Austin Peay State University
| Motto | Find Your Place in The World |
|---|---|
| Type | State funded |
| Established | 1927 |
| President | Timothy Hall |
| Undergraduates | 8,650 |
| Postgraduates | 542 |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Urban, 160 acres (0.8 km²) |
| Colors | Red and White |
| Mascot | Governors |
| Website | www.apsu.edu |
Austin Peay State University is an accredited public university located in Clarksville, Tennessee, and operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents.
History
The school was founded after the former Southwestern Presbyterian College (now Rhodes College) moved to Memphis in 1925, leaving its former campus in Clarksville unoccupied. In 1929, area civic and political leaders encouraged the state of Tennessee to purchase the facility and operate it as a public normal school for the training of schoolteachers. This was done, and the institution was renamed in honor of former governor Austin Peay who had died in office in 1927, which many attributed at least in part to stress due to his battles with the state legislature over education issues.
The school thus began with the formal name of Austin Peay State Normal School for Rural White Teachers. Racial desegregation, among other factors, led to a name change to Austin Peay State College, and the institution was granted university status in 1967. The school grew greatly in the late 1940s and 1950s, largely due to veterans attending under the G. I. Bill of Rights, which gave the school a large number of male students for the first time, schoolteaching at the time of the school's founding having been a largely-female occupation. At the same time, several fields of study in areas beyond education were introduced into the curriculum. Much of the recent growth of the school has been in conjunction with programs conducted in conjunction with the United States Army at nearby Fort Campbell.
Athletics
The school's athletic teams, most of which compete in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), are known as the "Governors" in honor of the school's namesake. The school's popular cheer is, "Let's go, Peay!"
The football team had participated in the Pioneer Football League, but on April 8, 2005 announced that it was leaving the Pioneer League at the conclusion of the 2005 season and that the football program would rejoin the Ohio Valley Conference in 2007.
The basketball Govs and Lady Govs have a long tradition of excellence in the OVC. Coach Dave Loos has led Austin Peay to two NCAA tournament berths, on the way to becoming one of the most respected coaches in the conference, as well as its winningest coach. Notable players such as Trenton Hassell and Bubba Wells continue to emerge from the program.
In July-August of 2006, the Tennessee Titans had their first training camp on the campus.
The site of Austin Peay State University has also been the site of Clarksville's first educational institutions, Rural Academy (1806-1810) and Mount Pleasant Academy (1811-1824). Later, Clarksville Academy (1825-1848), Masonic College, (1849-1850), Montgomery County Masonic College, (1851-1854), and Stewart College (1855-1874) would occupy this area until the arrival of Southwestern Presbyterian University (1875-1925).
Buildings on campus
Educational or administrational
- Armory (demolished May 2005, to be replaced with new Recreational Center)
- Browning Building
- Claxton Building
- Clement Building
- Dunn Center
- Ellington Building
- Felix G. Woodward Library
- Foy Fitness and Recreation Center
- Harned Hall
- Kimbrough Building
- Marks Building
- McCord Building
- McReynolds Building
- Music/Mass Communication Building
- Simmons Memorial Health Building ("The Red Barn")
- Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hills
- Sundquist Science Center
- Trahern Building
- Joe C. Morgan University Center
Residence Halls
- Killebrew Hall (Co-ed)
- Miller Hall (Male)
- Rawlins Hall (Male)
- Cross Hall (Co-ed)
- Beatrice Hand Village (Co-ed)
- Emerald Hills (Family Housing)
- Sevier Hall (Female)
- Blount Hall (Female)
- Harvill Hall (Co-ed)
- Meacham Apartments (Co-ed)
- Two Rivers Apartments (Co-ed, Honor's Housing)
Fraternities
- Pi Kappa Alpha
- Sigma Phi Epsilon
- Kappa Sigma
- Sigma Chi
- Alpha Gamma Rho
- Kappa Alpha Psi
- Omega Psi Phi
- Phi Beta Sigma
Sororities
- Chi Omega
- Alpha Sigma Alpha
- Alpha Delta Pi
- Alpha Kappa Alpha
- Delta Sigma Theta
- Sigma Gamma Rho
- Zeta Phi Beta
Professional Fraternities
- Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity
- Phi Mu Alpha
- Sigma Alpha Iota
Alma Mater
All Hail To Austin Peay
All Hail our Alma Mater,
All Hail to Austin Peay,
Forever faithful to thy standards will we ever be,
We love thy campus beauty, serene in dignity,
And so we proudly sing this song in praise of thee,
All Hail, All Hail,
We sing in praise of thee,
We love our Alma Mater,
All Hail to Austin Peay.
Words and Music by Aaron Schmidt Music by "Governors Own" Austin Peay State University Marching Band directed by Andrea Brown
Departments
Accounting, African American Studies, Agriculture, Art, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Communication & Theatre, Computer Science, Economics & General Business, Education, Engineering Technology, Finance Management & Marketing, Geosciences, Health & Human Performance, History, Languages & Literature, Leadership, Mathematics, Military Science, Music, Nursing, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Management, Social Work, Sociology, and Women's Studies.
Notable alumni
- Steve Adams, former Tennessee State Treasurer
- Riley Darnell, former Tennessee State Senator and current Tennessee Secretary of State
- Jeff Gooch, former NFL player, Tampa Bay Buccaneers '96-'01,'04 Detroit Lions'02-'03
- Trenton Hassell, NBA basketball player, Minnesota Timberwolves
- Tommy Head, former member, Tennessee House of Representatives and brother of basketball coach Pat Summitt
- Percy Howard, former wide receiver for the NFL Dallas Cowboys
- Douglas S. Jackson, Tennessee State Senator, D-Dickson
- Otis Key, player and coach with the Harlem Globetrotters
- John Morgan, Comptroller of the Treasury for the State of Tennessee
- Mary C. Noble, Justice, Kentucky Supreme Court
- Chonda Pierce, Christian comedian and performer
- Joe Pitts, Member, Tennessee House of Representatives, D-Clarksville
- George Sherrill, former relief pitcher, MLB Seattle Mariners
- Jeff Stec, entrepreneur who formed Peak Fitness
- Jamie Walker, relief pitcher, MLB Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles
- Paula Wall, critically acclaimed author, "The Rock Orchard," "The Wilde Women."
- Bubba Wells, former basketball player, NBA Dallas Mavericks
- James "Fly" Williams, legendary 1970s basketball player; later in the original American Basketball Association
- Howie Wright, former basketball player, NBA New York Knicks
Presidents of Austin Peay
- John S. Ziegler, 1929-1930
- Philander Claxton, 1930-1946
- Halbert Harvill, 1946-1962
- Earl E. Sexton (acting), September-December 1962
- Joe Morgan, 1963-1976
- Robert O. Riggs, 1976-1987
- Oscar C. Page, 1988-1994
- Richard G. Rhoda (Interim), July-October 1994
- Sal D. Rinella, 1994-2000
- Sherry L. Hoppe (Interim), 2000-2001
- Sherry L. Hoppe, 2001-2007
- Timothy Hall, 2007-Present
As of January 2007, President Sherry Hoppe announced her retirement from the APSU presidency, effective July 31, 2007. Timothy Hall was hired by the Tennessee Board of Regents to succeed her. He begins Aug. 1. Hall was associate provost and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, since 2002. He was director of the University Studies 101 Program there from 1996-2003 and has been a professor of law at Ole Miss since 1989.
