J.R. Tate, a retired Marine Corps officer who completed Appalachian Trail thru-hikes in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2006, will speak at 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22 and at noon, Friday, Jan. 23. Both sessions, free and open to the public, will be in the Morgan University Center, Room 308.

He will be on hand to announce The Peay Read 2009 book selection, “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail” by Bill Bryson. Bryson tells of his encounters while hiking the trail.     During his 1998 thru-hike, Tate, or “Model T” as he is known throughout the country, was featured in numerous newspaper articles, including The Tennessean and The Leaf-Chronicle. He also appeared in several television segments on WTVF in Nashville, including appearances on the station’s “Talk of the Town,” which chronicled that journey. In October 1999, he was featured on the “American Dream” segment of “CBS Evening News With Dan Rather.”

Also in 1999, Tate, a resident of Woodlawn, was appointed an honorary ambassador to the state of Tennessee for his role in promoting hiking.

In addition to the Appalachian Trail, Tate has hiked the 500-mile Colorado Trail and Vermont’s 270-mile Long Trail.

Tate is the author of two books: “Walking on the Happy Side of Misery” and “Walkin’ With the Ghost Whisperers: Lore and Legends of the Appalachian Trail,” an eclectic collection of tales about interesting places on or near trail and the people who left their mark.

For more information about Tate’s upcoming visit, contact the at APSU, (931) 221-7431.

Gregg Steinberg

Key “sports psychology” into the search field on YouTube.com, and Gregg Steinberg’s image is among the top video results.

Steinberg, an associate professor of health and human performance at Austin Peay State University, is a noted sports psychologist and frequent media personality on national television networks such as CNN and the Golf Channel to speak about the mindset of an athletic champion.

He will do the same Oct. 28 when he appears on ABC’s hit competition show, “Dancing With the Stars,” to analyze the mental toughness of the remaining contestants. Steinberg said the show’s producers contacted him two weeks ago after discovering him through a YouTube Web site search of sports psychology experts.

“I will be analyzing objectively by listening to what the contestants say, paying attention to body language and watching the performance,” he said. “I’ll be discussing why the dancers got kicked off the program and make recommendations for the dancers still in the contest.”Steinberg, a faculty member at APSU for the past 11 years, most recently provided analytical commentary for Fox News during the 2008 Summer Olympics, especially on the performance of U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, who went a perfect 8-for-8 in Beijing to break Mark Spitz’s single-Olympic Games record for gold medals.

In addition to being a guest on several broadcast outlets, Steinberg, 45, is the author of two books, “Mental Rules for Golf” and “Flying Lessons.” His third book, “Full Throttle,” is scheduled for release in 2009. He also has written a newspaper column, “The Head Coach,” for The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville and continues to publish extensively in academic journals.

A sports psychology consultant for more than 10 years, Steinberg has worked with many professional and college athletes, including teams at Vanderbilt University, APSU, Belmont University, Tennessee State University and the University of Florida.

A native of Los Angeles, Steinberg earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, master’s in education psychology from Florida State University and doctorate in human performance from the University of Florida.

For more information, contact Steinberg by telephone at (931) 221-6113 or by e-mail at .

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Nichols, who serves as executive director and chief operation officer of the Fort Campbell Historical Foundation, will present, “Wings of Liberty: The New Museum Coming to Town,” at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7 in Woodward Library.

Students are encouraged to attend. The event is free and open to the public.

The Library Athenaeum series, launched in 2007, has three purposes:

• To conduct events that promote and enhance the intellectual life of the University and the region.
• To reach out to students and make connections with them in places other than the classroom.
• To portray the library as a place to share, explore, discuss and think about ideas and events.

The Library Athenaeum will consist of speeches or presentations, panel discussions, debates, readings and performances. Faculty, staff and students are invited to submit proposals for future presentations. Proposal forms and additional information can be found on the Library Athenaeum Web site at http://library.apsu.edu/events/athenaeum.htm.

For more information about the Library Athenaeum series, contact Joe Weber, director of library services at APSU, by telephone at 221-7613 or by e-mail at .