Austin Peay 2021: A Year in Review

President Licari's installation

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – In early November, dignitaries from across the region gathered at the Austin Peay State University Mabry Concert Hall for the official installation of Dr. Mike Licari as the University’s 11^th president.

After having the presidential medallion placed around his neck, Licari delivered his presidential address.

“Our students are talented and hardworking, and our faculty and staff are dedicated and successful professionals,” he said. “I could not be more proud and honored to lead such a university.”

Licari’s arrival at Austin Peay earlier this year marked a new era for the University, and over the last 12 months, APSU has continued to thrive. With this busy year winding down, here’s a look at 10 major stories to come out of Austin Peay in 2021.

Mike Licari officially began his tenure as Austin Peay’s 11^thpresident on March 1. Austin Peay’s Board of Trustees named Licari, formerly provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Indiana State University, as the APSU president during a special meeting on Dec. 21, 2020.
On Tuesday, March 2, Austin Peay State University’s nursing faculty and students began administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to members of the Montgomery County community at a drive-thru site behind the Ard Building. Over the next few months, the University would vaccinate several thousand members of the Clarksville-Montgomery County community.
In April, Austin Peay officials announced the creation of a new Institute for National Security and Military Studies, the first institute of its kind in Tennessee. The institute will oversee educational programs, military outreach activities and interdisciplinary research on national security, intelligence and military life. In December, the Board of Trustees approved a new Bachelor of Science in National Security Studies that will serve as the “academic underpinning” for the new institute, Licari said.
The Tennessee General Assembly approved funding in April for a 114,600-square-foot health professions building at Austin Peay. The building, which is projected to open before the fall 2024 semester, will allow APSU to consolidate its growing healthcare-related programs – nursing, allied health sciences, health and human performance, psychological science and counseling and social work.
On Friday, May 7, Sarah Dugger made history by becoming the first person to earn a doctoral degree – a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in educational leadership – from the University.
On June 2, the APSU Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name the front Browning Lawn in honor of Evans Harvill, a 1944 and 1947 graduate, who passed away in May at the age of 95. Evans was also the son of Dr. Halbert Harvill, one of Austin Peay’s first faculty members and a former president of the institution.
In June, the University unveiled its new Aviation Science Facility, along with its fleet of five helicopters, at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Regional Airport.
The University’s ROTC program, which has received the prestigious MacArthur Award an astounding eight times, is celebrating its 50^thanniversary during the 2021-22 academic year.
On Sept. 17, the APSU Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept an invitation to join the Atlantic Sun Conference. The University’s Athletics Department, which has been a part of the Ohio Valley Conference since 1962, will join the ASUN Conference on July 1, 2022.
On Friday, Dec. 3, the Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to adopt the University’s new mission, vision and values statements. The vote came after months of work by Austin Peay’s strategic planning committee, which sought student, employee and community input as part of the process.

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