33.3 F
Clarksville
Monday, March 18, 2024
HomeEducationAPSU Board of Trustees move Austin Peay State University closer to offering...

APSU Board of Trustees move Austin Peay State University closer to offering second doctoral degree

Austin Peay State University (APSU)

Austin Peay State University - APSUClarksville, TN –  On Friday morning, Austin Peay State University (APSU) moved a step closer to offering its second doctoral degree, with the aim of addressing a mental health crisis currently affecting many military communities.

During its spring meeting, the APSU Board of Trustees approved moving forward with a Doctor of Psychology degree in counseling psychology with a concentration in serving military personnel, veterans and their families.

APSU Board of Trustees
APSU Board of Trustees

The degree, offered through the Department of Psychological Science and Counseling within the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, still needs the approval of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges before it can be implemented for the fall 2020 semester.

The program will address an important issue within the Clarksville-Montgomery County and Fort Campbell communities. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, between 2005 and 2011, an estimated 22 veterans died by suicide each day, and there were 146 veteran suicide deaths in Tennessee in 2015. That translates to a veteran suicide rate of 30.5, which is significantly higher than the overall Tennessee rate of 20.3.

The proposed program, known as a Psy.D., is a practitioner-oriented degree, and the military focus means it will train mental health professionals to address the specific needs of this population. If it receives full approval, Austin Peay will be the first and only school in Tennessee to offer the Psy.D. degree.

Students enrolled in the program will provide services to individuals and families as part of their clinical training at various sites in Clarksville, Fort Campbell and the surrounding region. In addition, Austin Peay is working to establish a community-based training clinic that will serve as a primary clinical site for the Psy.D. program. This site will provide much needed services to low-income, under and uninsured residents of Clarksville.

New Facility Names

During Friday’s meeting, the board also unanimously approved naming three facilities in honor of donors who have made substantial contributions to programs associated with those facilities. Austin Peay’s new Military Family Resource Center will now be known as the William E. & Sadako S. Newton Military Family Resource Center. Earlier this year, alumna Wilma Newton (’73) made a generous donation to the project in honor of her late parents.

The baseball field at Austin Peay’s Raymond C. Hand Park is now Joe Maynard Field, and the University’s softball complex bears the name Cathi Maynard Park. Several years ago, Joe and Cathi Maynard moved with their family to Montgomery County.

As co-owners of ECHO Power Engineering, LLC, Joe and his business partner decided to form a 10-year partnership with APSU to give back to their new community. This led the University’s Athletics Department to rename the club level inside Fortera Stadium the ECHO Power Club Level. Since then, Joe and Cathi have increased their support through a major gift to the Baseball and Softball Facility Improvement Fund.

New Student Trustee Named

Stacy McAllister-Brooks, a chemistry major, was named the new student board member, replacing Celeste Malone, who will rotate off the board this summer. McAllister-Brooks is a teaching assistant for the APSU Department of Chemistry and an active member of the University’s Pre-Professional Health Society. She is a member of Austin Peay’s Keys Advisory Student Council, and she serves as a student representative of the Student Academic Grievance Committee.

For a copy of the full agenda, materials and archived video of board meetings, visit www.apsu.edu/president/board-of-trustees

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles