Ribbon cutting Thursday afternoon opened the newest APSU facility
Austin Peay State University has always set a goal of encouraging their students towards academic excellence. Towards this end the University has created a new facility dedicated to their high achieving students. Becoming a Honors Student isn’t automatic, and having good grades alone will not grant you access to the new facility.
You must actively enroll in the APSU Honor’s program, or be a participant in the President’s Emerging Leaders Program (PELP). Generally for the Honors Program a student should rank in the top ten percent of his/her graduating class, have a minimum ACT composite score of 26, and have a commendable high school record. However, these requirements are flexible. Any student with a strong academic background and an interest in more challenging and creative courses should consider applying.
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.
When APSU Provost Dr. Tristan Denley saw the building become available last year with the opening of the Foy Fitness Center, he started the process of reallocating the space, and remodeling it for the Honors Program. The 8,000 sq. ft facility includes a spacious lobby, a computer lab, a classroom, a conference room, a snack bar, along with offices for the Directors of the Honors Program and PELP. The facility will soon be equipped with a access card system giving the Honors Students the ability to access to the facility 24×7. The 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 walls are decorated with fine art photography from a gigantic collection donated to Austin Peay State University by Jim and Nan Robertson from Dover Tennessee.
The new facility is centrally located in “The Red Barn” building on the APSU campus in close proximity to Student Housing, The Morgan University Center, The APSU bookstore, and the University Library.
“It gives the Honors Students a place to gather and be a true community,” said Dr. Linda Barnes, director of the APSU Honors Program. “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 Classrooms will be used for the Laurel Wreath Society programs featuring speakers that were chosen specifically for Honors Program Students, “”This year the Honors Lecture Series will consist of one academic lecture, and one service oriented lecture. In September actor and filmmaker David Alford will give a talk on his involvement with the Masterpiece Theatre production of James Agee’s A death in the family. In late October Erik Cole a Metro Nashville City Council member will be giving a program on homelessness.”
For more information on the Honors Program or the new facility contact Linda Barnes at (931) 221-7119 or honors@apsu.edu.
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