Two APSU Students earn prestigious Goldwater Scholarships
April 12, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Administrators at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were probably pretty excited last month when they learned one of their students had earned a highly competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.
To the south, officials at the University of Tennessee likely experienced a similar rush when they heard one of their students was also named a Goldwater Scholar.
APSU students Kristen Knight and Chris Hayes were both named Barry M. Goldwater Scholars. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU)
Austin Peay State University professor Jill Franks publishes new book on British and Irish women writers
March 23, 2013
Clarksville, TN – A few years ago, Dr. Jill Franks, Austin Peay State University professor of English, decided to change up a course she taught on Irish literature. Instead of focusing on that country’s noted male authors, such as James Joyce and William Butler Yeats, she opted to teach about Ireland’s underrepresented female authors, including Elizabeth Bowen and Edna O’Brien.
Franks had recently taught a similar class on female British writers, and with these subjects fresh on her mind, she began noticing fascinating distinctions between the two cultures and how they handled the evolution of the women’s movement.
Dr. Jill Franks, APSU professor of English, reads through her new book, “British and Irish Women Writers and the Women’s Movement: Six Literary Voices of Their Times.” (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU staff)
APSU’s Jim Vandergriff recipient of MAA’s Distinguished Service Award
March 22, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Dr. Jim Vandergriff, Austin Peay State University professor of computer science and information technology, was recently named the recipient of the 2013 Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Southeastern Section’s Distinguished Service Award.
The honor was presented to Vandergriff last Thursday evening at the 92nd Annual MAA Southeastern Section meeting at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. [Read more]
APSU concert to showcase beauty and versatility of the cello in Britten Suites
March 3, 2013
Clarksville, TN – In the early 1960s, the famed English composer Benjamin Britten attended a London concert featuring a young Russian cellist named Mstislav Rostropovich. According to the Colorado Britten Society, the English composer bobbed “up and down like a school boy” as he listened to Rostropovich.
That concert was a fortuitous event in the development of modern classical music. The two men became friends, and Britten went on to write three stunningly beautiful cello suites for Rostropovich.
Eli Lara, APSU cello professor.
Clarksville Parks and Recreation announces 3rd Annual Coaches’ Banquet to feature SEC basketball legend, Barry Booker
February 3, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department is pleased to announce the keynote speaker for the 3rd annual Clarksville Sports Legends Coaches’ Banquet to be held Thursday, February 28th at Freedom Point at Liberty Park, at 6:30pm.
This year’s banquet, which will once again honor all coaches in the Clarksville-Montgomery County area, will feature former Vanderbilt standout and current record-holder, Barry Booker. [Read more]
APSU’s 2012 Distinguished Professor Award recipient Dr. Mary Lou Witherspoon to address candidates at graduation
November 30, 2012
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University will send off 686 candidates for degrees during dual Fall Commencement ceremonies December 14th in the Dunn Center.
Dr. Mary Lou Witherspoon, professor of mathematics and the 2012 APSU National Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award recipient, will be the keynote speaker at both commencement events.
The faculty member who earns the University’s prestigious Distinguished Professor Award in May serves as commencement speaker at APSU’s fall graduation. [Read more]
APSU makes impression at Tennessee Academy of Science’s Centennial Meeting
November 29, 2012
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN – Earlier this month, a group of Austin Peay State University students and faculty members traveled to Vanderbilt University and made an impressive showing at the Tennessee Academy of Science’s Centennial Meeting.
During that meeting, which celebrated the 100th gathering of the state’s top scientific and mathematical minds, several members of the APSU community were recognized for their outstanding work. In the math and computer science competition of the meeting, chaired by APSU associate professor of mathematics Dr. Ben Ntatin, APSU students placed first and second in oral presentations of their research. [Read more]
Clarksville Civil War Roundtable’s next meeting is November 14th, 2012
November 11, 2012
The 104th meeting
Clarksville, TN – The next meeting of the Clarksville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 at the Bone & Joint Center, 980 Professional Park Drive, right across the street from Gateway Hospital. This is just off Dunlop Lane and Holiday Drive and only a few minutes east of Governor’s Square mall. The meeting begins at 7:00pm and is always open to the public. Members please bring a friend or two – new recruits are always welcomed.
This is a special meeting night one week earlier than normal due to the Thanksgiving holiday the following week.
The meetings topic is “Sam Watkins and his Memoir, Co. AYTCH, 1ST Tennessee Infantry” [Read more]
Clarksville Writers’ Conference 2012: Renaissance Woman Alice Randall Describes Ada’s Rules
July 2, 2012
Clarksville, TN – Harvard-educated Alice Randall is as close to being a Renaissance woman as you’re going to meet on the streets of Nashville. Writer-in-residence for Vanderbilt University, she is the author of The Wind Done Gone, Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, Rebel Yell and her latest book, Ada’s Rules. The first African-American woman to write a number one country song, she also wrote a video of the year, worked on multiple Johnny Cash videos, and produced a pilot for a prime time drama on CBS (featuring ex-wives of country stars).
Ada’s Rules hits head on what Alice Randall feels is the dominant civil rights issue of the first quarter of the 21st century—health disparity, specifically the issue of being overweight that leads to diabetes in one in four African-American women over 55. Diabetes leads to many women suffering amputation and/or kidney failure. Alice Randall is on a crusade to help women recognize this problem and find ways to overcome it.
Alice Randall at the 2012 Clarksville Writer’s Conference
Marshall Chapman Rocks the House during the 2012 Clarksville Writers Conference
June 28, 2012
Clarksville, TN – Marshall Chapman, born in a prominent South Carolina family and groomed to become a socialite, bolted from her confining future to make waves in the world of rock ‘n’ roll during and after her years at Vanderbilt University. Some of her 250 songs have been recorded by people like Jimmy Buffet, Emmylou Harris, Olivia Newton-John, Wynonna Judd, Sawyer Brown, Conway T witty—and the list goes on and on. Her “Rode Hard and Put Up Wet” was featured in the movie Urban Cowboy.
Marshall Chapman spoke and sang at this year’s writers’ conference in honor of her dear friend, William Gay, who died this past February. The conference itself was dedicated to William, who had been a central speaker at the conference for the past several years. Marshall told her stories and sang her songs with intimate details of her friendship with William and introduced songs from her new album, Big Lonesome, named by The Philadelphia Inquirer “Best Country/Roots Album of 2010.”
