Departing ASU Center director: 'It's been amazing'

The director for the Appalachian State University Center at Hickory is stepping down after eight years with the facility.

Jane Everson has been the first and only director at the center, who was there when the building opened in 2003 and was initially called the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center. Since then, she’s seen the program adapt from being a partnership between several universities to transforming to the ASU Center at Hickory in July 2009, focusing on programming primarily from ASU.

Everson has left her mark on the entire program, from the building to the degrees.

“It’s been amazing. When I interviewed, the Higher Education Center was nothing more than a piece of paper,” she said. “I picked out the color of the tile and everything from the ground up. It’s been nice to see the community excitement.”

Everson said her first priority was ensuring the center had the Golden Leaf Foundation Grant, and other universities signed on with the center. The more universities who wanted to partner with the Higher Education Center, the more options people in this area had to earn degrees in fields they were interested in and the more likely they were to go back to school, she said.

The center initially offered mostly graduate programs concentrated in education. Over time though, Everson said they realized they needed to add other options. Some of the ASU Center’s most popular programs now are business and public administration degrees.

“Now we have more alumni, and prospective leaders are involved with expansion and growth,” Everson said. “It was difficult to transition from a multicenter to a four institution center, but it’s important because Appalachian is more recognized.”

Although it was initially designed just to serve Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties, the center now serves one-third of North Carolina — a testament to just how successful it has become.

With Everson leaving the facility, she said she doesn’t think there will be another director. Because of state budget cuts, she said her duties will likely be divided among the staff already employed at the center.

“I think Appalachian will continue to do what it does, which is offer a variety of programs,” Everson said. “What education will look like is open due to excitement and concern, because of the budget and online (classes).”

She said when the Higher Education Center first opened in 2003, taking college classes online was still fairly new. It did not have the prevalence or the impact it has on the education field today. Despite the popularity of online classes, Everson said it hasn’t impacted the ASU Center’s enrollment numbers too much.

“In this community, most people prefer face-to-face classes, which is what Appalachian offers,” she said. “Balancing online versus classes is difficult.”

For the first time this year, ASU offered a bachelor’s of science in business administration online. She said the enrollment remained steady.

As for Everson, she had no definite plans once she leaves the ASU Center in January, but has a few thoughts.

“Prior to coming to Appalachian I worked in disability services and that’s my love,” she said. “It’s more hands on. But I’m leaving it wide-open.”

She’s also interested in collaborative partnerships, including what a university can offer to a non-profit or a business, saying the ASU Center has been proof that such things can work.

Whatever she does, Everson will stay in the area. She came to Hickory from New Orleans and didn’t anticipate staying here as long as she did.

“I wasn’t sure about a smaller community, but I want to stay here,” she said. “The needs are great for education in the Hickory-Morganton area.”

Everson has also learned a few lessons of her own from her time at the ASU Center.

“The people here are incredibly resilient and incredibly optimistic. At first, they were not especially receptive to higher education, but over a period of years, people became so vested in higher education,” she said. “People sometimes took amazing odds and persevered. People had to get a GED or go to CVCC and then make it through a program here.”