App State's focus on international education continued with Dr. Francis T. Borkowski (1936-2025), who entered his chancellorship with a respectful vision: to create a distinctive learning environment sensitive to rapid world changes, such as technology and globalization, yet rooted in mountain values and App State's tradition of teaching, scholarship, and service.
Dr. Borkowski was App State's chancellor from 1993 to 2003. Under Borkowski’s leadership, App State celebrated its 100th anniversary, enrollment grew from 12,200 to more than 14,300, and Time magazine named the university a College of the Year in 2001.