fall 2004 - Austin Peay State University

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 1
The Publication for Alumni and Friends of Austin Peay State University
inside:
Playwright Pens
Drama About
101st & Families
Govs Go
Hollywood with
Star-Studded Fun
Fall 2004

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 2
Table of Contents
Features
Page 2
First, do no harm
Treating cancer patients every day … who would choose that?
Dr. John Foust did. Certainly, the challenges are great, but all
are outweighed a thousand times over if he helps one patient
have a better quality of life or go into remission and maybe
even become cancer-free. As researchers discover new nearlaser-targeted
drugs that make it possible to personalize patient
therapy down to the level of the gene, Foust is increasingly
optimistic … and increasingly frustrated. His patients need
these drugs now, not tomorrow.
Page 6
A career with teeth
Dr. Valencia May’s crooked teeth were a blessing. They resulted
in several trips to an orthodontist through whom she got a first
glimpse into the world of dentistry—a world that interested
her. With a stellar academic record and strong work ethic, May
sailed through Austin Peay and dental school. Yes, she encountered
racism along the way but, for her, any prejudice against
her—as an African American woman in a predominately white,
male culture—was a minor bump in the road, not a roadblock.
Page 12
Head’s Up
He knows all the plays. When to block. When to go on
the defense. And when a steely-eyed offensive move is
needed. At the same time, Tommy Head keeps his eyes on
the clock, because timing is critical in every win. We’re
not talking about when Head was a go-to guy for the
Govs, although the description fit him then, too. Now
we’re talking about Head in the House. As a state representative
for 18 years, he has been an invaluable player
for Austin Peay, scoring one success after another for his
alma mater.
Departments
Making APSU Headlines .............4
Alumni News ..............................14
Sports...........................................22
Class Notes .................................26
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
Special Sections
Outstanding Alumni......................8
Homecoming Calendar................16
Feedback.......................................25
Honor Roll of Donors ............insert
Readership Survey.................insert
Photo: Bill Persinger
Photo: Bill Persinger
Photo: Bill Persinger
Photo: Bill Persinger
Reader’s Guide
Austin Peay is published bi-annually—fall and
spring—by the Office of Public Relations and
Marketing. Press run for this issue is 25,000.
Dennie B. Burke Editor
Bill Persinger (’91) Art Direction, Design &
Photo Editor
Rebecca Mackey (’96, ’99) Assistant Editor
Debbie Denton Writer
Shelia Boone (’71) Alumni News and Events
Sharon Silva (’98) Donor List
Brad Kirtley Sports Information
Steve Wilson (’97) Online Version
How to change your address
or receive the magazine
Fill out and mail the form on page 26 or
contact Alumni and Annual Giving in one of
the following ways:
Post us: Alumni and Annual Giving
P.O. Box 4676
Clarksville, TN 37044
Zap us: alumni@apsu.edu
Phone us: 931-221-7979
Fax us: 931-221-6292
How to contact or submit
letters to the editor
Fill out and mail the form on page 26 or
contact the Public Relations and Marketing
Office in one of the following ways:
Post us: Public Relations/Marketing
P.O. Box 4567
Clarksville, TN 37044
Zap us: burked@apsu.edu
Phone us: 931-221-7459
Fax us: 931-221-6123
Let us hear from you!
Your opinions and suggestions are encouraged
and appreciated.
Austin Peay State University is one of 46 institutions in the
Tennessee Board of Regents system, the sixth largest system
of higher education in the nation. The Tennessee
Board of Regents is the governing board for this system,
which On is composed the Cover: of six universities, 13 two-year colleges
and 26 Tennessee technology centers. The TBR system
enrolls more than 80 percent of all Tennessee students
attending public institutions of higher education.
Austin Peay State University is an equal opportunity
employer committed to the education of a non-racially
identifiable student body.
AP-064/09-04/27M/McQuiddy Printing/Nashville, TN

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 3
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Photo: Bill Persinger
From the Director
A key measure of a university’s
quality is its alumni—their successes
in life as well as their wish to remain
connected to their alma mater.
As I meet with and hear from our
alumni, I never fail to be impressed
with their accomplishments. If you
watched any of the NBA play-off
games between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los
Angeles Lakers, you saw No. 23 for the T-wolves—one of
the top defensive players in the NBA and Austin Peay’s
own Trenton Hassell (’01). It was thrilling to hear the
commentators talk about Trent and his collegiate career
at Austin Peay. What proud moments for our alumni—
and what great national exposure for APSU, thanks to
this young alumnus.
Shortly thereafter, we received word that our own Ann-
Marie Browne (’00), who competed in track and field at
APSU from 1997-2001, would be representing Antigua
and Barbuda in the 2004 Miss Universe Pageant. Beautiful
and poised in the pageant, Ann-Marie not only represented
those two Caribbean countries well, she also was a
wonderful representative for APSU on an international
stage. We congratulate both Trenton and Ann-Marie.
There are numerous success stories of alumni in myriad
professions—business, law, medicine, sports, education,
military, politics, broadcasting, theatre, music, art,
etc. We have more than 40,000 alums across the
world—all doing great things in different ways. To read
about a few, check out the Alumni Fact at the bottom
of each page in this magazine. These Austin Peay alumni
are achieving personal success, touching others in
meaningful ways and making us proud!
Speaking of Peay Pride, please pay attention to the
Homecoming 2004 events (page 16). Our “Govs Go
Hollywood” theme lends itself to a fun weekend, with
events for everyone. The featured reunion group is from
the College of Professional Programs and Social Sciences.
We look forward to greeting alumni from this college
and recognizing them during a special brunch.
Our Homecoming committees are working diligently
to plan enjoyable activities for you, but we need your
participation! Homecoming is a wonderful opportunity
to reunite with classmates and old friends and make
new ones. Take a look at the events listed inside or go
to the Homecoming link at www.apsu.edu.
We encourage you to check the new Alumni Online
Community at www.apsualumni.onlinecommunity.com,
where you not only can register for Homecoming activities
but also see who plans to attend. Call your friends,
get a group together and make plans to attend. Let’s
make Homecoming 2004 the best ever!
As always, I want to give a special thanks to those
who attend our alumni events, both at home and on the
road, as well as those who continually offer their support
through donations, print and electronic communication,
student recruitment and volunteering.
We’re eager to share with you all the great things
happening at Austin Peay, and we want to know what’s
happening in your life! Let us hear from you and, most
important, show your Peay Pride!
Sincerely,
Shelia Boone (’71)
Director, Alumni and Annual Giving
Executive Director, APSUNAA
National Alumni Association
Executive Officers & Board of Directors
Executive Officers
President
Bob Hogan (’78)
District X Robertson County
(TheHoganCompany@att.net)
President Elect
Angela Neal (’98)
District XI New York
(presidentangela@yahoo.com)
Vice President
Sam Samsil (’67)
District XII
samsil@bellsouth.net
Past President
Kevin Hackney (’89)
District V Greater Nashville
(hackneyk@comcast.net)
Faculty Adviser
Dr. Floyd Scott (’65, ’67)
Montgomery County
(scotta@apsu.edu)
Executive Director
Shelia Boone (’71)
(boones@apsu.edu)
Directors
District I . . . . . . .Dr. Robert Patton (’57, ’59) (rep.bob.patton@legislature.state.tn.us) . . . . . . . . .2006
District II . . . . . .Gary (’73, ’80) and Linda Fulton (’70) Shephard (linda4887@aol.com) . . . . . . . .2005
District III Tony Marable (’81) (tmarable@tntech.edu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006
District IV . . . . . .Fredrick Yarbrough (’70) (FTVP25@aol.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005
District V . . . . . . .Kevin Hackney (’89) and Brandt Scott (’89) (brandt.scott@thehartford.com) . . .2006
District VI . . . . . .Emily Pickard (’04) (emilypickard@hotmail.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005
District VII . . . . .Mark Hartley (’87) (hartleydad@yahoo.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006
District VIII . . . . .Bob Holeman (’78) (B_holeman@msn.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005
District IX . . . . . .Cynthia Norwood (’92) (cynthianorwood@hotmail.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006
District X . . . . . . .Nelson Boehms (’86) (nboehms@earthlink.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005
District XI . . . . . .Angela Neal (’98) (presidentangela@yahoo.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006
District XII . . . . .Jim Roe (’65) (j_m_roe@yahoo.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005
District XIII . . . . .Ginny Gray Davis (’87) (ginnyg@fuse.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006
District XIV . . . . .Dr. Dale Kincheloe (’66) (drkinch@aol.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005
District XV . . . . . .Don Wallar II (’97) (waller@wallar.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006
Student Rep. . . . .Zachary Pelham, SGA President (sgapres@apsu.edu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005
Chapter Presidents
African American . . . . . . . . . . .Nancy Washington (’99) (na_washington@msn.com)
Tri-Counties of Kentucky . . . . .Mike (’71) and Diane (’90) MacDowell (wmikemacdowell@wmconnect.com)
(Todd, Trigg & Christian counties)
Greater Atlanta . . . . . . . . . . . .Peter Minetos (’89) (Pminetos@DCSAtlanta.com)
Montgomery County . . . . . . . . .Brandon (’04) and Jessica Harrison (’99) (bmichaelharrison@aol.com)
Greater Nashville . . . . . . . . . . .Vonda Fields (’91) (vonda.f.fields@cummins.com)
Tri-Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lee Ellen Ferguson-Fish (’89) (leefish@airgas.com)
Greater Memphis . . . . . . . . . . .Jeff Schneider (’96) (schneider-j@mindspring.com)
Trane Support Group . . . . . . . . .David Jackson (’75) (david.jackson@trane.com)
Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vivian Cathey (’80) (vivian.cathey@sctworkforce.org)
Nursing Alumni . . . . . . . . . . . .Doris Davenport (’91) (davenportd@apsu.edu)
Greater Carolinas . . . . . . . . . . .Mark S. Webber (’86) (Mark_Webber@hp.com)
Greater Birmingham . . . . . . . . .Sam Samsil (’67) (samsil@bellsouth.net)
Robertson County . . . . . . . . . . .Bob Hogan (’78) (TheHoganCompany@att.net)
Huntsville (Ala.) . . . . . . . . . . .Wayne Taylor (’66)
Cheatham County . . . . . . . . . . .Kevin Latham (’87) (klatham@qore.net)
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
Calling all alums!
From Oct. 2-29, APSU will conduct
its annual scholarship Phonathon.
Faculty, staff and students will be
calling alums to request pledges,
remind you of upcoming
Homecoming and alumni events,
update your information and answer
any questions about APSU. It’s one
way we stay in touch. Please take a
moment or two to speak with our
callers.
We need your help!
Please help locate our “lost”
alums! Go to www.apsu.edu/alumni/lost1.asp
on the Web to view the
current list of lost alumni. We appreciate
any information to help us
locate them. We appreciate your
response, whether by e-mail, telephone
or fax.
1

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 4
First,
do no harm
By: DENNIE B. BURKE
Executive Director of Public Relations and Marketing
Traveling the 12 miles between I-40
and Oak Ridge is like driving into a
state park. Lush foliage crowds the road
on both sides, with occasional glimpses
of blue lakes between the trees.
Except for the two towers of the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, no skyscrapers
interrupt the pastoral scene.
Snuggled in the rolling foothills of the Appalachians, Oak Ridge is unique.
In 1992 when the young oncologist/hematologist Dr. John Foust (’81) and
his wife, Dr. Rebecca Foust, a pathologist, established their medical practices
in Oak Ridge, they believed they had found a perfect place to raise a family.
Excellent schools. Modern medical facilities. Beautiful residential areas. A
rural city with a disproportionately large number of highly educated citizens.
The city was established in the 1940s by the federal government as a
research center for the nation’s top physicists. Their mission: Produce plutonium
from uranium, which ultimately would be used to create the atom bomb.
Hitler’s scientists had been trying to accomplish this for years, so America
was playing catch-up. The results of the intense scientific collaboration within
the small, tightly knit community in East Tennessee ended WWII with a
mushroom cloud over Hiroshima.
Oak Ridge, begun with a single goal in mind, continues to be a close community
that values knowledge and puts a premium on quality of life. There,
the Fousts found a great fit.
Photos: Bill Persinger
2
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Roy Bordes (’71) is president of The Bordes Group, Orlando, Fla.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 5
Evolution through revolution
Though decades apart, America’s
industrial and technological revolutions
forever changed the world in ways
beyond the comprehension of most people
living at the time.
The Fousts, one of Clarksville’s grand
old families, played a significant role in
both revolutions. In the early 1900s, Dr.
John Foust’s grandfather, a chemist,
bought a Clarksville iron-works foundry
that had made cannons used during the
Civil War.
The foundry managed to evolve
throughout the two significant revolutions.
And today, Foust’s brother Charlie
(’74 ) runs the business, making precision
castings for such devices as fuel
cells, air compressors and pumps used in
various scientific and medical applications.
The next great revolution that will
move society forward by quantum leaps?
Recent research gives rise to speculation
that it will be in medicine and that it has
begun already.
Foust agrees the world has
reached a critical
moment in
medical
history,
especially in cancer treatment.
He is both exhilarated
and frustrated at the pace,
however. “There’s an
incredible amount of work
in just keeping up with
new techniques in cancer
treatment today,” Foust says.
“We still have quite a long
way to go. For every Lance
Armstrong, there are others who
don’t make it.”
The doctor is in
First Impression: Rhett Butler in
scrubs. A Southern gentleman; a gentle
physician.
And John Foust has strong, though
invisible, antennae that make him acutely
sensitive to others. He listens before
he speaks, and he cares about what the
person is saying.
John Foust is the kind of doctor you
want by your side if you’re dying … or
living.
Becoming an oncologist was not his
initial goal. After graduating from
APSU, he received his medical degree
from the University of Tennessee Center
for the Health Sciences, Memphis. After
completing an internal medicine residency
there, Foust—to give his wife
time to complete her pathology residency—accepted
a spot the next year
as chief resident in internal medicine
to be followed by a fellowship in
gastroenterology (GI).
As he was performing his teaching
duties as chief resident, some
of the medical school students he
taught asked what he planned to
do the following year. When he
said he was slated for an extra
three years as a gastroenterology
fellow, his students were
surprised.
