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Overall Score: .75

Campus History:

Western Carolina University is known as the proud home of the Catamounts, or, as will become increasingly evident, the school of ever-changing names. Founded in August 1889 by Professor Robert Lee Madison, and chartered as Cullowhee High School in 1891, the emphasis of the university was on teacher training. Its first normal department was established in 1893 with an appropriation of $1,500 from the state, and in 1905 the school became known as Cullowhee Normal and Industrial School.

Around 1912, the school was gradually elevated to the status of a two-year normal school or junior college. In 1925, the name was changed to Cullowhee State Normal School to reflect the increased support of the state and discontinuance of work at the secondary level. Just four years later, the school again changed names, this time to Western Carolina Teacher's College, as it was now under a new charter to become a 4-year institution.

It was during this illustrious time in the university’s history that its teams were referred to as “the Teachers.” However, this would not be WCU if there was not a name change involved, and indeed the year 1933 brought to the campus a contest to come up with the school’s next mascot. The college wanted an unusual choice, so as not to have other school’s with the same name, and the final two candidates were the Mountain Boomers, a small ground squirrel that is extremely fast and difficult to catch, and the Catamounts, which can be any type of wild cat such as the cougar or lynx. Obviously, Catamounts was the choice, and a successful one at that in the school’s quest for distinctiveness. Today only the University of Vermont shares this nickname with WCU.

In 1951, postgraduate education was added to the curriculum and the granting of the Master of the Arts in Education degree was authorized. The university continued to grow, and in 1953 changed its name to Western Carolina College.

Designated a regional university by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the name was changed to Western Carolina University. Finally, in 1972 the school, now with a permanent name (at least for now), became a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina.

Students, Faculty, and Administration:

There are 8,396 students at Western Carolina University, 87% of whom are full-time students. While 83% of the student body is from North Carolina, 10% of the students are out-of-state, and students come from countries located in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South Africa. Fifty-five percent of the study body is female. In terms of race, 87% of the students are white, 6% are Black, and 2% are American Indian. In the year 2001-2002, 64.2% of the students were receiving some form of aid, and more than two-thirds of these students were receiving need-based aid. Of the 1,118 freshman entering WCU in the fall of 2002, 107 were in the top ten percent of their high school class.

As of fall 2002, WCU had 315 total faculty, 242 of whom held doctorate or first professional degrees. The student/faculty ratio is 16:1. WCU faculty have received various grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, as well as microgrants and Vice Chancellor’s Instructional Improvement Grants. The faculty senate serves as the chief-policy-recommending body of the general faculty, and is the principle voice to advice the chancellor on the state of university affairs.

The administration at Western Carolina University is headed by Chancellor John W. Bardo. The Chancellor appoints members to the athletics and strategic planning committees, as well as the Honors College and WCU-Cherokee Task Forces, and the Internal Advisory Committee on Economic Development. The administration is further separated into divisions of finance, advancement and external affairs, the Office of the Provost, and student affairs. Administration is responsible for enforcing the policies set forth by either the UNC Board of Governors, the WCU Board of Trustees, or the chancellor. These policies regulate the conduct of university activity to best serve the interests of the school and the students, faculty, and staff who comprise it.

Location, Weather, and Topography:

Western Carolina University (WCU) is located in the town of Cullowhee, appropriately in the Western corner of North Carolina, near the southern end of Cullowhee Valley and along the Tuckasegee River. Cullowhee is 52 miles southwest of Asheville and 6 miles south of Sylva. The area does not lack for its share of mountains, as the 252 acre main campus is surrounded by the gorgeous Appalachian mountains of the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests and the Great Smoky Mountains, just a 30 minute drive away. The Blue Ridge Parkway is also only 20 minutes from campus. The weather around campus will range from an average high of 84 degrees in July to an average low of 25 degrees in January. The maximum average precipitation, at a little over 5 inches, occurs in March.

Disability Services on Campus:

Western Carolina University’s Services for Students with Disabilities program is found within the school’s office of Student Support Services which is found within the even broader Student Affairs office. Thus, if one has a disability necessitating accommodations one should first contact the Student Affairs office, who should then refer one to the school’s ADA / Section 504 officer, who will work closely with the office of Student Services to provide assistance. Assistance may come in the form of readers, note-takers, computer assistance, priority registration, zoom text, Braille printing, and many other options. The program will accommodate a ride range of disabilities (visual, hearing, mobility, medical, learning, or other disability) and there is no cost for any of the services.