Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sitting Governor

Austin Peay Austin Peay (June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...

, who is further honored with "Governors", the name of the university's athletic teams. Affiliated with the Tennessee Board of Regents, it is now governed by the Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees . The university is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

(SACS) and, in 2012, was the fastest-growing university in Tennessee. In 2019, Austin Peay officially hit 11,000 students enrolled. Austin Peay Browning Building

Presidents

* Philander Claxton, 1930–1946 *

Halbert Harvill Halbert Harvill (November 28, 1893 – December 1, 1986) was an American university president, basketball and baseball coach, and politician. A native of Tennessee, Harvill became an educator and taught in small towns until he served in the Ar ...

, 1946–1962 * Alisa White, 2014–2020

Organization

Academics at Austin Peay are organized into six colleges, two schools, and 28 subordinate departments and offices:

College of Arts and Letters

* Department of Art and Design * Department of Communication * Department of History and Philosophy * Department of Languages and Literature * Department of Music * Department of Theatre and Dance

College of Behavioral and Health Sciences

* School of Nursing * Department of Health and Human Performance * Department of Military Science and Leadership * Department of Political Science * Department of Psychological Science and Counseling * Department of Sociology and Community Development * Department of Social Work * Department of Criminal Justice

College of Business

* Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics * Department of Management, Marketing, and General Business

Martha Dickerson Eriksson College of Education

* Department of Teaching and Learning * Department of Educational Specialties

College of Graduate Studies

College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

* Department of Agriculture * Department of Allied Health Sciences * Department of Applied Sciences * Department of Biology * Department of Chemistry * Department of Computer Science and Information Technology * Department of Geosciences * Department of Mathematics and Statistics * Department of Physics and Astronomy * Office of Pre-Professional Health Programs * Geographic Information Systems Center

School of Technology and Public Management @ Fort Campbell

* Department of Public Management and Criminal Justice * Department of Engineering Technology * Department of Professional Studies

Buildings on the Campus

Buildings Prior to Austin Peay Normal School

The Castle Building was an impressive "three-storied structure of red brick, with towers, fretted battlements, and casement windows set in paneled wood...".

Athletics

Notable alumni

* Eli Abaev (born 1998), American-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

* Tatiana Ariza, Colombian women's soccer player, international * Major General Ronald Bailey, United States Marine Corps Commanding General,

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...

* David Bibb, Deputy Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration * Riley Darnell, former Tennessee

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

and former Tennessee Secretary of State * A.J. Ellis, MLB former MLB catcher, current Special Assistant to the general manager for the San Diego Padres * Jeff Gooch, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

player, Tampa Bay Buccaneers '96–'01,'04–'05

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

'02–'03 *

David Hackworth David Haskell Hackworth (November 11, 1930 – May 4, 2005), also known as Hack, was a prominent journalist, military journalist and a famous former United States Army colonel who was decorated in both the Korean War and Vietnam War. Hackworth ...

, United States Army Colonel and author *

William J. Hadden William James Hadden Jr. (June 2, 1921 – June 14, 1995) was a Protestant minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and a priest of the Episcopal Church (United States) He was also at different times both a military chaplain (both ...

, Protestant minister and politician * Bob Harper, personal trainer who gained fame on '' The Biggest Loser''. * Trenton Hassell,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

basketball player, New Jersey Nets *

Tommy Head Tommy Head (born June 4, 1945 in Robertson County, Tennessee) is a Tennessee Democratic politician and a former member of that state's House of Representatives. He is also a farmer and a utility contractor. Head is a 1965 graduate of Cumberlan ...

, former member,

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

and brother of basketball coach

Pat Summitt Patricia Susan Summitt (; June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American women's college basketball head coach who accrued 1,098 career wins, the most in college basketball history at the time of her retirement. She served as the head coac ...

* Chris Horton (born 1994), basketball player for

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

of the

Otis Howard Willie Otis Howard (born November 5, 1956) is an American former basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howard was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the fourth round of the 1978 NBA Draft and began that season ...

, former NBA player, Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons * Percy Howard, former wide receiver for the NFL Dallas Cowboys *

Douglas S. Jackson Douglas S. "Doug" Jackson (born July 10, 1954 in Dickson, Tennessee) is a former Tennessee state senator, and is an attorney, and executive director of the Renaissance Center. Early life Jackson is a son of Dr. Jimmy Jackson, a fixture in the ...

, Tennessee

, D- Dickson * Shawn Kelley, pitcher, MLB San Diego Padres * Greg Kinman, gun reviewer on YouTube (aka Hickok45) *

Kyran Moore Kyran Moore (born September 19, 1996) is an American professional gridiron football wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Austin Peay. College career Moore played college footba ...

, wide receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders * John G. Morgan, former Chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents and former Comptroller of the Treasury of Tennessee * Chonda Pierce,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

comedian and performer * Drake Reed, basketball player, international * Matt Reynolds, pitcher, MLB San Francisco Giants * Josh Rouse, singer-songwriter * George Sherrill, relief pitcher, MLB Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers * Bonnie Sloan, former NFL player, first deaf player in the NFL. *

Jeff Stec Jeff Stec is an entrepreneur and NASCAR team owner. He was a member of the Mu Tau chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and graduated from Austin Peay State University in 1993 with degrees in exercise science and business management. He soon w ...

, entrepreneur who formed

Peak Fitness Joseph Michael Mercola (; born July 8, 1954) is an American alternative medicine proponent, osteopathic physician, and Internet business personality. He markets dietary supplements and medical devices. On his website, Mercola and colleagues ad ...

* Jamie Walker, relief pitcher, MLB

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, Baltimore Orioles *

Bubba Wells Charles Richard "Bubba" Wells Jr. (born July 26, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played college basketball for Austin Peay State University and later professionally, including for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA and Da ...

, former basketball player, NBA

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

Verner Moore White Verner Moore White (October 5, 1863 - August 30, 1923), born Thomas Verner Moore White but informally known as Verner White, was an American landscape and portrait painter. White painted works for many of the business and political leaders of h ...

, landscape and portrait artist *

James "Fly" Williams James "Fly" Williams (born February 18, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player, who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Spirits of St. Louis. A street basketball player from New York, he once scored 1 ...

, 1970s basketball player; later in the original

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

* Jack Zduriencik, former general manager of the Seattle Mariners MLB team

References

External links

*
Austin Peay State University athletics
{{Coord, 36.53230, N, 87.35457, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Education in Clarksville, Tennessee Educational institutions established in 1927 Public universities and colleges in Tennessee Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Montgomery County, Tennessee Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Tennessee 1927 establishments in Tennessee