“They told me that, during
our class discussions, all I
talked about was ‘hem-onc,’ so
they assumed I would go into
that. I did some soul-searching
continued on page 18
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
3

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 6
Making Headlines
“A Heartbeat to Baghdad” premieres at APSU and in NYC
Back at APSU this fall to direct “A Heartbeat to Baghdad,” Glyn O’Malley (here, talking with play participants) just learned that “A Heartbeat to Baghdad” will premiere
in NYC in November, prior to the January ‘05 premiere in NYC of his controversial play “Paradise.”
Photo: Robert Smith/The Leaf-Chronicle
By: DENNIE B. BURKE
Executive Director of Public Relations and
Marketing
(The 101 st Project) sounds … amazing. In
times like this, art can be therapeutic in helping
people work through their feelings: fear,
loss, anxiety, etc.
Some issues I have been dealing with are
anxiety attacks, mostly surrounding fear of
losing Bryan. They’re irrational I know, and
I’m not quite sure what brings them on, but
he could be sitting in the same room as me,
reading a book, and I can get them—a rush of
fear that seems to just take over and takes a
while to quell.
I’m sure I’m not the only one that has them
since the men returned from war, especially
for those who know their loved ones are likely
to go back. I’m interested to (learn) how the
play progresses. (E-mail, May 13, 2004)
Meredith Dunn (‘02)
Fort Eustis, Va.
The play’s the thing
“The first thing I did when I got home
from Iraq? I got out of these … and into my
civvies, got a cold Budweiser, and I mowed
the lawn.
“I’d been in the desert so long that what I
wanted more than anything was a lawn
mower—not one of them go-cart jobbies—a
real one. If I could smell fresh-cut grass, I
knew I would be all right.”
And so the play begins.
Written and directed by award-winning
playwright Glyn O’Malley, “A Heartbeat to
Baghdad” deals with real life—and real death
as experienced by the men and women of the
101 st Airborne Division (Air Assault) while
deployed to Iraq. And with the devastating
impact of war on those most directly affected.
Lightened by humor, this powerhouse of a
play rips directly into the heart and soul of
“real” soldiers’ experiences on the front lines.
APSU playwright-in-residence during June,
O’Malley spent the first week interviewing
soldiers of the 101 st Airborne and other Fort
Campbell units as well as family members.
Although fictionalized, the play is based on
those interviews.
O’Malley takes us “in country” to the liberation
of Iraq as well as into the war’s other
epicenter—the hearts and minds of families
left behind in the Clarksville area. “A
Heartbeat” looks honestly at the inevitable
tolls of war, as well as at the heroism and
self-sacrifice of soldiers who went abroad to
fight and the bravery of those left behind.
An anatomy of why
Over the years, O’Malley has earned a
secure spot in the world of “The Theatre,”
with plays premiering in New York City, as
well as on stages across Europe.
He worked 15 years in Vienna for the
renowned English Theatre, where he directed
numerous American productions and produced
the world premiere of Edward Albee’s
4 Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Dr. Phil Pedigo (’56) is a general surgeon in Memphis.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 7
“Three Tall Women.” In 2003, he received
The Last Frontier Theatre Conference Award
for his work “Albee’s Men.”
Honored by such esteemed institutions as
Yale University for his artistic contributions,
nominated for PEN American’s Newman’s
Own First Amendment Prize 2004, O’Malley’s
career was moving along swimmingly. Then
three years ago, he felt compelled to take a
creative turn toward the human stories of war.
Engaging war stories are not easy to write.
They challenge the writer to stretch mentally
and emotionally. In 2001, O’Malley’s first
war play, “Concertina’s Rainbow,” examined
genocide during the Holocaust and Bosnian
War. It was named one of five finalists in the
Mentor Project 2001 at New York’s Cherry
Lane Theatre. Then came the question: Why
did you write it? With no personal connection
to the Shoah or the Bosnian War, O’Malley
murmured, “Just because.”
Then came 9/11 and O’Malley found his
answer to “why” in the rubble of the Twin
Towers. In 2002, the Cincinnati Playhouse-inthe-Park
commissioned him to pen another
war play, “Paradise,” which deals with the
deaths of two 17-year-old girls—one,
Palestinian, and the other, Israeli.
Although it received The Lazarus New
Play Prize and will open in New York City in
October 2004, “Paradise” never saw the light
of day in Cincinnati, shut down by virulent
objections from the Council of American and
Islamic Relations. During the controversy
surrounding “Paradise,” O’Malley again was
asked: Why did you write this play? This time
he had an answer: “Because I can. Because I
enjoy the freedom of a country that not only
protects my right to but places value on
examining tough questions.”
The seed for his third war play was planted
last fall, when O’Malley was invited to APSU
by Dr. Sara Gotcher (‘81), associate professor
of theatre, to be playwright-in-residence for a
month. His mission: Write a play about the
war in Iraq, the 101 st and their families.
Was he prepared for the emotional overload
of creating this play? No. Does he regret
it? Absolutely not. In the Author’s Notes of
the play’s program, he writes: “I have been
privileged to meet all sorts of extraordinary
people all around the world, but few hold a
candle to the men and women, the spouses,
the families of the 101 st …”
Why did he write this play? The answer is
in the Author’s Notes: “Because as I found out
… alone at night after these humbling days …
more than I had known … I needed to.”
But will it walk?
All playwrights wonder—after birthing a
play and handing it over to the public—where
it will go. Will it curl into a fetal position and
wither away? Or will it grow legs and walk
on its own? Those who have read or seen “A
Heartbeat to Baghdad” are willing to wager
on its future.
The Dramatist Guild of America, the medium
responsible for first giving the play national
exposure, included a significant segment
about it in its June 30, 2004, e-newsletter.
On the morning of July 2, 2004, WPLN,
Nashville’s National Public Radio station,
aired a five-minute feature on the play.
Rebecca Bain, executive producer and host,
During practice, Dr. Sara Gotcher, associate professor
of theatre, and Alex Skyler (‘02) read through
their lines in “A Heartbeat to Baghdad” as playwright
Glyn O’Malley looks on.
had listened to interviews with soldiers, talked
with O’Malley and attended a rehearsal. While
preparing the segment, she e-mailed the playwright:
“If this feature isn’t fantastic, it will be
my fault, because you have been generous
‘above and beyond.’ When it makes Broadway,
maybe you should cast me as Claire ...”
After receiving the script, Associated Press
reporter Kimberly Hefling e-mailed
O’Malley: “I look forward to reading it. I will
not be able to travel from Indiana where I live
(for the debut). However, I’m interested in
doing a story about your play ...”
While still at APSU, O’Malley began
receiving inquiries from theatres interested in
the play. Such interest—from as far away as
Kenya—bodes well for “A Heartbeat.”
After watching the play’s debut, APSU
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
Photo: Robert Smith/The Leaf-Chronicle
President Sherry Hoppe said, “(It) is powerful
… well balanced in depicting multiple human
sides of war. I was overwhelmed by the emotion
and the trauma depicted. If I were a critic,
I would give the play rave reviews.”
‘Somebody finally got it!’
Shortly after returning to New York,
O’Malley received a call from William H.
