CLARKSVILLE, TN – The Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees held a quarterly meeting on Friday, June 9, voting to adopt a combined 3% increase in undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees beginning in the Fall 2023 semester.
Revenue derived from the increase will partly offset the effective economic inflation rate of 10.5% since the last tuition increase in June 2021. The 3% rate is within the range approved by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) earlier this year. The increase is included within the University’s budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, also approved during the meeting.
“Many of our costs are increasing at a rate far above this,” said Dr. Mike Licari, Austin Peay president, in a message to the campus community delivered in May.
Salaries, maintenance, supply costs and service contracts are among the expenses Licari said are increasing with inflation.
However, Austin Peay’s undergraduate tuition rate remains the second-lowest among Tennessee’s public universities. Additionally, Austin Peay offered first-time, full-time freshmen the opportunity to avoid the increase by making early enrollment commitments before May 1.
Other board matters
Dr. Prentice Chandler, dean of the Eriksson College of Education, and Dr. Lisa Barron, associate dean, presented the campus spotlight. They provided information on the innovative “Grow Your Own” teacher apprenticeship program created by Austin Peay’s Eriksson College of Education, as well as information about other efforts to improve K-12 education.
Among other business, the trustees approved the recipients of this year’s APSU Board of Trustee Awards. Recipients include: Jim Durrett, former Montgomery County Mayor (APSU Board of Trustees Service Award), Bill and Phil Harpel (APSU Board of Trustees Military Service Award) and Google (APSU Philanthropist of the Year).
The trustees also approved a recommendation to name the beach volleyball area in the Maynard Athletic Complex the Atkins Family Beach Volleyball Facility. The decision honors Billy Atkins and his family for their recent $100,000 gift to Austin Peay’s women’s athletics programs.
Atkins was appointed as an inaugural member of the APSU Board of Trustees and continues his service as a trustee. Atkins has been a longtime supporter of Austin Peay alongside his late wife, Sue Atkins, their daughters, Luann and Julie, and their granddaughter Britney Campbell, a 2003 graduate of APSU’s College of Business.
In addition, the board approved a change in Licari’s base salary to $385,000, an increase of $10,000 from the 2022-23 academic year. The decision was based on Licari’s positive performance evaluation and aligns with peer institutions’ median presidential salaries.
“I’m humbled to be in this position, and being an effective president is a lot easier when I’ve got the support of the board of trustees behind me,” Licari said. “However, like I did last year, I will be donating the entire raise back to the University. I just want to make sure that I’m expressing my appreciation but also making sure that the University is better off as a result.”
The full meeting agenda and materials, including a breakdown of the tuition and fee increase, is available here. For more information on the APSU Board of Trustees or its previous meetings, visit https://www.apsu.edu/president/board-of-trustees/.
