, Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering a Kids Art Day from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. in room 150 of the Bardo Arts Center.

The search for the next president of the University of North Carolina System will include a pair of “listening sessions” on the campus of its westernmost institution that are designed to provide members of the public with opportunities to share ideas on the qualities they would like to see i…