Hoffman, who received a Tony Award for his
play “As Is.” Hoffman said, “I just finished
your play, and tears are streaming down my
face. I cannot believe how beautiful it is, how
moved I am … What you’ve written is monumental
and desperately needs to be heard.”
Despite this critique by a fellow playwright,
O’Malley holds no illusions about the
play’s popularity among most artists. He
knows that writing about this particular topic
was not “PC” among most artists and, for that
matter, among many Americans.
To those searching for a hidden political
agenda, he says, “I leave politics … to the
great American democratic collective. I am
no scholar or historian … I’m just a playwright,
a director, a dramatist. ‘The Truth’…
remains for me a thing that can only be captured
in the movement of the hearts and
minds of those who have walked along its
narrow beam.”
But for those who live in the Clarksville
area, who literally feel their hearts connected
to someone in Baghdad by a tenuous thread,
did “A Heartbeat” succeed on its face?
Kelly Rouster of Clarksville, whose husband
and father served in the U.S. Army,
thinks it does. In the June 27, 2004, article in
The Leaf-Chronicle,“Playwright explores the
soul of the 101 st soldiers,” Rouster says,
“The people around here who are military,
who have lived this life, are going to say,
‘Thank God, somebody finally got it.’”
To honor the fallen
On the evening of July 3, 2004, when “A
Heartbeat” ended, the audience rose in a standing
ovation. As the stage lights faded, a bulky
figure jumped onto the stage and, looking up at
the technical director, asked for a light. It was
O’Malley.
Clearly moved, he held up his hands to halt
the applause and said, “When I began work
on what we then called The 101 st Project, the
first person to contact me was Jessica Rico,
Continued on page 20
5

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 8
A Career With
TEETH
By Debbie Denton, Assistant Director for Marketing
6
PEAY Alum FACT: Dr. Joe Remke III is an optometrist with the Remke Eye Clinic, Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 9
As an African American, Valencia
McChristian May (’85) was
accustomed to being part of a
minority. But when she left
Austin Peay and enrolled in
UT’s College of Dentistry in 1985, she
became a member of an even more select
group.
Only five of the school’s 100-plus students
were African American. An even smaller
number were women. “It was a predominately
white male environment,” May recalls. “I
wondered how people would accept me.”
The answer wasn’t long in coming. “In
dental school, I encountered prejudice, things
you could look at as racism,” she says. “But I
wouldn’t let it stop me from being who I am
and doing what I’ve got to do.” That statement
pretty accurately encapsulates May’s
approach to life.
Born and raised in Shelbyville, Tenn., she
was one of five children—four girls and one
late-arriving boy. “Mom stayed at home until
my brother was born. Then she started working
part time,” May says.
And her father? “Dad did whatever he had
to do,” she responds. “He was a grave digger,
he worked in a jeans manufacturing plant, and
he eventually worked for Uniroyal in quality
control. That was his first long-term job.”
College was out of her parents’ economic
reach. Fortunately, however, May was a
superb student, graduating second in her high
school class. She also played softball, ran
track and played basketball. Colleges fell
over themselves to offer academic scholarships
and land her as a student. “I got letters
from all over the country,” she says.
One of the letters was from Austin Peay
State University, and it was that letter to which
May would ultimately respond. Family friends
who had moved to Clarksville encouraged
May to consider the small but respected
school. And after visiting some of the other
campuses, she decided to enroll at Austin Peay.
“UT-Knoxville was overwhelming. But I
felt a sense of kindred spirit with the
Clarksville area,” she says. “And I liked the
size of the school and what it had to offer.”
As a senior in high school, May had been
fitted for braces. Her general dentist had sent
her to an orthodontist and, over the course of
her treatment, she and the orthodontist
became friends. When he found out that,
despite a college curriculum that included
mathematics and science, May was doing
exceptionally well, he made a suggestion.
“You really ought to think about going to
dental school.” The suggestion fell on fertile
ground in the young scholar’s mind.
Lacking only two upper-class chemistry
and biology classes to earn her bachelor’s,
May stayed on course and, in 1986, graduated
from APSU with a bachelor’s in biology and
chemistry and a minor in mathematics.
Meanwhile, she had applied for enrollment at
UT-Memphis’s College of Dentistry—and
she’d been accepted.
Though viewed by most students as a
grind, dental school wasn’t an overwhelming
challenge for May. “I didn’t spend a lot of
time studying,” she says. “I kept a part-time
job and played intramural sports.”
The work didn’t seem to affect her grades.
She graduated in the top 20 percent of her class.
Having completed dental school, May once
again faced the question “What’s next?” The
answer wasn’t immediately clear. “Coming out
of dental school, you’re expected to make a
living,” she says. “But the two years of treating
patients in school wasn’t enough for me to get
comfortable doing what I had to do.”
There also was the small matter of money.
“Anything I did I was going to have to get a
loan to do. That was difficult for me to think
about. I just couldn’t see starting a practice
from scratch.”
Fortunately, another option presented itself.
continued on pg. 19
Photo at left: Bill Persinger. Photos of Teeth: Bill Persinger & Michele Tyndall

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 10
2004 Alumni Awards
The APSU National Alumni Association
proudly presents its top awards during
Homecoming weekend—a tradition since 1992.
This year’s recipients will be honored during
the Alumni Awards and Reunion Brunch,
which begins at 10:30 a.m., Nov. 6 in the new
Morgan University Center Ballroom. Friends
and relatives are invited to celebrate with the
honorees while enjoying a delicious meal.
The Outstanding Service Award was established
by the APSU National Alumni
Association to give special recognition to
individuals who, through fund raising,
recruiting, advocacy or faithful service, have
brought honor and distinction to APSU. This
award, which may be given to someone who
is not an APSU alumnus/a, represents the
highest honor conferred by the APSUNAA.
The Outstanding Young Alumnus/a Award
is given to a graduate of APSU who is 42 or
younger. It recognizes accomplishments in
one’s profession, business, community, state
or nation that have brought a high level of
honor and pride to the University.
The Outstanding Alumnus/a Award honors
an APSU graduate, regardless of age, for
outstanding accomplishments in his/her profession,
business, community, state or nation
that have brought a high level of honor and
pride to the University.
The Outstanding Service Award for 2004
goes to Dr. George Fisher, (’52, ’59)
Clarksville.
With a tie for this year’s Outstanding
Young Alumna Award, two female attorneys
will be honored: Jolyn Pope Swanson (’99),
Los Angeles, and Nancy Washington (’99),
Nashville.
The 2004 Outstanding Young Alumnus
Award goes to Ronnie Carter (’88), Dallas.
Recipients of the Outstanding Alumnus/a
Award are Sheila Mayhew York (’71), New
York City, and John Ogles (’67), Memphis.
2004 Outstanding Service Award
Dr. George Fisher (’52, ‘59)
When APSU
alumni and Govs
fans talk about Dr.
George Fisher, they
often refer to his
athletic skills during
his playing
days, his coaching
abilities or his
Dr. George Fisher
administrative acumen
when he was
elevated to athletics director.
Today, he is best known as one of the
“Founding Fathers” of the Dave Aaron
Foundation.
Most alums recall Fisher’s hard work to
raise funds to establish an endowment in
memory of Aaron, his former coach and athletics
director, who had a lasting and profound
influence on his life.
