Appalachian State University
PAE-9: Support Programs for Future Faculty

Appalachian’s administration is strongly committed to diversity, offering strong support to various initiatives. Students learn best in diverse educational environments; therefore, central to the depth and quality of intellectual life at Appalachian is recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty. A diverse faculty attracts a diverse student body, thus enriching all learning, working, and social interactions and preparing students to thrive in an increasingly diverse world. One significant step that Appalachian took to recruit and retain a more diverse was instating the Faculty Fellows Program, first introduced in 1993, but formally launched in a campus-wide initiative in 2002, in conjunction with the establishment of the Office of Diversity (now the Office of Equity, Diversity and Compliance).