Dear Editor,

I would like to encourage the entire community to add their voices to the objections raised in response to Radford University’s recommendation to discontinue portions of the Appalachian Studies program.

Radford has long set the standard in claiming and celebrating the diversity that comprises the Appalachian region. Humanities programs such as this one are specifically those designed to help us to better understand ourselves. In understanding and appreciating our own region, we are better equipped to understand the world at large and our roles within it.

Please urge the administrators of Radford University to reconsider the fate of the graduate-level Certificate in Appalachian Studies, which has been recommended for discontinuance. The Appalachian Regional Studies Center, the AASIS Program, the Highland Summer Conference, the Farm at Selu, and the Appalachian Teachers’ Network all stand as beacons of light and hope in an area whose population is at risk in so many ways.

Let us continue to support and proclaim the importance of expanding interest, pride, and scholarship in Appalachian studies.

Sincerely,

Viki Dasher Rouse
Assistant Professor of English
Walters State Community College
Morristown, Tenn.