By Sam Garrett
It is undeniable that without Appalachian State University, Boone would not be Boone as we know it. The benefits of having a university in town are numerous and should be celebrated. I am grateful for the opportunities to see world-class artists at the Shaefer Center, nationally ranked sports teams on the field and court, and for access to public lectures and presentations from renowned experts in science, philosophy, business and other disciplines. App State’s positive economic impact is so big that it is difficult to calculate. High Country Press would probably not exist were it not for App State.
When I arrived in the High Country (5 years ago yesterday), I had the same conversations with dozens of people. I thought I was living in a simulation because everyone said the same three things:
- Did you know App State beat Michigan in 2007? Then, they would tell me their connection to the game, their location during the game and how they once met coach Jerry Moore.
- They would tell me how the weather is unpredictable and that I must check the weather at raysweather.com. Ray this and Ray that; I didn’t know him or care when I heard his name.
- The chancellor is horrific and does not care about students or Boone, and only cares about increasing admissions each year and building more buildings. It piqued my curiosity that so many felt so strongly about one person.
As a new resident, I took all these comments with a grain of salt. My initial thoughts were, ‘Did they stop playing football in 2007? Who the hell is Ray and what did the chancellor do to make everyone hate her so much?.’
THE MICHIGAN GAME
The Michigan game was rather impressive and winning three national championships in a row is the stuff of legends. I am also proud to say because of Coach Moore’s work with High Country Caregivers, I have had the pleasure of meeting him and have an immense amount of respect for him as a coach and even more for him as a human being who loves people.
RAY’S WEATHER
I moved from Colorado; I have experienced mountain weather most of my life. It is unpredictable. When I finally met this guy named Ray at a fundraiser for The Children’s Council, we had a good laugh about everyone’s obsession with Ray’s Weather. I am not sure that Ray has cracked the code on predicting the weather, but High Country Press is a proud supporter.
THE CHANCELLOR
When a person projects a judgment about someone else, it is best to just listen. When dozens of people brutally berate someone to you over the course of months, it sparks curiosity.
After the first three months of hearing opinions about how terrible the chancellor was, I started wondering why. The vast list of complaints had a consistent tone; Some were attributable to her while others seemed beyond her control. The most common complaints about Sheri Everts in her role as chancellor:
- Too many students: Last fall, App State boasted the largest enrollment in the school’s history at 21,253. App State’s growth has benefits for Boone, no doubt. But is the increased census to be blamed on the chancellor? She is hired by a group of people who make decisions in Raleigh. Her employment agreement makes her beholden to their wishes. When someone with power over you tells you to do something, you do it. I would suggest that the chancellor is guilty of doing her job related to enrollment. If growing App State is bad, we should direct our anger or frustration toward its board of governors.
- AppState is taking away tax revenue: True story: Each time App State purchases a new property using its almost unlimited budget and financing opportunities, they remove property tax revenue. While this would be a great benefit for a nonprofit organization, it presents a challenge when a town’s largest property owner is tax exempt. The chancellor does not make the tax code and does not control town ordinances. We may have opportunities to address this with local and county governments. We need individuals in local and county government leadership roles who are not beholden to or afraid of App State.
- Complaints from the right: I have heard republican friends say things like, “Those damned kids steal every election.” Well, the opportunity for college freshmen to choose to vote at their campus is a North Carolina thing; it is not like that in every state. North Carolina’s voting rights are just that – a product of the North Carolina legislature, not of the chancellor. If the overwhelming majority of faculty members were registered as republicans, they would host ‘get out the vote’ rallies just like the democratic faculty do. Being faculty in higher education is and has been a liberal person’s game for decades. If you want to change that, recruit more people from the right to be professors. I am not sure how this is to be blamed on the chancellor.
- Housing: The housing market is strong in the High Country because of the natural beauty, amenities and weather. We have been the playground for the wealthy for generations. The number of students in need of housing takes the demand side of the housing equation to ridiculous levels. Many solutions have been talked about including capping enrollment, building more student housing on and off campus, requiring sophomores to live on campus and offering more online degree programs. Can a chancellor make any of these things happen? They can help but it requires decision-making from the trustees or board of governors. Housing challenges in the High Country require county, town, business and university leadership to put all ideas on the table for discussion. We simply need more beds to accommodate the demand.
After reading to this point, you may think of me as a Sheri Everts apologist. Let me assure you, I am not. I believe she needs to be gone for Boone to move forward. The chancellor is guilty of two things that she is solely responsible for:
- Blind devotion to the system and not to App State: Possibly to the delight of the board of governors, the chancellor has grown and built App State in ways that never took into consideration the students, town, staff, business community, environment and definitely not the faculty. She has been a loyal pawn to North Carolina’s university system.
- Building a destructive culture: She has created a culture of division and authoritarian leadership that has done nothing but leave faculty, staff and students confused and afraid. Taking away App State’s ability to voice new ideas or any form of opposition to her narrative started on July 1, 2014. Removing the freedom of expression aspect from the tunnel is just the natural progression of her leadership style since day one. Her actions may have been aligned with the NC system for the last decade, but they have not been aligned with App State.
The executive committee of App State’s board of trustees meets tomorrow, April 5, 2024, at 8:45 a.m. Let your voice be heard. Email the board at bot@appstate.edu with a two-word message in the subject line: Bye, Sheri.
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