State Senator Ralph E. Hise Jr., the awardee of the 2024 Distinguished Alumnus from Appalachian State University, has been pushing legislation that has been harming members of our community for years.  His actions do not represent the core values that this institution holds dear.

Appalachian State University is a place that strives for integrity and inclusivity, teaching its students to be responsible and fair while uplifting their community. We are compelled to question whether Ralph E. Hise Jr. reflects these values. His actions and legislation have harmed and continue to harm our community, and we feel it is unjust to recognize him as a distinguished alumnus without taking these considerable factors into account.

In 2017, a North Carolina activist filed two complaints with the North Carolina Board of Elections which accused Hise of allegedly committing a variety of campaign finance violations, including "allegedly paying himself more than $10,000 from his campaign fund."  At the time he was also the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Elections. After the State Board of Elections began investigating the accusations that Hise had broken campaign finance laws, Ralph Hise introduced Senate Bill 68, which altered the power and structure of the Board of Elections that was investigating him. The bill consolidated the State Board of Elections and State Board of Ethics into one entity called the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement whose Chair switches between the two dominant parties every year such that the Chair is a Republican every even numbered year. The law also required county boards of elections to switch Chairs in the same manner. Ralph Hise refused to recuse himself from the consideration of the Bill when called on to do so due to the ongoing investigation.  Senate Bill 68 was passed into law, but it was appealed before the Supreme Court of North Carolina, which ruled on January 26, 2018 that the appointment provisions violated the state Constitution.

Also in 2017, Hise was forced to forfeit money received from the Pfizer Inc. Political Action Committee, along with several other government officials in the largest campaign donation forfeitures in North Carolina history.

In 2018, Hise used his position as chairman of a committee on Medicaid to convince the Senate to reject the portion of Senate Bill 998, "a bill to study rural healthcare needs", which would have implemented a study to explore expanding Medicaid in North Carolina.

In 2021, he proposed anti-transgender legislation which would prohibit medical professionals from performing gender confirmation surgery on those under the age of 21. The legislation would also mandate that state employees inform parents when their children display "gender nonconformity."

By far the most damaging legislation came in November 2024 when Hise adamantly supported and helped pass Senate Bill 382 which illegally stripped powers from democratically elected state officials under the guise of a "Hurricane Helene Relief Bill" which did nothing to provide relief to Western North Carolina counties that were devastated by an historic natural disaster.  Hise represents Allegheny, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Haywood, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties in Western North Carolina and chose to add insult to injury to his constituents by forcing an unconstitutional partisan bill through the legislature instead of helping the citizens he purports to represent.

We, therefore, demand that Appalachian State University take our concerns seriously and rescind the award given to Ralph E. Hise Jr.        We believe that the honored role of a distinguished alumnus should be reserved for those who inspire and uplift the Appalachian State University community, rather than those who undermine its core values and cause harm to the community. 

Please show your support and understanding for this plea by signing this petition. Let us protect the integrity of our institution and community.