Here and Now
HERE AND NOW
Whether it be an advance in science, a novel approach to art or literature, or a new interpretation of past events, every achievement of learning is a synthesis of past and present. As an entering student at Austin Peay State University you will be encouraged to perform this sort of synthesis. It will be your task to use the knowledge of the past to create your own knowledge of the present.
During your years at the University, you will be exposed to knowledge in several areas. One or more of these disciplines will kindle your interest. Perhaps this will be a subject which has always fascinated you, and in which the University can help you pursue in some depth. Perhaps a new subject will open up to you and overwhelm your previous interests. In any case, if you let it, that spark of interest can flare into either a vocation or a satisfying avocation.
You will have two principal sources of counsel to help you profit from your years at Austin Peay. One will be a faculty member who will be your academic advisor, helping you select the best program of study and plan your schedule of courses. The other will be this BULLETIN, which will explain the requirements and regulations you should follow.
MISSION STATEMENT
Austin Peay's mission flows from its unique history. From its beginnings in 1927, the University has aimed to provide a comprehensive curriculum where the liberal arts have flourished side by side with professionalprograms such as teacher education, business, nursing, and others. So strong is its liberal arts emphasis, that in 1984, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission specified Austin Peay as Tennessee's designated public liberal arts University.
Hence, Austin Peay is a comprehensive liberal arts University. A broad and diverse education prepares graduates for personal and professional success in a global community with increasing cultural diversity. As Tennessee's designated liberal arts institution, the University is a community of learners characterized by small classes, close student and faculty interaction, and a nurturing environment.
Both traditional and non-traditional students attend Austin Peay State University. Though largely from the region, they come from throughout the state, the nation, and the world. This diversity complements the University curriculum and enriches the comprehensive liberal arts experience.
The University offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The undergraduate program is the nucleus of the University. A liberal arts core is required of all baccalaureate students. The core provides a broad, multicultural foundation in literature, the arts, history, mathematics, and the natural and behavioral sciences. The core is designed to develop critical thinking and communication skills and a commitment to learning throughout a lifetime. Students who master the core are expected to possess the adaptability to succeed and contribute to society both personally and professionally.
Undergraduate programs are offered in many fields. The objective for these courses of study is to prepare students not only for today, but also for tomorrow's opportunities. Creative use of technology, interdisciplinary programs, team teaching and learning, community service, and collaborative research between faculty and students are actively supported. Centers and Chairs of Excellence, unique instructional programs, and close interaction with the surrounding community enhance the traditional instructional program. Scholarly inquiry, creative endeavor, leadership development, and international experiences are highly valued and encouraged.
Graduate programs at Austin Peay prepare students for professional careers that meet the needs of the region and provide advanced degree experiences for students preparing for study at the doctoral level.
The University's respect for quality, integrity, openness, community involvement, and cultural diversity enable the University to be a source of knowledge and strength for the region and a creative contributor to the global learning community. The University's mission builds upon past traditions and looks boldly to the future with energy and confidence.
VISION STATEMENT
Austin Peay State University is a community of learners that strives to provide high quality educational programs and to be a source of knowledge and strength for the community. As a comprehensive liberal arts university, Austin Peay creates many opportunities for students to lead productive, fulfilling, and responsible lives. The University is committed to excellence, integrity, the open exchange of ideas, caring for each other's welfare, community involvement, and an appreciation for individual and cultural differences.
EDUCATIONAL GOALS
The general objective of the University is to produce educated men and women equipped to use their abilities productively and wisely. The curricula of the University are routes to intellectual maturity and means to the development of ideas, insights, values, and competencies which form a permanent personal capacity for thought and action. The University does not claim that it will develop educated men or women. It does claim it will provide the opportunity and the favorable conditions for students to construct their own education and to acquire the means of making self-education the rewarding enterprise of a lifetime, enabling them to become effective agents of social change.
Given this opportunity at the University, each student should develop, at an appropriate level:
These are the marks of an educated man or woman, and it is the aim of the University to challenge and assist in their attainment. To this end Austin Peay State University is committed to the integration of human learning functions and to an orderly educational sequence.
HISTORY
Austin Peay State University is located on an urban campus that for over 180 years has been used for educational purposes and on which the buildings of five colleges have stood:
Rural Academy, 1806 - 1810
Mt. Pleasant Academy, 1811 - 1824
Clarksville Academy, 1825 - 1848
Masonic College, 1849 - 1850
Montgomery County Masonic College, 1851 - 1854
Stewart College, 1855 - 1874
Southwestern Presbyterian University, 1875 -
1925
The University began as Austin Peay Normal School when it was created as a two-year junior college and teacher-training institution by Act of the General Assembly of 1927 and named in honor of Governor Austin Peay, who was serving his third term of office when the school was established. Limited in purposes and resources at first, the school gradually grew in stature over the years to take its place among the colleges and universities under the control of the State Board of Education.
In 1939, the State Board of Education authorized the school to inaugurate a curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Science degree. The degree was first conferred on the graduating class at the 1942 Spring Convocation. By Act of the Tennessee Legislature of February 4, 1943, the name of the school was changed to Austin Peay College. In 1951, the State Board authorized the College to confer the Bachelor of Arts degree and, in 1952, to offer graduate study leading to the degree of Master of Arts in Education. At the November 1966, meeting the State Board of Education conferred university status on the College, effective September 1, 1967. In February 1967, the State Board of Education authorized the University to confer the Master of Arts and the Master of Science degrees. In 1968, associate degrees were approved. The State Board of Education relinquished its governance of higher education institutions to the Tennessee State Board of Regents in 1972. In 1974, the Tennessee State Board of Regents authorized the Bachelor of Fine Arts and the Education Specialist Degrees. In 1979, the Bachelor of Business Administration degree was approved as a replacement for traditional B.A. and B.S. degrees in various fields of business. In 1979, the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree was approved. In 1983, the State Board of Regents approved the Master of Music degree for Arts in Education and Master of Music Education.
During its history, seven presidents and two acting president have served the institution:
John S. Ziegler, 1929 - 1930
Philander P. 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 -