Leaving on a High Note - Austin Peay State University

Hoppe (continued from Page 7)
Bill Persinger
Because of increased enrollment and improved retention, APSU is graduating record numbers of students
each December and May. To alleviate the overcrowding, an August graduation will be held in 2007—another
first for APSU.
was appointed interim president at APSU,
Evans urged her to apply for the presidency.
“Sherry came to Austin Peay at the time
the University needed her most. Under her
leadership, the University has made great
progress. I hope the momentum she created
will carry the University forward.”
Harvill’s APSU roots run deep. In 1929
when he was only 3, Harvill’s father, Halbert
Harvill, was named to the school’s original faculty.
Between 1946-62, he served as president.
“My father had a loving vision for this
school, and Sherry has done more than any
other president to fulfill his vision,” Harvill
said. “While I regret her departure, it’s time
for her to ‘smell the roses.’”
When Hoppe assumed the presidency of
Austin Peay, she quickly became a valuable
member of the local community. She was
tapped to serve on the boards of numerous
organizations, including the Clarksville-
Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce,
Clarksville Downtown District Partnership
and Bank of America. Most recently, she was
chair of the Clarksville-Montgomery County
Industrial Development Commission.
APSU alumnus Ben Kimbrough (’51),
Clarksville, former bank president and respected
statewide leader, said, “Sherry Hoppe has
been a positive force in Austin Peay State
University’s history. She’s done a great job for
the University and the community.
“Sherry had a vision the University had been
lacking. And she had the fortitude to make
changes without being intimidated by special
interest groups. She’s an exceptional person,
and we’ve been blessed to have her here.”
Keeping promises
Perhaps Hoppe’s greatest legacy will be to
leave behind her a university that’s on solid
financial footing—certainly not what she
inherited.
Shortly after Hoppe took the helm, APSU
endured two years of massive budget cuts—
9 percent and 11 percent. Plus, in Hoppe’s
first year on the job, APSU was required to
reimburse the state more than $1 million due
to previous years’ bookkeeping errors at the
Fort Campbell campus. She tackled the problem
head on, resolved it and pressed forward,
determined to achieve financial stability. She
succeeded. Despite declining state support,
under her watch, APSU consistently ends the
fiscal year with excess funds, which then can
be allocated for special needs or set aside as
contingency funds.
One of Hoppe’s biggest concerns as the
Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, center,
felt at home at Austin Peay during the Titans’
Summer 2006 Training Camp.
Bill Persinger
new president was that the salaries of APSU’s
faculty and staff were the lowest in the state.
She immediately pledged to increase salaries
when possible. Each year, through wise fiscal
practices, she and her team have managed to
provide salary increases above those mandated
by TBR or the state.
In Fall 2007, as Hoppe had promised fans,
APSU will return to full scholarship football
and to the Ohio Valley Conference. According
to the OVC commissioner, this marks the first
time in history that a university has requested
and received permission to return to scholarship
football in the OVC.
Garnering national attention of immeasurable
value for APSU and its return to scholarship
football, Hoppe collaborated with
Tennessee Titans administration to bring the
popular NFL team to campus for its 2006
summer camp. As we go to print, she’s negotiating
a multi-year contract to bring the Titans
back to APSU for future summer camps.
During her tenure, Hoppe pushed to
upgrade and expand APSU’s athletic facilities,
including the addition of new stadium
seating and jumbotron-type screens in the
Dunn Center, a new soccer field, new turf and
track in Governors Stadium and an athletic
academic center.
In the Jan. 13, 2007, edition of The Leaf-
Chronicle, Dave Loos, athletics director and
men’s head basketball coach, said, “We appreciate
Dr. Hoppe’s belief in the value of the athletic
program. There’ve been so many renovations
to our athletics facilities in such a short
period of time that it’s absolutely remarkable.”
At her inauguration, Hoppe pledged to be
open and fair to all, to treat everyone with
respect and dignity and to listen to all opinions.
But she also said that, ultimately, she
would make decisions based on what was
right and best for the University.
Has she succeeded in keeping this promise?
Dr. Jaime Taylor (’90), APSU alumnus, professor
of physics and chair of the APSU Department of
Physics and Astronomy, thinks so.
“After a conversation with Dr. Hoppe, you
always walk away knowing she listened to
what you said, understood your concerns and
cared about them and that she would do what
was in the best interest of the University as a
whole,” Taylor said.
“Dr. Hoppe always does what is right no
matter what the cost to her personally.”
To do what’s right regardless of the cost—
some would say that’s the best measure of a
man. Or woman.
Spring 2007
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