Prompted by Fisher, a core group of former
athletes, all of whom share a common
love and respect for Aaron, organized themselves
in 1991 to raise money for the endowment.
According to one of Fisher’s longtime
friends, since 1991, he has organized countless
meetings, reunions and fundraisers on
behalf of the Dave Aaron Foundation group.
The endowment now stands at almost
$170,000, with interest from the corpus used
to provide athletic scholarships.
Fisher has been said to embody the spirit
of Austin Peay athletics. He was an all-conference
basketball and football star during
the late 1940s. In 1947, he received the first
Joy Award, which recognizes the most outstanding
senior athlete. After graduating from
APSU, his love of sports continued, and he
played minor league professional baseball
before becoming a manager.
Fisher returned to APSU in 1958 to begin
a distinguished coaching career, serving over
the first years as assistant football coach,
track coach, golf coach and freshman basketball
coach.
Photo: Bill Persinger
In 1962, he began a nine-year stint as the
men’s basketball coach and was named OVC
Coach of the Year in 1967. His greatest point
of pride is not in being named Coach of the
Year, but in knowing all but one of his basketball
athletes graduated during his nine
seasons as coach.
In 1972, Fisher was named APSU athletics
director, holding that post until 1977. He also
was a professor of health and physical education
until his retirement in1989.
Fisher was inducted into the APSU Athletic
Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Ohio Valley
Conference (OVC) Hall of Fame in 1988.
His love and enthusiasm for the
University, especially for the athletics program,
are stronger than ever. For many years,
he has chaired the Athletic Hall of Fame
Committee, and he continues to enjoy serving
as master of ceremonies at the annual
Hall of Fame Ceremony.
As a coach, Fisher had high expectations
of his team members. Although winning was
important to him, he valued their academic
achievements more. The members of his
teams were students first and athletes second.
That legacy lives on today.
2004 Outstanding
Young Alumna Award
Jolyn Pope Swanson (‘99)
After only two
years as an in-house
attorney for
ExxonMobil
Corporation in
Houston, Jolyn
(Pope) Swanson
proved her worth to
Jolyn Pope the oil and refinery
Swanson company, which
boasts a No. 2 ranking
on the Fortune 500 and conducts business
in more than 200 countries worldwide.
In recognition of her stellar work record as
an attorney in ExxonMobil’s Environmental
Litigation Division, she was selected for a
Contributed Photo
8
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Wade Mitchell (’69) is chief financial officer of Purchasing Partners Inc., Atlanta.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 11
promotion—an unusually rapid upward step
for any young attorney. Her promotion meant
relocation—from her newly adopted city of
Houston to Los Angeles, where she is providing
legal counsel to ExxonMobil’s Torrance
Refinery.
Swanson received her law degree from The
University of Tennessee College of Law,
where she was a third-year editor of the
“Tennessee Law Review” and received a
Dean’s Citation for her extraordinary contributions
to the College of Law.
She served as the only student member of
the Faculty Appointment Committee and held
membership in the Student Bar Association
and Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity. Currently,
she co-chairs the UT College of Law’s Class
of 2002 University Advancement Committee.
In addition to her busy career with Exxon-
Mobil, Swanson serves on the editorial board
of “The Houston Lawyer,” the Houston Bar
Association’s bimonthly publication, which
boasts an audience of 31,000 readers. She
devotes time to the Houston Volunteer
Program, performing pro bono legal work for
indigent members of the community. She also
volunteers with Texas Artist Legal Aid, providing
free legal work for struggling artists.
She serves on The River Visual and
Performing Arts Center Board of Directors,
Houston, which offers music, art, theatre and
dance lessons for physically and mentally
challenged children. She works on the sponsorship
committee for the Susan G. Komen
Foundation, Houston affiliate of “Race for the
Cure.” More than 25,000 runners will participate
this year with a goal of raising $1.2 million
for breast cancer research, education,
screening, treatment and support programs.
Swanson is the author of two scholarly publications:
“Transactional Attorneys—The
Forgotten Actors in Rule 1.6 Disclosure
Dramas: Financial Crime and Fraud Mandate
Permissive Disclosure of Confidential
Information,” 69 Tenn. L.R., 145 (2001),
which has been cited in brief to the Supreme
Court of Washington and by various legal
ethics scholars. Her publication “Braving the
Waters: A Guide for Tennessee’s Aspiring
Entrepreneurs,” Tenn. J. Bus.L., Special
Report (2002), is used as a resource by numerous
Tennessee business development centers.
Jolyn Pope Swanson is a prime example of
an alum who exhibits Peay Pride. A self-proclaimed
“proud graduate of Austin Peay,” she
never misses an opportunity to praise the
University and its professors, especially Drs.
David Kanervo and Vernon Warren, professors
of political science, for helping her develop the
skills to succeed as an attorney in one of the
world’s most prestigious companies.
She shows her support of the University in
both word and action. Shortly after graduating
from law school, Swanson established
and endowed The Odell M. Hargis Memorial
Scholarship at APSU in appreciation of the
education she received and in memory of her
beloved grandfather, who propelled her
toward that education.
Thanks to Swanson’s personal recruitment
efforts on behalf of her alma mater, her niece,
Megan Hargis of Stewart County, enrolled
this fall as a freshman at Austin Peay.
2004 Outstanding Young
Alumna Award
Nancy A. Washington (‘99)
Contributed Photo
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
In 1999, Nancy
Washington graduated
summa cum
laude from APSU
with a double major
in communication
arts and political
science and a minor
Nancy A. in African American
Washington Studies.
As an undergraduate, Washington expanded
her horizons by participating in the Study
Abroad Program in Gambia, West Africa. She
honed her skills in debate and speech and, as
captain of the Mock Trial Team, was named
“Best Witness” at the Mock Trial Regional
Tournament. As a member of the APSU
Debate Team, she received the Outstanding
Speaker Award at the Miami University
Debate Tournament.
She was vice president of the Student
Government Association at Austin Peay and
was tapped to serve as student regent on the
Tennessee Board of Regents. She was a member
and vice president of The Honor Society
of Phi Kappa Phi and a member of Omicron
Delta Kappa Leadership and Scholarship
Honor Society, Pi Sigma Alpha Political
Science Honorary and Gamma Beta Phi
Honor Society.
Those who watched Nancy Washington
evolve into a campus leader expected to hear
great things from her. She has not disappointed.
In 2002, she earned a jurisdoctorate from
Vanderbilt University Law School, where,
once again, she took an active role. She served
as clerk of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and
treasurer of the Black American Law Students’
Association. A member of the Vanderbilt Trial
Lawyers’ Association, she participated in the
2000 Intramural Moot Court Competition. She
belonged to the Vanderbilt Legal Aid Society
and volunteered in the Nashville Bar
Association Pro Bono Program.
Admitted to practice law in Georgia in
2002 and in Tennessee the following year,
Washington accepted a position in 2003 as an
assistant general counsel for the Tennessee
Board of Regents Office of General Counsel,
Nashville.
She handles legal matters for specific TBR
institutions. The primary legal areas for which
she is responsible include employment discrimination,
student discipline and due
process, contracts and statutory interpretation.
She provides advice to all TBR institutions
regarding compliance with federal laws, such
as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Title IX of the Educational Amendments of
1972, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the
PATRIOT Act. She also serves as the Office
of the General Counsel’s contact attorney for
the TBR Student Affairs Sub-council.
