august-24-2020

Our students are resuming classes today, and it’s exciting to see their energy on campus again after so many quiet months. If you missed my weekly town hall on social media last Wednesday, I reminded students that while this is an exciting time, it’s up to all of us to ensure that we don't slip back into those long months of quarantine and isolation. The University has developed COVID-19 guidelines to help keep everyone – our students, faculty and staff – safe during this pandemic, and if you follow these guidelines, your risk of exposure will remain low. We all have to be vigilant. Wear a mask, stay six feet apart and don’t attend large parties or other gatherings of more than 25 people.

During last week’s town hall, I also discussed several important issues, including our COVID-19 testing site at the Ard Building, the University’s different risk levels and new features on Austin Peay’s mobile app. We are now able to conduct contact tracing with the PeayMobile app, and I encourage everyone to download this important tool at apsu.campusapp.com.

Remember, I will provide updates and answer questions live at 12:30 p.m. every Wednesday on Austin Peay’s Instagram and Facebook pages. If you missed the Aug. 19 town hall, you can view it below.

New Mandatory Title IX Training

At Austin Peay, in an effort to create a safer campus free of sexual harassment and discrimination, we’ve refined several policies, and we’re focused on providing prevention and awareness training to our community members. A new Title IX federal regulation recently went into effect, which will enhance our current efforts, and since every APSU faculty and staff member is considered a mandatory reporter according to our policy, I’m asking all employees to attend one of the virtual training sessions that will be offered by the Office of Equity, Access and Inclusion.

These sessions will provide you with a better understanding and awareness of your roles and responsibilities related to Title IX and discrimination at Austin Peay. You will receive an email soon about this upcoming training, which will be offered through the Human Resources Learn, Grow, and Lead virtual workshop series. Attendance at one of these training sessions is mandatory, and they will be offered throughout the semester.

At APSU, we’re committed to providing an environment free of harassment and discrimination. The new guidelines require thorough compliance and provide specific definitions and processes. This training is just one more step in ensuring a safe environment for our campus community. I appreciate your cooperation.

Thank you again for your commitment to this University and its students during this challenging time. We continue to make progress, and if everyone commits to following the guidelines, I’m confident we’ll have another wonderful semester at Austin Peay.

Thank you,

Dannelle Whiteside

Interim President