Western Carolina University has announced plans for fall 2020 that include holding the first day of classes as scheduled on Monday, Aug. 17, eliminating the traditional fall break, moving final exams online and sending students home for the remainder of the semester prior to Thanksgiving.

Some 15,000 much-needed surgical masks are now available for health care providers across the 18 counties of Western North Carolina, thanks to big efforts by a small group centered at Western Carolina University.

Students from Western Carolina University’s College of Engineering and Technology have checked out 3D printers from the university and are using them from home to help produce face shields for use by health care professionals during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Jackson County Department of Public Health has been notified of three additional positive cases of COVID-19 associated with the Apodaca Science Building at Western Carolina University’s campus. 

The Jackson County Department of Public Health (JCDPH) has been notified of a positive case of COVID19 in a subcontractor working on a construction site at Western Carolina University’s campus.

As COVID-19 protocols began taking effect in the Asheville area, registered nurses in a primary care residency and fellows program at Western Carolina University made a quick shift to assist an at-risk population while still continuing their training.

Distance learning will continue through the summer at Western Carolina University, and all summer conferences are canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A chat room conversation between colleagues at Western Carolina University with ties to China led to fast action that is putting surgical masks into the hands of front-line health workers in the region's smaller care facilities.

As a professor in Western Carolina University’s Department of Biology who specializes in immunology and infectious diseases, Mack Powell finds the COVID-19 pandemic particularly interesting.