Appalachian State University - Rhododendron Yearbook (Boone, NC)

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As a result of its incorporation by the state ' s university system in 1968 Appalachian State University has been assurred continued growth and improvement. This begins to fill its role as a major university, a wider ' array of educational and cultural opportunities will also be made available. Because of this, our institution is on the verge of becoming a complete educational and social experience. This year our Speech and Communications department has moved into its new facility, which houses a new radio station for WASU-FM whUe boasting a television studio. This New Arts and Speech building also contains studios for the many talented artists at ASU. In the realm of science, a large greenhouse is being constructed beside the Rankin building which will permit valuable first hand experimentation. The academic demands in the sciences are increasing and our departments intend to keep pace. Our College of Business, long recognized for excellence in the state, enters its second year in Johnny Walker Hall. With the assistance of such benefactors as Walker, a business degree from ASU should become one of the most respected majors in the South. As Appalachian State Teacher ' s College, the state ' s public schools looked to our institution for quality educators. Today, ASU continues in that tradition, as seventy-five percent of our grads remain in this state. Music majors at ASU, now enjoying the most diversified curriculum ever, can look forward to a new facility in the near future, so can our Industrial Arts majors. The campus infirmary, long deemed inadequate, will soon be replaced by a structure five times as large, replete with para-medical training facilities. Introduction

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. . At What Price? Traffic snarls and an impossible parking situation have demanded the four-laning of Rivers Street and the creation of temporary parking facilities on and off campus. As enrollment reaches the anticipated ceihng of ten thousand students, construction must necessarily continue to ease the growing pains. Under the guidance of Dr. W.H. Plemmons, the building boom of the sixties was thoughtfully planned regarding the increasing needs of our institution. With further growth inevitable, it is our hope that the greatest care be taken in the preservation of the natural beauty of Watauga County. bitroduction 7

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W4f ' To supplement the materials of learning, our library must also be expanded. In the face of this expansion, stately Watauga dorm must be torn down. In its place, a fifty-thousand square foot library addition will be built. The academic quality of any university depends upon the resources of its library, but with the loss of Watauga dorm, we sacrifice a link with the past. Not only that, the dorm ' s residents must relocate in an already critical housing situation. Privately owned apartment houses are springing up Hke milk-weed, but more housing is needed. Plans for more dormitory space are in the offing, with millions of dollars awaiting expenditure, and officials expect results by the Fall of 1979. In our sports minded culture, a university ' s athletic program can do much to establish recognition and identity across the nation. At ASU, every athletic facility is being expanded. Conrad Stadium is being remodeled, with a new press box, field house and fifteen-thousand more seats. For the recreational athlete, Broome- Kirk Gym is renovating the showers and dressing rooms. More recreational facilities will be constructed in the future as the ASU student athlete continues to enjoy them. Even the oft maligned Duck Pond will benefit to the tune of a one hundred-fifty thousand dollar landscaping and drainage project. The increased traffic flow will be eased by the widening of Rivers Street to four lanes as the campus will begin to dominate the terrain of Boone. These, and the many other pervasive developments at our university will contribute to the development of well-rounded college graduates. It will bring the ASU grad the recognition and credibility required to stake a claim in whatever field of endeavor he or she chooses. Introduction 9