Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s College of Arts and Letters has announced the recipients for the 2024-25 academic year’s Distinguished Alumni Awards: Scotty Peek, Thomas Murphy, Jim Thweatt, Mike Gotcher, Rich Ripani, and Drew McCollum.
Each department within the college selects an outstanding alumnus annually to receive the award. These individuals are chosen for their exceptional achievements, significant contributions to their fields, dedicated service to their community and unwavering loyalty to the university.
“Our Distinguished Alumni represent the very best of what a College of Arts & Letters education can inspire,” said Dr. William “Buzz” Hoon, the dean of APSU’s College of Arts and Letters. “Each of these remarkable individuals has taken the foundation they built at APSU and created extraordinary careers that impact their communities and respective fields. We are honored to celebrate their achievements and proud to call them Governors.”
Scotty Peek, Department of Art + Design
Scotty Peek is a painter living in Columbia, South Carolina. His landscape paintings usually begin from life or photo, but often abandon the reference to freely explore abstraction and non-representation. His work balances representation with abstraction, building and destroying until finding what’s essential.
After receiving his Master of Fine Arts from the University of South Carolina in 2000 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Austin Peay State University in 1995, Peek built an impressive career in both education and art. He currently teaches art at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School after previously serving as an assistant professor at South Carolina State University and holding various positions at several South Carolina Museums and Galleries.
Peek’s work has earned recognition in significant exhibitions, including the 2004 Triennial at the South Carolina State Museum and the inaugural 2008 exhibit at 701 Center for Contemporary Arts. His artwork is represented by galleries across the Southeast, including Art & Light Gallery, Shain Gallery, Spalding Nix Fine Art, Camellia Art, Sophiella Gallery, and Quirk Gallery.
“My time at APSU was the most wonderful and important period of my becoming an artist, because of the people,” Peek said. “My fellow art students were all unique in their own search for expression, and the faculty set great examples as actively working artists, still being searchers themselves.”
Dr. Thomas Murphy, Department of Languages & Literature
Dr. Thomas Murphy’s academic journey began at APSU as a dual-enrolled high school student studying French. An Honors and PELP student, he originally majored in music (composition) before switching to foreign languages with a concentration in French and Greek, with additional coursework in political science and philosophy.
After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Austin Peay in 2017, Murphy was accepted to the Ph.D. program in French at NYU, where he received his Master of Arts, Master of Philosophy, and doctorate. His academic pursuits included additional coursework at Princeton and the Sorbonne. He received the prestigious George Lurcy Trust fellowship in 2021-22 and was a visiting researcher at the Ecole Normale Superieure. In 2022-23, he was an invited doctoral researcher at the Sorbonne.
Murphy obtained his Ph.D. in 2024 and was awarded a three-year Fellowship in Early Modern French at Oxford, where he is currently on the faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at New College. His first book project, “Translating Nature in Early Modern France,” and his numerous scholarly publications reflect his intellectual depth and academic rigor.
Those who taught Murphy at APSU remember him as a brilliant and remarkably down-to-earth young scholar whose academic trajectory has been nothing short of exceptional.
Jim Thweatt, Department of History & Philosophy
Jim Thweatt, a 1991 graduate of Austin Peay State University with majors in history and English, has built a career firmly rooted in his passion for history and genealogy. Growing up in Clarksville, his love for history was inspired by his parents, particularly his father, John H. Thweatt, who taught history at Austin Peay before becoming the senior archivist at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
While at Austin Peay State University in the late 1980s, Thweatt worked with Drs. Richard Gildrie and Howard Winn to help save Harned Hall from destruction, conducting research on former State Commissioner of Education Perry L. Harned. He also spent a semester abroad in Oxford, England, with Dr. Thomas Dixon.
Today, Thweatt serves as an archivist at Vanderbilt’s Eskind Library, working with the History of Medicine Collection. His dedication to preserving and promoting history extends to his active membership in the Sons of the American Revolution Valentine Sevier Chapter. His career reflects a lifelong commitment to historical preservation and education that began during his time at APSU.
Dr. Mike Gotcher, Department of Communication
Dr. Mike Gotcher, a proud alum of the APSU Department of Communication, has built an impressive career in higher education spanning over 28 years. Currently serving as dean of the College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Tennessee Tech University, Gotcher’s journey reflects his commitment to academic excellence and leadership.
During his time at APSU, Gotcher served in various roles including professor, department chair, and interim dean. His contributions to the university were recognized with both the university’s Richard M. Hawkins Award and the APSU National Alumni Association’s Distinguished Professor Award.
Recently, Austin Peay State University celebrated the dedication of the newly named Sara and Mike Gotcher Theatre, honoring the legacy of Gotcher and his late wife Sara, both distinguished APSU alumni who made significant contributions to the university and the performing arts community.
Dr. Rich Ripani, Department of Music
After earning his undergraduate degree in music education from George Peabody College in 1977, Dr. Rich Ripani embarked on a multifaceted career as a professional musician and educator. His career as a performer includes numerous recording sessions in Nashville studios, with credits on one double-platinum and two gold albums.
Ripani continued his music studies at Austin Peay State University, earning a master’s degree in instrumental conducting in 1998. His book, “The New Blue Music: Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950-1999,” published by the University Press of Mississippi, is currently held in the libraries of over 1,000 colleges and universities worldwide. Additionally, he founded the Nashville Jazz Youth Ensemble, further demonstrating his commitment to music education.
Drew McCollum, Department of Theatre & Dance
After graduating from Austin Peay State University, where he studied technical theatre and engineering, Drew McCollum built an impressive career in technical theatre that has taken him from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City’s most prestigious theatres.
McCollum began as technical director for the College of Charleston’s Theatre and Dance Department before moving to New York City in 2007 to become a draftsman and carpenter at The Juilliard School. From 2007 to 2011, he worked as a carpenter, welder, rigger, and draftsman in union shops and Off-Broadway theatres throughout New York City.
In 2011, he became the technical director for the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre, where he collaborated with renowned playwrights, designers, and directors, including Athol Fugard, Edward Albee, Charles Mee, and many others. During his tenure at Signature, McCollum opened the Pershing Square Signature Center, a 75,000-square-foot, multi-theatre venue designed by Frank Gehry.
Since 2019, McCollum has been the technical director for New York Theatre Workshop, the birthplace of acclaimed Broadway shows including “Rent,” “What the Constitution Means to Me,” “Hadestown,” and “Slave Play.” His technical expertise and artistic vision continue to shape some of New York’s most groundbreaking theatrical productions.
For more information about the APSU College of Arts and Letters and the Distinguished Alumni Awards, please visit apsu.edu/coal, email artsandletters@apsu.edu or call 931.221.6445.
