Retired APSU professor Dr. Camille Holt establishes Jo and Isaac Buck Endowment
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Dr. Camille Holt, retired Austin Peay State University professor of education, recently donated $25,000 to the Austin Peay Foundation to honor the memory of her late parents by creating the Jo and Isaac Buck Endowment, an endowed scholarship program to benefit APSU students.
In accordance with University policy, an APSU Eriksson College of Education faculty member, an elementary practicing reading specialist teacher and a current graduate student in the Eriksson College of Education will determine the scholarship recipients from a competitive group of applicants. To qualify, applicants must be admitted as graduate students at Austin Peay, have a major in Education for Reading Specialists, a minimum of three years of teaching experience and a 3.0 GPA. Students enrolled part-time and full-time are eligible. This scholarship is renewable.
Holt received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and English from Austin Peay in 1967. She then earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and Reading from APSU in 1971, followed by an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and Reading from the University of Memphis in 1974.
Holt returned to APSU in 1975, coinciding with the state’s establishment of a Reading Specialist licensure. She was asked to prepare a proposal for a degree for Austin Peay to correspond with the licensure. Though she had no background in developing a graduate program at the time, Holt did have several years of experience from teaching for Fort Campbell Dependent Schools, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, Shelby County Schools and the University of Memphis. After gaining approval for the degree from APSU, the Tennessee Department of Education, the Tennessee Board of Regents and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, she began teaching all of the courses in the program at the Clarksville campus and at various off-campus sites.
Holt served as a professor in the APSU College of Education for 27 years, until her retirement in 2002. She then went on to work as a senior lecturer at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development from 2002 to 2007.
During her time teaching in the Reading Specialist program, Holt formed deep and long-lasting relationships with students and teachers across the state. She has maintained many of those relationships over the years.
“It is an honor to be able to fund a scholarship in the literacy curriculum area,” Holt said. “My love of education was fostered by my loving and supportive parents, Jo and Isaac Buck. I have established the scholarship to honor their memory.”
Endowments are permanently restricted funds managed by the Austin Peay Foundation. The amount of each scholarship award may vary and will be determined based upon the value of the endowment and the Foundation spending plan.
To support APSU fundraising initiatives, contact the Office of University Advancement at 931-221-7127.
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