APSU board gives initial approval for doctoral degree, campus master plan
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees convened for its winter meeting on Friday, with board members approving several items that could transform the physical and academic makeup of the University.
Early in the meeting, the board unanimously approved a proposal for Austin Peay’s first doctoral degree—an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. This proposed program, which would be housed within the Martha Dickerson Eriksson College of Education, will now go to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) for approval.
If the program is approved, the University will offer the new doctorate degree in Fall 2018. The Ed.D. is designed to meet the needs of several groups of potential students, including:
- Current educational leaders in the K-12 environment who currently hold an administrative license.
- Classroom teachers who have earned master’s or Ed.S. degrees who wish to acquire their administrative license while obtaining a doctorate.
- Classroom teachers who have earned master’s or Ed.S. degrees who do not wish to be a school administrator but desire to become a teacher leader.
- Current educational leaders in the K-12 environment that need to earn the doctorate to either enhance their marketability or to improve their skills.
- Higher education employees who have earned master’s or Ed.S. degrees who desire to earn the doctorate to advance in the administrative structure of their campus.
- Military personnel who desire to continue their education after the master’s degree.
The board also unanimously approved an updated campus facilities master plan, which provides a vision for how the campus should grow in order to meet the goals of APSU’s strategic plan. The master plan will now go to THEC and the state building commission for approval.
The new master plan, developed by the firm Dober Lidsky Mathey, calls for an increase in classroom space to accommodate the University’s growing student population. Under Austin Peay’s strategic plan, the University’s enrollment is expected to grow to 15,000 students by the year 2025.
To address this need for classroom space, the proposed master plan recommends construction of a Health Professionals Building on Eighth Street, next to the Maynard Mathematics and Computer Science Building. The Health Professions building would consolidate the School of Nursing, the departments of Allied Health, Psychological Science and Counseling, the offices for Health and Human Performance, and Social Work. The building would also provide active learning classrooms and collaborative learning spaces.
Upon completion and occupancy, the Health Professions Building would free-up space in four buildings: McCord, Sundquist Science, Clement, and Dunn—a total of 35,000 net assignable square feet. Adjacent academic departments could then expand into the vacant space that will be renovated to meet their needs.
An archived video of the board’s winter meeting will soon be available online at /president/board-of-trustees/board-meeting-archived-videos.php.