Clarksville, TN – Matthew Kilpatrick, an academic advisor at Austin Peay State University (APSU) since 2012, joins the Governors’ Student-Athlete Support Services staff as department’s director of student-athlete development.
Kilpatrick takes over for Ryan Combs, who departed the athletics department in August to join the university’s academic advising staff as Student Success Coordinator of First-Year Seminar and the Peer Leader Program.
“I am very excited to have Matthew join our department,” said the associate director of athletics Katie Ethridge. “Matthew’s experience in both advising and teaching at APSU will be a great addition to our staff. In addition, his ability to build relationships with students as well as his passion for developing them will help guide our Total Gov concept and Govs360 programs.”
“I am beyond excited to be joining the Athletics’ Student-Athlete Support Services staff and to be working with dynamic and student-focused professionals,” said Kilpatrick. “I’ve been a Governor for over 15 years, so I am honored to help student-athletes develop professionally, academically, and personally.”
Kilpatrick joined the university’s academic advisement program in May 2012 while obtaining the first of his master’s degrees. From 2012-19, he primarily worked in the College of Business, advising over 500 students with marketing, management, and general business concentrations.
In 2019, he became a graduate advisor and student recruitment officer for the college of business. He helped improve graduate enrollment by 16 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to his academic advisement roles, Kilpatrick was also involved with the APSU 1000 Redesign Task Force, the university’s quality enhancement plan, and QEP Summer Assessment committees and served on the APSU National Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. He also was a faculty member, teaching APSU 1000 (Freshman Seminar) and PASS 0900 (Academic Strengthening) courses.
A 2010 Austin Peay graduate with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Kilpatrick also earned master’s degrees in professional studies (2012) and management (2013) from the university.
