Circuit Court Judge Kathryn Olita to speak at APSU’s summer commencement

Circuit Court Judge Kathryn Olita will deliver this summer's commencement address.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Circuit Court Judge Kathryn Olita, 19th Judicial District, will deliver the keynote address during Austin Peay State University’s summer commencement at 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, in the APSU Dunn Center.

Olita, a Clarksville-native, attended Northeast High School and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She then enrolled at the University of Memphis, where she received her law degree. Olita would spend the next 15 years practicing law in West and Middle Tennessee.

In 2006, she joined Batson Nolan PLC as a litigation associate, and in January 2013, Olita became a partner in that Clarksville-based law firm. As part of her professional work, she served as board attorney for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. She also has provided pro bono legal services as board attorney for the Clarksville-Area Chamber of Commerce.

In July 2018, Olita was one of eight applicants for a newly created Circuit Court Judge position in the 19th Judicial District, which includes Robertson and Montgomery counties. After being selected as one of the top three candidates by the Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission, she was chosen to serve by former Governor Bill Haslam.

Olita and her husband, Aaron, have two children, and her mother, Dr. Anne Wall, has spent 18 years as an education professor with Austin Peay’s Eriksson College of Education.

Doors to the Dunn Center will open one hour prior to the start of each ceremony for guests and graduating students. Austin Peay offers a free live webcast of each commencement ceremony. A link to the webcast will be made available within 24 hours of each ceremony. The ceremonies also will be broadcast live on Magic 91.9 WAPX-FM, a broadcast service of the APSU Department of Communication.

For more information, visit www.apsu.edu/commencement.

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