Always looking for new ways to grow while
also helping others, last spring she developed
and taught an online torts course via APSU’s
Center for Extended and Distance Education.
Prior to joining the TBR General Counsel’s
Office, Washington worked briefly as a staff
attorney with King & Spalding, Atlanta.
She is a member of the State Bar of
Tennessee, State Bar of Georgia, National
Association of College and University
Attorneys and Napier Looby Bar Association.
Continued on page 10
9

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 12
Outstanding Alumni Awards (continued from page 11)
2004 Outstanding Young
Alumnus Award
Ronnie D. Carter (‘88)
Highly dedicated.
Goal-oriented.
Ambitious.
Problem-solver.
Family man. Many
adjectives have
been used to
describe Ronnie D.
Carter (’88), but
Ronnie D. Carter
lazy is not among
them. He is the one who set high goals and
challenged himself more than any faculty,
Marine officer or supervisor.
A determination to expand his horizons
gave Carter the confidence to buck family
tradition and enroll at Austin Peay. His burning
desire to become the best of the best led
him to leave a secure job in Nashville in 1990
for Quantico, Va., to begin officer training
with the U.S. Marines.
On a steady career path with the Marine
Corps, he was eager to enter its senior ranks.
To position himself at the national-policy
level, Carter applied to Harvard University
and was accepted into the prestigious
Kennedy School of Government, where he
earned his master’s degree in public administration
in 1996.
After Harvard, Carter returned to
Tennessee, where he accepted executive positions
with the state, first as the assistant
director of the Tennessee State Park System
and later as the director of privatization for
the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
He served in these positions while serving
concurrently as special assistant and legislative
liaison to the commissioner of each.
He was moving up within state government
when he received a call from the Presidential
Personnel Office in the new Bush
Administration. After a series of interviews in
Washington, D.C., he again answered his
nation’s call to national service on Sept. 6,
2001, after speaking with the chief of staff of
the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Contributed Photo
Offered a choice of two positions, he flew
back to Nashville to begin preparations to
move his family to the nation’s capitol.
The following Tuesday—Sept. 11, 2001—
terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon. In the midst of the chaos, Carter
got a call from Washington, saying he still
could have either of the jobs. He also was told
about rumors of a startup of a new federal
agency that would have to be built from zero.
It would be an historical event, since a new
federal agency startup had not occurred in
more than 70 years, He was asked to be one
of its originating members, so he headed to
Washington, D.C., where his military background
and ability to solve problems were put
to the test over the next few months.
Carter, who became a founding member of
Transportation Security Administration, was
the fifth person to join Secretary Norman
Mineta’s TSA Task Force in December 2001
and was key to helping build TSA into a fully
operational, 60,000-person agency.
As the operations chief/chief of staff for
the TSA Task Force, Carter was responsible
for ensuring TSA met each of the strict
Congressional mandates outlined in the
Aviation and Transportation Security Act.
This included driving the technologyenhanced
service provisions in passenger,
baggage and cargo screening. Additionally, he
worked with both government and industry,
authoring and designing TSA’s first response
on cargo security.
Today, Carter, who recently relocated to
Dallas, serves as a senior policy adviser to
the Office of the Administrator and Executive
Director of the TSA Mission Support Centers.
The opportunity to work with the
Department of Homeland Security through
TSA came his way because Carter, who has
proven his abilities to help large government
agencies determine and execute specific
responses to fundamental changes, completed
an important mission when he designed and
implemented TSA’s national field logistics
support system.
Despite the frenetic pace of the past few
years, Carter has remained “on duty” for
APSU, visiting often as a successful alumnus,
willing to mentor recent graduates and share
his story with students. He also served as an
adviser to APSU President Sherry Hoppe and
the University in its efforts to establish
APSU’s Institute for Global Security Studies.
In 2002-03, he returned to campus to be
inducted into The Honor Society of Phi
Kappa Phi Academic Hall of Fame and
Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, capping
off the year as Austin Peay’s keynote
speaker for Spring 2003 Commencement.
Carter is a Marine, a Harvard master’s
degree graduate, a founding member of TSA
and, always, a proud alumnus of Austin Peay
State University.
2004 Outstanding Alumna Award
Sheila Mayhew York (‘71)
High finance and
noir thrillers. Sheila
Mayhew York exists
in both worlds.
And as she moves
between them, her
name changes—not
to protect the innocent—but
because
Shelia Mayhew
York
Sheila York is her
professional name, given to her when she
moved to New York City and which she continues
to use in her creative activities. Mayhew,
on the other hand, is her legal name and the
one that, by law, she uses in her work with a
federally regulated company.
In her “real” job, York works on Wall Street
for Morgan Stanley, as a research editor and
supervisory analyst for the Fixed Income
Division. From 1-9 p.m., Monday through
Friday, she is busy overseeing the production
of research reports, and she enjoys it.
However, like most writers, her heart
belongs to the Muse. Even when she’s en route
to work or taking a break, she’s an astute
observer, always taking mental notes about
people and events she sees—and pondering
how they could be integrated into a novel.
York has several concepts for novels and
Photo: David Morgan
10 Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Robert White (’70) is president of White Oak Enterprises, LLC, Petersburg, Tenn.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 13
characters to populate each one—all simultaneously
bubbling in her head, yet somehow
managing to remain within the worlds she is
creating for them. Remnants of their beginnings
can be found on scribbled notes in her
purse, apartment and office. Embryonic characters,
waiting to be born.
York’s creativity flourished during her travels
as the child of a career Army officer. She
spent much of her childhood in Munich,
Germany, and later studied abroad as an
exchange student in France and England. After
earning a double major in French and psychology
from APSU, York did post-graduate work
in clinical psychology at the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville.
It was in Knoxville that she took a sharp
career turn, eventually becoming a disc jockey,
occasional news anchor and sports reporter.
Over the years, she enjoyed assignments on all
three coasts, including an on-air stint in Los
Angeles, where she became intrigued with the
city’s history.
Eventually, she and husband, David
Nighbert, settled in New York City, where she
worked as on-air personality, sports reporter,
voice-over actor and a periodic actress in a few
way-Off Broadway shows. Nighbert, who is
the author of five novels published by St.
Martin’s Press, is her best critic, editor and
inspiration, because he understands her obsession
with writing.
In October 2003, Pocket Books released
York’s first book, “Star Struck Dead,” one in a
series featuring screenwriter and sleuth Lauren
Atwill. An inside look into the 1940s
Hollywood studio arena, it is unique in its
investiture of the powerful female heroine into
the noir genre.
In July 2004, “Star Struck Dead” won Best
Mainstream Mystery/Suspense of the Year at
the Daphne du Maurier Awards in Dallas,
sponsored by the Romance Writers of
America. Prior to that, it had been nominated
by the Romantic Times magazine as Best First
Mystery.
Her second mystery, titled “A Good Knife’s
Work,” which is a sequel to “Star Struck
Dead,” is slated for release by Pocket Books in
April 2005.
Will there be a third in the series? As yet,
she’s not sure whether Lauren Atwill will take
a third curtain call. Perhaps York will open the
curtain on an entirely new cast of characters,
all of whom are waiting to make their debut.
