Sheri Noren Everts, Appalachian State University’s chancellor-elect, spoke to Faculty Senate at the final meeting of the semester Monday.

Noren Everts addressed major concerns for the coming year and welcomed questions, comments and advice from faculty senators, though she reminded them she was not yet installed in her position and paid her respect to Chancellor Kenneth Peacock.

“While it’s very difficult to follow a very popular chancellor, it’s also a great opportunity to grow what you’ve created here,” she said. “Ken [Peacock] likes to say he’s doing it the App way, and I’m beginning to get a sense of that.”

Noren Everts named budgetary concerns, loss of state support and faculty exodus as her biggest concerns once in office, though she said she feels they are also issues being seen by universities across the nation.

Tim Burwell, vice provost for resource management, also spoke to the faculty senate about recent loss of faculty.

Burwell said the university has lost 21 total faculty members since 2012, a number that he regarded as unusually high.

But at an April 18 faculty senate meeting, Faculty Senate Chair Andy Koch said the College of Arts and Sciences alone has lost 21 faculty members this school year alone.

Many senators expressed their concerns over the data discrepancy, though Burwell said he was announcing the numbers as reported to the resource management department by individual colleges.

“For [faculty] who have come to [Appalachian] in the past five years, this is the worst of all times to have come here,” Burwell said.

Noren Everts said she is concerned about faculty loss and believes financial concerns at the state level play a part in the issue, though she feels faculty and staff are the strongest resource the university possesses in combatting current problems.

“It’s not true at all campuses that students have warm and delightful respect for the faculty,” she said.

Despite challenges, Noren Everts said she feels the UNC system and Appalachian in particular have a high reputation and the results of student education make things worthwhile.

“The students and what they do and how they change the world, that speaks,” Noren Everts said.

Story: Laney Ruckstuhl, Assistant News Editor

Photo: Rachel Krauza, Senior Photographer