416 College Street, the meeting place for Austin Peay State University’s Board of Trustees. The board discussed an upcoming Quality Enhancement Plan for students’ written communication and the performance of President Micheal Licari Friday, March 22. The All State file photo. | THE ALL STATE
The Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees held its quarterly meeting Friday, March 22 at 416 College Street.
One of the first action items for the board was the proposed termination of three programs, the Master of Science in Management, Biometrics and Clinical Trials Operations Certificate and Project Management Certificate programs. All three proposals were approved.
Before discussing an addendum to the president’s employment agreement, the board also discussed non-mandatory fees for students and the cost of housing on campus.
The board approved an incentive bonus for President Micheal Licari for the current year, as well as an increase in Licari’s compensation and a performance evaluation plan for a potential bonus for the upcoming fiscal year.
The board noted that Licari’s performance was exemplary, with Board Chair Don Jenkins saying, “We’ve never had a president that’s worked as hard as Mike Licari is.”
A proposal for APSU’s upcoming Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), PeayComposed, was also presented. The plan is designed to improve the written communication skills of students, based on surveys from students and faculty, as well as skills cited as in-demand by employers.
The plan will consist of a Faculty Community of Practice, where selected faculty members will work on integrating support resources like the library and writing center into their courses, as well as incorporating other teaching practices. The resulting courses will be called Peay Composed Courses.
Part of the plan involves reframing help-seeking as a habit that scholars engage in regularly, rather than a weakness. The plan could also result in incentives for written communication skills, such as writing endorsements on student transcripts. The QEP is expected to be implemented from 2024-2029.
The board also approved the appointment of Student Government Association president Campbell Moore as the next student trustee. This was the last meeting of the current student trustee, Jacob Knight, as his term has ended.
President Licari approved of the decision to appoint Campbell, saying “I’ve watched her work in a variety of capacities on campus over the past few years and I’ve been deeply impressed and I know she’ll be a great addition to the board.”
The board will convene next on June 7, 2024, for their second quarterly meeting.
