1970s
In 1971, a group of faculty members received a Teachers of Teacher Trainers (TTT) grant. The grant was so large that subgroups of grant recipients were created to discuss usage details. Drs. Jim Stines, Don Frantz, and Lorraine Force were on the humanities subgroup committee. Professors of the humanities (in Religion, English, and Art, respectively) decided to develop a residential college. The three founders went on to visit different places to determine the shape that Watauga College would take. They visited UNCG’s residential college, the artist community of Penland, and other residential communities in the area.
1972: Watauga College was started. It was located in Watauga Hall on campus (Fun Fact: That’s why it’s called “Watauga College”), and it was the first-ever co-ed housing situation at Appalachian. Jim Stines (one of the founders) was the first Director of Watauga and held that position for one year, during Academic Year 1972–1973.
Originally, Watauga had at least one faculty couple living in the residence halls with the students. The first couple to do this was Mary and Joe Watts; Joe served as Assistant Director of Watauga, and Mary as Residence Director. They started out in Watauga Hall and moved with the program when it relocated to East Residence Hall in 1974.
At its inception, Watauga was a strictly one-year program for Freshmen. By 1974, the students’ call for a second year in the program was unignorable. A sophomore program was added, making Watauga a two-year program.
Two of Watauga’s core values during this period of infancy were interdisciplinarity and team teaching. Grades were managed for each student in a unique way: at the end of each semester, the faculty would all sit down together and write a statement about each student as their grade.
Watauga was also housed under the General College (the predecessor to University College) in its early years until the mid-1980s, when it was moved under the Interdisciplinary Studies Department.
In 1973–1974, a psychology professor, Bill Moss, was the Director.
Also in 1974, Watauga Hall was razed, and Watauga College moved to East Residence Hall. East would house Watauga until 2003. After the Watts couple stepped down, William and Diane Griffin took their place in East as the Assistant Director of Watauga and the Residence Director of the dorm. Bill Griffin would later become the Director of Watauga College.
In 1974–1975, the Director was Mike Moore.
At the start of the 1975 academic year, Peter Petschauer began serving as the Director of Watauga and remained for five years until 1980. This five-year period is often referred to as the “Petschauer Era.” Peter was also the head of Interdisciplinary Studies (when it was not yet a department) during his time in Watauga.
Marvin Williamsen was the Director of Watauga College, followed by Peter Petschauer. He was the Director of Watauga throughout the 1980s, after which he continued to work closely with Watauga until 1990, when he served as the Chair of Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS).
1980s
William C. Griffin taught in Watauga from 1978–1988 and also served as director of Watauga under Marvin Williamsen as Chair of IDS.
Kay Smith came to Watauga under Marvin Williamsen and served as the Director for three years from 1986 to 1989. Smith recognized the uniqueness of Watauga’s program, and in an interview reflecting on it, she called it a “boutique program” worth bragging about.
She thought, unfortunately, that not enough bragging and advertising was done in the 80s to increase the program's visibility and validity, and she saw it suffer in enrollment, budgetary allocations, and other areas.
1990s
After Kay Smith left the director position to become IDS chair, longtime faculty member Leslie “Bud” Gerber served as the Director of Watauga from 1989 to 1995. He was followed by Cynthia Wood, who was Director from 1995 to 1997.
Richard Carp became the chair of IDS after Kay Smith in 1999 and served as its final chair, working there until about 2008. Around 2008–2009, IDS was dissolved as a department and reduced to just a program. During the same time, University College was established, and Watauga was then moved there for administration.
Under Richard Carp, Lee Williams served as the Director of Watauga College from 1999 to 2005.
2000s
In 2003, Watauga moved from East Residence Hall to the newly constructed Living Learning Center, where it still resides today, alongside other student groups.
In 2005, David Huntley, who had previously served as the Assistant Director of Watauga, took the position of Director and served until 2014. Under his direction, Watauga College was renamed Watauga Global Community in 2008.
In 2014, Clark Maddux served as the Director of Watauga. One of his first official actions was to change the official name back to Watauga Residential College.
Watauga has had to adapt its curriculum as the university’s curriculum evolves, much like any other department. Under Kay Smith’s direction, Watauga submitted new General Education forms to AP&P, but AP&P deemed Watauga College "too interdisciplinary." In 2014–2015, Clark Maddux submitted courses to the General Education Council and AP&P again, this time with much greater success.
In the fall of 2021, Laura Ammon became Clark Maddux’s successor. Her tenure began with the opportunity to work with students to construct the post-COVID Watauga.
The University underwent many changes during the COVID-19 period of remote teaching and learning, and the return to face-to-face classes brought challenges. In true Wataugan spirit, Prof. Ammon worked with students and Watauga alumni GA Zoe Huffines to renew Watauga step by step.
Classes in the LLR, Land Beyond days of service, Fall Festival, and Watauga Graduation were re-visioned with students, staff, and faculty. In 2022, lunches in the Great Hall on Tuesdays returned, and the community continues to move forward, building Watauga one step at a time.
Marking 50 Years
Celebrating 50 Years of Watauga
The April 2023 celebration was a smashing success. Thank you to all who joined us.
“This celebration was an opportunity to bring alumni and current students together in honor of traditions, past and present, in the Watauga program.” - Dr. Laura Ammon, director of WRC