ClarksvilleNow.com Reporting
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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Dr. Alisa White was inaugurated as Austin Peay State University’s tenth President at 10 a.m. on the morning of March 23 during a ceremony in the Mabry Concert Hall.
Special guests at the event included members of the Tennessee Board of Regents and Senator Dr. Mark Green.
Posting of the Colors was done by APSU ROTC. Music was provided by the APSU Wind Ensemble, Choral Union and Chamber Singers, along with a performance by Dr. Andrea Dismukes, Professor of Voice at Lee University.
Speakers were: Student Government Association President Zac Gillman, Staff Senate President Marisa Roberts, Faculty Senate Vice President Dr. Timothy Winters, National Alumni Association President Brandon Harrison, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, Kentucky Garrison Commander Col. David Dellinger, City of Clarksville Mayor Pro Tem Joel Wallace, Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, Tennessee Higher Education Commission Interim Executive Director Dr. Russ Deaton and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.
“I wanted to be here because it really is an important day for Tennessee,” Haslam said. He talked about the impact of higher education on residents, saying, “Austin Peay has been playing a critical role in our part of changing the trajectory of Tennessee.”
Dr. White was inducted by Dr. Rodney Mabry, President of the University of Texas at Tyler.
In her Presidential Address, White thanked her family, students, faculty, staff and government officials in attendance. “Austin Peay has a can-do culture,” she said. “Student success is everyone’s job.”
White was named APSU’s tenth president in June after the departure of Timothy Hall. She was selected by the Tennessee Board of Regents after a nationwide search. She was previously Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Texas at Tyler.