CLARKSVILLE, Tenn (CLARKSVILLENOW) – In a special meeting on Monday, July 6, the Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees, unanimously voted to appoint Dannelle F.W. Whiteside, vice president for legal affairs, as Interim President of the University.

“Several outstanding candidates were considered for the interim presidency and Dannelle was the board’s consensus pick,” Mike O’Malley, chair of the APSU Board of Trustees, said. “Dannelle’s background and experience makes her an excellent choice for this critical time in the University’s history.”

The vote follows President Alisa White’s recent announcement that she will be leaving APSU for Sam Houston State University in Texas.

White took to Twitter shortly after the meeting to congratulate Whiteside on her appointment.

Whiteside, a former U.S. General Attorney with an impressive national reputation, was named General Counsel for Austin Peay and Board of Trustees Secretary in January of 2017.

She previously served as General Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to her work with the Department of Education, Whiteside served as General Counsel to the Tennessee State Board of Education.

In September 2019, Whiteside was appointed to the inaugural cohort of the Tennessee Higher Education and Leadership Fellows Program, which was designed to develop the next generation of enterprise leaders in higher education, according to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

In June of 2020, Whiteside was named to the 2020 Class of the Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI), a premier leadership program of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).

For updates on APSU, including the search of the University’s next president, visit them on Facebook, Twitter and their website.