2004 Outstanding Alumnus Award
John Ogles (‘67)
When APSU
administrators want
help in staging an
alumni or admissions
function in
Memphis or need
advice regarding the
area, whom do they
call? John Ogles.
John Ogles
When APSU
launched a concerted effort to increase the
University’s athletics fundraising, Ogles was
among the first to step forward. On April 3,
1990, he was the keynote speaker for the
kick-off luncheon for the athletics fund drive,
“Get in the Game!”
Ogles surprised the crowd when he
announced the establishment of the Bill
Dupes Endowed Scholarship Fund. In honor
of his coach and on behalf of his former
teammates, Ogles presented former APSU
President Oscar page with a $100,000
deferred gift to the University.
At the ceremony, Ogles said, “Because
many of us came to Austin Peay on scholarships
ourselves, we know how much such an
opportunity can mean to a young person. The
opportunity to get a quality education and
participate in a sport you love—there is no
price you can put on such an experience.”
Ogles graduated from Austin Peay in 1967
and earned a master of business administration
degree from the University of Memphis
in 1968.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he
taught at Middle Tennessee State University
and Fisk University before shifting out of
academics into the world of finance.
After shedding his professorial robe, Ogles
Contributed Photo
shaped a career path for himself in trading
fixed-income securities and helping financial
institutions develop strategies for managing
their fixed-income portfolios.
Since 1978, he has enjoyed a successful
career with Union Planters National Bank and
Vining Sparks, now serving as the senior vice
president.
However, Ogles was well known on the
campus of Austin Peay years before he made
a name for himself in the world of financial
planning.
Most members of the Ohio Valley Conference
Hall of Fame are honored with an induction
long after their days of playing ball are
over or just as their noteworthy coaching
careers are coming to an end. To this day,
John Ogles is the only person ever inducted
into the OVC Hall of Fame while he was an
athlete—making him an integral part of
Austin Peay’s Glory Days.
A football legend at APSU and in the
OVC, Ogles became the University’s all-time
leading rusher with 2,932 yards on 636
attempts in three seasons—a record that stood
for almost 40 years.
The two-time All-OVC choice still is the
only APSU back to twice rush for 1,000 single-season
yards. In doing so, he tallied a
school-best 14 100-yard rushing performances,
including five straight during his senior year.
Ogles was selected first-team Little All-
American fullback in 1966, after rushing for
1,054 yards on a school-record 247 carries
while scoring a single-season school mark of
13 touchdowns for 78 points. His best rushing
performance was against UT-Martin, when he
gained 179 yards of 36 carries.
In 1970, he was inducted into APSU’s
Athletic Hall of Fame and, today, his football
jersey, which was retired, has a place of honor
high above the bleachers in the Dunn Center.
Ogles has been involved in Boy Scouts and
youth sports. Both he and his wife, Barbara,
are active members in their church. They
have a blended family of six sons and two
grandchildren. Two of his oldest sons are now
in business with him.
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
11

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 14
12
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: George White is an independent counselor with HHL Financial Services Inc., Woodbury, NY.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 15
Head’s Up
By Debbie Denton
Assistant Director for Marketing
Tommy Head, Austin Peay alum and member of the Tennessee General Assembly, parlayed horse
sense and a competitive spirit into one of the House’s longest and most successful runs.
Just inside the Montgomery County line
near Fredonia, past patches of kudzu-covered
trees and an eclectic mix of old farmhouses
and new subdivisions, is the attractive but
modest home of Tommy and Deloris Head.
Inside, Tommy Head (’67) relaxes in the
recliner that faces the fireplace and television
in the couple’s cozy den, his feet carefully elevated
in deference to the swelling in his feet
and lower legs that has plagued him for some
three years. But, seeing that he has a guest, he
stands and offers his hand and a smile.
Head—a small business owner and veteran
member of the Tennessee House of
Representatives—has represented Clarksville
in the House for 18 years. Though he says
he’s “not a politician,” and his stand on some
issues has drawn criticism, he’s been re-elected
eight times.
Head’s early years offered no hint of the
prominence he would one day attain. One of
five children born to Richard and Hazel Head,
the future legislator spent his childhood helping
his dad raise cattle and tobacco as well as “a
few soybeans and a little corn.” He also was
charged with seeing to the milking of the 45-50
cattle whose Grade A dairy products were
picked up by Sealtest of Nashville. Fortunately,
the farm was equipped with electric milking
machines, “so unless the power was out, we
never had to milk by hand,” Head says.
His summers were spent astride tractors,
combines and other farm equipment. “In April
we’d start breaking ground for crops,” he
says. “We raised about 20 to 30 acres of
tobacco, but we mostly raised food for the
cattle. From May to the time I was back in
school, I was baling hay.”
The schools Head got back to every fall
were the public schools of Montgomery
County, where he played basketball. Though
sister Pat Head Summitt would become the
unquestionable athletic star of the family,
brother Tommy was no slouch. He made his
own mark as a basketball player for
Clarksville High School, Cumberland
University and Austin Peay.
Though those days are now several decades
back, it’s the times he spent on various basketball
teams that comprise some of Head’s
strongest and most vivid memories. “CHS had
a pretty good team my senior year,” he says.
“We ranked No. 1 in the state most of the year.
But we got beat in the first round of the state
tournaments. Two players had the flu, one had
a sprained ankle and one had a hip injury. But
it took double overtime for them to beat us.”
He categorizes his high school self as “an
average student” and a non-dater. “I got As in
subjects I liked, but Cs in English. I never
dated a lot. I was kind of shy. Still am,” he
says, though his smile suggests he recognizes
the irony of the claim.
After high school, a basketball scholarship
took Head to Cumberland University, which,
in 1963, was a small private junior college of
about 300 students. It was there he met a pretty
Sumner County coed who would become
his wife. Neither Tommy nor Deloris Head
can remember exactly how they got to know
each other.
“Everybody on campus sat around on the
steps outside the main classroom building. So
we probably met there,” Tommy Head says.
Deloris Head recalls attending several dances
with the man who would become her husband.
“But he didn’t dance very much.” They
must have been in-step in other ways, though.
They’ve been married 38 years and raised two
children: Derrick, now 37, and David, 32.
Though recruited heavily by Georgia Tech
and MTSU, Head chose to attend Austin Peay,
transferring to the four-year school in the fall
continued on page 32
Photo: Bill Persinger
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
13

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 16
Alumni News & Calendar of Events
A Message from the APSUNAA President
As I begin my tenure as president of our
National Alumni Association, I am honored and
excited about this opportunity and promise to do
my best to be as effective in leading our association
as Kevin Hackney and the presidents who
preceded him.
As your new president, I want to tell you a bit
about myself. After graduating from Austin Peay, I married Connie
Doss, a 1978 APSU graduate. Twenty-five years later, our daughter,
Brooke (’03) graduated from Austin Peay and married Stephen Callis
(’03), another alum. Talk about how a school can change your life!
Austin Peay literally shaped our family tree.
All of us have great memories of Austin Peay. If you haven’t been
on campus lately, let me invite you to drop by. You’ll be amazed. A
growing campus, beautiful buildings, a great curriculum and the best
faculty and staff of any university—what else could we need? You,
that’s what.
