Earlier this summer, when workers attached the words “Honors Commons” to a red brick building in the heart of the Austin Peay State University campus, a major milestone was reached. For the first time in APSU history, the University had a designated space for high achieving students.
This fall, those students will meet, study, socialize and attend classes inside the newly renovated Honors Commons. The 8,000-square-foot building, which will officially open during a ceremony on Thursday, September 2nd, will house both the University’s Honors Program and the President’s Emerging Leaders Program.
The grand opening will be from 4:00pm to 6:00pm that Thursday, with a ribbon cutting at 5:00pm. Local dignitaries will be in attendance, and the community is invited to tour the new space and enjoy refreshments.
“It gives the honors students a place to gather and be a true community,” Dr. Linda Barnes, director of the APSU Honors Program, said. “The honors students may not have other things in common except the fact that they’re all good students. That’s a pretty strong bond and this will give them a place to not only gather socially, but to practice presentations, work in a computer lab, attend meetings and study.”
The space will also include classrooms dedicated for honors classes, a quiet study area and a music practice room. Students in the Honors Program were invited to help design the building’s interior, and they recommended couches and other comfortable furniture be included, allowing students to relax and lounge between classes.
The Honors Program at APSU allows motivated students to pursue their education in a more challenging, interdisciplinary environment. About 250 students are currently enrolled in the program.
“We’re certainly growing,” Barnes said. “The students currently in the program have more offerings of courses. We have more departments involved than ever before, more opportunities for upper-level honor students. And we are making efforts to develop honors as a living/learning community.”
For more information on the program or the ribbon cutting, contact Barnes at 931-221-7119 or honors@apsu.edu.
