President's Corner - July 13, 2021

Today, we held our annual Staff Service and Excellence Awards.  As a result, I had the opportunity to meet and speak to a large number of APSU family for the first time.  I am deeply impressed by the hard work, talent, expertise, and thoughtfulness of the staff on campus.

Congratulations to the award winners!  But I also want to thank all of the staff on campus.  Some of you have responsibilities that have you engaged with the public or our students on a regular basis.  Others have positions that may be more behind-the-scenes.  However, I’d like to stress that every single member of the Austin Peay family is critical to the success of the university.  Everything that you do helps us recruit, educate, and graduate another student.  Everything you do helps others be successful, and makes this university a great place to work.  Maybe it’s ensuring the first thing a visitor notices is the beautiful campus.  Maybe it’s ensuring that a parent or student has a positive experience on the phone or over email.  Maybe it’s ensuring that a coworker has a supportive work environment.

I am honored to lead Austin Peay, and I know that if we work, communicate, and collaborate as a team, we can continue to move this institution forward.  We will be kicking off the development of a new strategic plan for the university in August, including revising our Mission and Vision statements.  We need your voices during this planning work in this coming academic year, so please participate.

It’s not very often that a university has these types of conversations about who we are, what we should be doing, who we serve, and how to do all of that.  Take advantage of the fact that everyone on campus has an opportunity to influence the university in a lasting way.  So, I’m excited for this coming year.

And, as a result of today’s award event, I’m more encouraged than ever.  In order to do big things, you need a great team, and it’s clear that Austin Peay has a great team.

Presidential Leading Through Excellence Recipient

Michael Kasitz - Finance and Administration

Governors Excellence Recipients

Charles Booth - Legal Affairs & Organizational Strategy

Ryan Combs - Athletics

Lynn Fisher - Finance and Administration

Matthew Kilpatrick - Academic Affairs

Ashley Puskas - University Advancement

Clayton Sheehan - Student Affairs