Western Carolina University’s newest chancellor is fairly certain that, of the teachers and students she knew years ago while pursuing her undergraduate degree, none would have guessed that she’d one day end up leading a thriving campus of 11,000 students. 

More than 300 people crowded Innovation Station in Dillsboro on Monday, Aug. 19, to sip a beer and shake hands with WCU’s new chancellor, Kelli Brown, who holds a Ph.D. in education. 

Western Carolina University Chancellor Kelli R. Brown is meeting with alumni, friends of the university and community members across North Carolina this summer and fall as part of a “Chancellor’s Welcome Tour” designed to introduce WCU’s new chief executive officer to the region and state.

This roller coaster of a year at Western Carolina University started before it started, when the school’s beloved chancellor David O. Belcher announced Nov. 27, 2017, that he’d be stepping down at the end of the year.

Everyone donned purple Monday afternoon to show their Catamount pride as Western Carolina University staff, faculty and students welcomed their new chancellor-elect to campus.

A new chancellor has been chosen for Western Carolina University, with the University of North Carolina Board of Governors unanimously electing Kelli R. Brown, Ph.D., to the position during a special session Thursday, April 25. 

John W. Bardo, who served as chancellor of Western Carolina University from 1995 to 2011, passed away Tuesday, March 12, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas.

The second go-around in the search for the next chancellor of Western Carolina University is nearing completion with the Board of Trustees’ unanimous vote March 1 to approve a list of three names for consideration. 

In a search that is now entering its second year, Western Carolina University’s Chancellor Search Committee is preparing to interview the top candidates applying for the job left vacant by the late Chancellor David O. Belcher. 

When UNC System President Margaret Spellings visited Cullowhee Wednesday, Oct. 24, the prevailing mood was celebratory and lighthearted as she lauded the success of the new tuition reduction program at Western Carolina University and congratulated student speakers on their accomplishments. But, within 48 hours of her return to Raleigh, Spellings would announce her resignation from the position she’d held for less than three years.