星空传媒

星空传媒 alumnus Bob McCollum 鈥�77 is 鈥淭he Music Doctor,鈥� a man of the mountain who鈥檚 devoted his life to giving back to the region in whatever way he can.

His mother and father鈥檚 ancestors were early immigrants to the area and hosted some of the earliest surveyors to visit the region.

When McCollum arrived to 星空传媒, he found means to study his home and its people at new and different depths.

鈥淚 particularly liked anthropology with a slant to geography... It was a study of people and their connection to the landscape... I was getting both the physical and the social and the cultural at the same time,鈥� McCollum said.

McCollum graduated with an Earth sciences degree and worked as a teacher, and a member of the job corps before eventually beginning a lengthy scientific career in at the Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory.

鈥淭he laboratory studies the entirety of the water cycle鈥攆rom atmospheric chemistry to rainfall moving through soils to streams and rivers, then evapotranspiration back into the atmosphere.

鈥淭hey sampled rainfall, groundwater wells, stream water, and we ran those through analyses for positive and negative ions and nutrients鈥攕pecifically those that feed plants and biota in streams. We also did that for soils鈥攕oil productivity, minerals, things like calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphate鈥攁ll the things that feed plant communities,鈥� McCollum said.

But in just six months鈥� time, McCollum鈥檚 expertise was asked elsewhere.

A professor with the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia, who was collaborating with the scientists at Coweeta to study forested watersheds, approached McCollum鈥檚 boss for help.

鈥淭his professor was doing co-op work with us studying forested watersheds, but no one had ever studied agricultural watersheds the same way,鈥� McCollum said. 鈥淗e had a connection in South Georgia at a place near Tifton called Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

鈥淗e was doing work there with the federal watershed unit, and they wanted somebody to go down there and create a laboratory just like ours鈥攖o study the same chemical profiles for soils, water, and everything else.鈥�

McCollum鈥檚 boss recommended him for the job, and in no time at all he was moving south, drawing the designs for what is now the Southeastern Watershed Research Unit. He spent the better part of five years in the area getting the operation in motion. He also learned to tune pianos and started a country band; McCollum has always been a musician at heart, and plays often today.

When he finally moved back he was fortunate to be able to continue his work at Coweeta, where he鈥檇 be for the next 28-and-a-half years.

While working as a scientist in the mountains, McCollum observed the impact of environmental policy and legislation like the Clean Air Act. He described seeing the ozone concentration diminish and rainfall acidity reduced.

It also instilled in him a deep respect for what鈥檚 beyond our ability to study and how scholars benefit from interdisciplinary research.

鈥淗ere鈥檚 the big thing that I learned in science: we don鈥檛 know nothing. I can鈥檛 say that enough. For all that we think we know, there鈥檚 a whole level of function in the environment that we don鈥檛 have a grip on yet,鈥� McCollum said.

Taking account of all that McCollum has done to preserve the cultural and natural heritage of western North Carolina is a difficult task. Over the years, he has become one of Macon County鈥檚 most active civic leaders and historical preservation advocates.

For a time, McCollum represented North Carolinians as co-chair of the 11th Congressional District. He was also a delegate of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in 2012.

McCollum was appointed by Gov. Jim Hunt to the North Carolina National Parks, Parkway and Forests Development Council board, where he served for 12 years, and spearheaded the effort that inspired North Carolina鈥檚 first specialty conservation license plate and advocated for the establishment of Gorges State Park.

Two more recent accomplishments shine especially in McCollum鈥檚 memory. Since 2010, he and a team of area residents have banded together to preserve and revitalize the Cowee School Arts and Heritage Center, a titanic effort that has completely transformed what was once a camp of the Civilian Conservation Corps space into a laboratory for local artisans, artists, entrepreneurs and educators.

It鈥檚 through this endeavor as well that McCollum became acquainted with fellow alumnus Stacy Guffey, current mayor of the town of Franklin.

鈥淢ost all of our board members were longtime residents. Their families had been there, not unlike Stacy and I, and there was that connection to the history and the heritage here that we wanted to see preserved,鈥� McCollum said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to put your finger on it. It encompasses everything from buck dancing to whiskey making to quilting, and it鈥檚 just the whole thing. We try to touch on all of that, at one time or another, with our programming at the school.鈥�

With the support of local government 鈥渃hampions,鈥� to use McCollum鈥檚 words, and plenty of his own elbow grease, the project was a major success.

"One of the things I鈥檓 most pleased about is that local people love it. We had just under 15,000 visits to the school last year. Now, a lot of them are repetitive because they鈥檙e taking classes there. But having 15,000 people come in, that鈥檚 a big thing,鈥� McCollum said.

鈥淥nce they鈥檙e exposed to the school, I hear this over and over again, 鈥榃e are so glad this school is here.鈥� I have never lived in a place where there was this sense of community and a gathering place with a variety of things to do, and they鈥檙e just thrilled,鈥� McCollum said.

The more recent return of the Nikwasi Mound to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was another especially proud moment for McCollum as the culmination of two years of hard work alongside Guffey to educate their fellow community members, collaborate with native partners and advocate for the transfer in the halls of local government.

It wasn鈥檛 about doing it fast, but doing it right, and ensuring that the deed transfer was legally enshrined and protected forever.

鈥淚t was very emotional. Very emotional,鈥� McCollum said. 鈥淚 felt a lot of personal pride in being able to help that process along. And there was Stacy sitting at the table with me. The Chief was there. Juanita (Wilson) was there. We were the deed signers. It was a powerful moment.鈥�

When asked about his drive to participate in these numerous projects, McCollum describes the sense as the natural fruition of his life and upbringing in the mountains.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just something in me that said: 鈥榊es, that鈥檚 where I need to direct my time.鈥� All of those things from my past kind of came together. Here I am working with the Cherokee, whose success and welfare were tied to this land long before my ancestors arrived.

鈥淭hen there鈥檚 my education. One thing the Cherokee really respect is water and land. They still stress that because that鈥檚 what sustained them. They recognize it, and they revere it. I wish I could take that passion and give it to the rest of the world.

鈥淚 think America, in particular, is missing something. We jumped from frontier life straight into industrialization. We don鈥檛 have that long cultural continuity that creates deep appreciation for place.

鈥淪o it all kind of came together for me. When opportunities came up and people said, 鈥榃hat do you think about this?鈥� It felt natural.鈥�

For students hoping to emulate McCollum鈥檚 example of activism and leading their own efforts in the future, he had this to share.

鈥淧ay attention to the world around you. Pay attention to the details. It鈥檚 easy to pass over the things that are really important. People want to get from Point A to Point B as fast as possible, and they skip the details that have to be attended to if a project is going to succeed.鈥