Appalachian State chancellor announces she will step down. Here’s when, and why.

Appalachian State University Chancellor Sheri Everts will step down from her position on Friday.

Everts, who has served as chancellor of the Boone university since 2014, said in a Monday announcement that she has been “experiencing significant health challenges” over the past few months and will now focus on her “personal health and well-being.”

As the eighth chancellor of App State, Everts oversaw growth of the university that included both an increase in enrollment and fundraising, as well as the physical development of campus — though her leadership also drew criticism from faculty and students.

The university this year boasts a total enrollment of more than 21,000 students, an increase of 16% since Everts began as chancellor. The current student body is App State’s most diverse group to-date, with nearly one-fifth of students being racially or ethnically underrepresented, the university said Monday.

The university received more than $550 million for capital projects from the state during Everts’ tenure, “representing one of the largest infrastructure investments in the entire UNC System,” the university said. Last fall, the university expanded to a second campus in Hickory, further increasing access to higher education in Western North Carolina.

UNC System President Peter Hans said in a statement that Everts’ decade of leadership was “a time of growth and momentum” for the university.

“Chancellor Everts welcomed a record number of students, celebrated numerous academic and athletic accomplishments, and led a physical transformation of the beautiful Boone campus,” Hans said. “A new investment in Hickory builds on App State’s commitment to public service, and generations of North Carolinians will find great opportunity close to home because of Chancellor Everts’ vision. I’m very grateful for her devoted service.”

App State Board of Trustees Chair Mark Ricks wished Everts well and thanked her for her service to the university in a statement on behalf of the board Monday afternoon, saying that she “has positioned our university for many future decades of success.”

“In this, the university’s 125th year, we look to the future with confidence, knowing we can build on a solid record of success,” Ricks said. “The Board wishes her the very best as her focus now is where it should be — on her health.”

Hans will announce an interim chancellor by Friday. A timeline to find the university’s next permanent chancellor was not announced Monday.

Faculty, student criticism of Everts

Everts’ time as chancellor was not without controversy.

In August 2020, amid the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the university’s Faculty Senate passed a vote of “no confidence” in Everts, citing a lack of competency, transparency and concern for the well-being of students.

Everts was “frequently isolated from and unable to effectively communicate with faculty, and has failed in her basic tasks of strengthening institutional finances, providing goals, operating in a transparent fashion, embracing shared governance, and pulling the university community together in a common mission,” the faculty’s no-confidence resolution stated.

More recently, Everts drew the ire of students and alumni for her decision to “upgrade” the university’s “expression tunnels” — officially, the Rivers Street tunnels — by removing the art, paint and other designs in the tunnels and adding brighter lighting and cameras to monitor the area.

She also faced criticism by student groups, including the Appalachian State College Democrats, for a variety of actions they called “attacks on free speech and expression.”

Still, Everts on Monday thanked and praised both faculty and students for their efforts during her tenure.

“I thank the faculty for the incredible contributions they have made through their teaching, research and service over the last decade, and our staff, who are the heart and soul of the institution,” she said. “Most of all, I am incredibly proud of our students, past and present, who bring our university to life, give us purpose, and make real and powerful differences in communities around the world.”

Ricks said the Board of Trustees looks forward “to working with faculty, staff and students for the good of App State.”

Everts concluded her message by saying she was “honored and humbled to serve” as chancellor of App State, adding that she wishes the university community “the very best.”

Everts’ resignation comes as the 17-campus UNC System is searching for new chancellors at four other universities: UNC-Chapel Hill, NC A&T State University, Winston-Salem State University and NC Central University.