WCU students prepare for life in the ‘real world’

Western Carolina University is about to send its largest-ever class of graduates out into the world of real life jobs, but the job market for new college graduates has not improved in recent years. This discouraged this class of WCU students. They all have plans and aspirations for after they graduate. Some plan to further […]

Angela Laird Brenton: 1953 – 2013

Dr. Angela Laird Brenton, Western Carolina University’s provost and vice chancellor, died early Wednesday morning after a three-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Brenton began serving as provost at WCU in August 2012 after a 16-member campus committee appointed her in May. Brenton was born on Jan. 3, 1953, in Duncan, Oklahoma. Prior to her tenure […]

Susan Brown-Strauss: professor, designer, leader

  Susan Brown-Strauss spends many hours of her day on the campus of Western Carolina University, tackling dozens of duties to fulfill her numerous job titles. Brown-Strauss is a professor in the School of Stage and Screen where she teaches design and technical theatre. She is also Costume Shop Director and the resident costume designer […]

Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman dead at 49

Jeff Hanneman, a founding guitarist of the American thrash metal band Slayer, died Thursday morning of liver failure. He was 49. “Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home,” read a statement posted on the band’s website Thursday, May […]

WCU students share their gun violence ‘number’

After losing a dear friend, Dr. Roger Hartley, associate professor of political science at Western Carolina University, created a Facebook group called “What is Your Number? Our Network of Gun Violence.” The group has gained national attention through MSNBC and The Washington Post. Dr. Hartley spoke with WCJ about his project. Read the full story […]

Does the media give violent stories too much attention?

In wake of the recent bombings in the city of Boston, the Citizenship and Civility Steering Committee presented a discussion on the subject of “If it bleeds, it leads. Why do the media and its viewers love violence and murder?” Criminal justice professors, Dr. Al Kopak and Dr. Cyndy Caravelis-Hughes spoke for an hour about […]