Watauga Residential College (formerly Watauga Global Community) is a residential college founded at Appalachian State University in 1972. Watauga College was founded to be an "interdisciplinary, experimental, residential, coed alternative for social science and humanities general education requirements."[1] Watauga Residential College was developed as "response to rising criticism of American education during the sixties and to the artificial fragmentation of knowledge in the academy; it was seen as a return to the world, where problems and themes do not recognise disciplinary boundaries and education is reconnected with individual learners." [1] Although Watauga has changed names over the years Watauga College in 1972, Watauga Global Community in 2008, and Watauga Residential College in 2014, its mission has remained relatively the same. "Watauga Residential College pursues its mission through a sequenced, interdisciplinary, experiential curriculum that requires students to integrate class content, community-based research, and multicultural immersion. This innovative curriculum, in conjunction with the academic and residential community, creates an atmosphere for the emergence of dynamic learning experiences through unique interactions among students and faculty." [2] A key focus of Watauga is on the residential community so for the first year students are required to live in the living learning center.
Watauga College was first based in Watauga Hall, then for decades was based in East Hall, a large U shaped dormitory on the east end of Campus. The dorm was known campus wide as having the largest rooms of any dorm on the Appalachian campus, yet it was one of the oldest dorms on campus. Upon the completion of the Living Learning Center in 2003, Watauga College relocated and East Hall will either be renovated or destroyed because of the high cost of renovating such an old building.
