College Timeline
The College of Fine and Applied Arts celebrates its 50 year anniversary in 2018. Take a trip back in time to learn how we've evolved through the years.
1968
The College of Fine and Applied Arts was established with the following departments: Art, Economics & Business, Health & Physical Education, Home Economics, Industrial Arts, Music and Speech.
1969
Military Science was added, providing the university’s first ROTC program.
1970
The Department of Economics & Business moves to the College of Business.
The university’s outdoor shooting range opens for the ROTC rifle team and other student and faculty groups.
1971
The Department of Industrial Arts raises a 25-foot-tall totem pole constructed in the department’s woodworking class in front of Kerr Scott Hall.
1972
The Department of Industrial Arts is renamed Industrial Arts & Technology.
WASU-FM, the university's radio station, begins broadcasting under the direction of the Department of Speech.
1973
The Department of Health & Physical Education is renamed Health, Physical Education & Recreation.
1974
WASU-TV, the university's first television station, is started by Learning Resources and the Department of Speech.
The Loft in New York City opens and operated by the Art Department.
1975
Walker Hall, home to the current Department of Communication, is completed.
1977
The Department of Speech is renamed Communication Arts.
1976
Herbert Walter Wey Hall, home to the current Department of Art, is completed.
1985
The Department of Health, Physical Education & Recreation is renamed Health Education, Physical Education and Leisure Studies.
1987
WASU-FM changes from Top-40 format to album-oriented rock/progressive rock format.
1989
The Department of Theatre and Dance is added to the college.
The Department of Music moves to the School of Music.
1991
The Department of Communication Arts is renamed Communication.
The Department of Industrial Education & Technology is renamed Technology.
1993
The Department of Health Education, Physical Education and Leisure Science is renamed Health, Leisure and Exercise Science.
1994
The Department of Theatre and Dance dedicates and opens Valborg Theatre.
1997
The Department of Home Economics is renamed Family and Consumer Sciences.
1999
The New York Loft in Manhattan opens to Appalachian State students. The loft rents for $30 a night for students, faculty, and staff, and $40 for alumni and guests.
2003
The Living Learning Academic Building, home to the current Department of Sustainable Development, is completed.
2005
The Department of Military Science is renamed Military Science and Leadership.
2006
The Department of Nursing is added to the college.
2007
Kerr Scott Hall, home to the current Departments of Applied Design and Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, is renamed Katherine Harper Hall.
2010
The Department of Family & Consumer Sciences moves to the College of Education, and the Departments of Health, Leisure & Exercise Science and Nursing move to the College of Health Sciences.
2011
The Department of Technology is renamed Technology and Environmental Design.
Sustainable Development relocates its farm from Valle Crucis to Ashe County. The new property includes approximately 35 acres of pasture, 130 acres of woodlands, a large greenhouse and late-nineteenth century barn.
2013
The Sustainable Development program, formerly with University College, becomes a department in the college.
Electronic Media / Broadcasting students in the Department of Communication gain access to the 18,000 square foot George G. Beasley Media Complex, a new facility housing broadcast studios, classrooms, labs and offices for faculty members. WASU-FM also moves into the complex.
2015
Applied Design is created within the college to encompass the areas of apparel design and merchandising, interior design and industrial design.
The Department of Technology and Environmental Design is renamed Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment.
AppTV, the university’s student-staffed television station, is launched by the Department of Communication.