I am a positive, hard-working person. But success for our alumni
association will take more than an enthusiastic president. It will require
support by a lot of alums. I have goals for our alumni association, but I
cannot accomplish them by myself. I need your help to move the
APSUNAA from “amazing” to “awesome.”
When you are asked to help out, please do. Share your Peay Pride
with neighbors and friends. Encourage your own children to attend this
great University. Connie and I are glad we did!
I look forward to meeting each of you. Until then, if I can be of
assistance to you, please call me at 1-888-224-6426.
Bob Hogan (’78)
President
APSU National Alumni Association
Alumni awards nominations
The Austin Peay State University National Alumni Association is seeking nominations
for the Outstanding Young Alumnus/a Award, Outstanding Service
Award and Outstanding Alumnus/a Award. Submit nominations in one of the
following ways:
Mail: Austin Peay State University
Alumni and Annual Giving
P.O. Box 4676
Clarksville, TN 37044
In person: Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hill
751 N. Second Street
By Phone: (931) 221-7979 or 1-800-264-2586
By fax: (931) 221-6292
E-mail: alumni@apsu.edu
The Outstanding Alumnus/a Award is given to a graduate of Austin Peay
State University. It recognizes outstanding accomplishments in one’s profession,
business, community, state or nation, that have brought a high level of
honor and pride to the University.
The Outstanding Young Alumnus/a Award is given to a graduate of Austin
Peay State University who is age 42 or younger. It recognizes outstanding
accomplishments in one’s profession, business, community, state or nation,
that have brought a high level of honor and pride to the University.
The Outstanding Service Award was established to give special recognition
to individuals who, through fund raising, recruiting, advocacy or faithful service,
have brought honor and distinction to Austin Peay State University. This
award, which may be given to an individual who is not an alumnus/a, represents
the highest honor conferred upon alumni and friends of the University.
Upcoming Events
Sept. 14 Book Signing and Reception
4-6 p.m., Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hill for alumnus Billy Frank Morrison (’81)
Sept. 21 Book Signing and Reception
4-6 p.m., Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hill for alumna Lezlie A. Word (’93)
Oct. 2 First Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament
Sponsored by APSU National Alumni Association, Cheatham County Chapter (all
proceeds benefit Dorris Weakley Memorial Scholarship Fund).
1 p.m., Through the Green-Highland Rim Golf Course, Joelton
$75 per person, four-person scramble
Oct. 16 Pre-Game Tailgate Party
11 a.m. (EDT) across from Milne Field, Jacksonville, Fla.
Sponsored by APSUNAA and Governors Club, 12:30 p.m. EDT gametime
Oct. 18 Orlando Alumni Chapter Planning Meeting
7:30 p.m., Orlando Sentinel, 633 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, Fla.
Oct. 19 Tampa Alumni Chapter Planning Meeting
7 p.m., 8342 Fountain Ave., Tampa, Fla.
Oct. 26 Alumni/Admissions Reception
6:30 p.m., Graymere Country Club, Columbia
Nov. 1-6 Homecoming 2004
(see pages 16-17)
Nov. 16 Alumni/Admissions Reception
6:30 p.m., The Peabody Hotel, Memphis
Nov. 30 Alumni Chapter Reception
6:30 p.m., Chattanooga Choo Choo, Chattanooga
Nov. 30 Alumni/Admissions Reception
6-7 p.m., Chattanooga Choo Choo, Chattanooga
Dec. 7 Alumni/Admissions Reception
6:30 p.m., Holiday Inn Select - Cedar Bluff, Knoxville
Dec. 10 Senior Salute
4-6 p.m., Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hill
Dec. 18 APSU vs. University of Memphis Half-Time Party
FedEx Forum, Memphis. Sponsored by APSUNAA and Governors Club
Jan. 25 Alumni/Admissions Reception
6:30 p.m., Hilton Downtown, Nashville
Feb. 5 APSU vs. Samford Pre-Game Basketball Party
Beeson Center for the Healing Arts at Samford, time TBA, Birmingham, Ala.
March 12 Candlelight Ball
6:30 p.m., Hilton Downtown Nashville. $150 per person. Telephone (931) 221-
7127 for more information.
April 23 50-Year Reunion, Class of 1955
Pace Alumni Center at Emerald Hill. Details TBA.
For more information, telephone (931) 221-7979 or
1-800-264-2586.
You can look up the latest alumni event information online at
www.apsu.edu or apsualumni.onlinecommunity.com
14
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Dr. Philip Head (’75) is an endodontist in Columbia, Tenn.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 17
New alumni online community
launched
A new, improved Alumni Online Community from
Internet Association Corporation was launched June
21. Go to www.apsualumni.onlinecommunity.com to
register. It’s FREE. Update or create your profile and
begin searching today. What you can do on the
site:
• Class Notes—Update everyone on the events
in your life in real time.
• Event Registration—Register for events and
pay registration fees online.
• Homecoming Registration—Get all the information
you need about Homecoming activities,
including an updated list of who’s
attending.
• Personal Photo Upload—Add your photo to
your Class Note. It’s easy!
• Online Alumni Directory—Look for that longlost
friend or roommate.
• eMessage Center—Create your own message
center on MyInfo page, where Alerts and
Pages from alumni, staff and administrators
are posted.
• Pager Messaging—Page any other alum who
has been on the site recently.
• Personal Pals Lists—Invite other alumni to
be on your “friends” list.
Members of the Huntsville Alumni Chapter gathered at the Optimist
Recreation Center for fun and fellowship last spring. Attending were
(seated, l-r) Charlie Gover (’76), Jo Ann Breece (’79), Pat Butler,
George Edlin (’60). (back row) Chapter President Wayne Taylor (’66),
Don Wallace (’73), John Moorhead (’88) , District Director Jim Roe
(’65), Ron Miller (’65), Eric Schwartz (’87), Clifford Sims (’62), Steve
Mackey (’92), Maurice Cain (’62) and William Howard (’58). Also
attending but not pictured was Angela Fabrizi (’78).
Photo: Shelia Boone
Alumnus Dr. H. Rowland Cole (’53)
recently presented the National Alumni
Association this handsome coat of
arms, which he crafted from native
Tennessee woods donated by fellow
alumnus Dr. Dawson Durrett (’53).
Attending the Greater Nashville Alumni Chapter
Reception at the Frist Center last spring were (l-r)
John Gholson, Bill Farmer (’71), Patty Farmer (’71)
and Patricia Gholson.
Photo: Shelia Boone
Photo: Shelia Boone
Former SGA officers gathered with fellow alumnus Joe Calloway (’74) in May, following his spring commencement speech. Pictured are (front row, l-r) Leo Adames
(’77), Linda Shanklin Jackson, Boo Giannini Martin (’76), Cheryl J. McKinney (’73), Jan Harlow (’75), Jasmin Rivera Chambers (’76), Jo Clare Wilson (’74), Margaret
Morgan Adames (’75). (back row) Ron Lollar (’75), Dr. Vernon Warren, Adolf Martin (’76), Dr. Charles Boehms, Bob Cooper (’76), DeWayne McKinney (’74), Steve
Baird (’74), Nell Northington Warren (74), Joe Calloway.
More alumni and reunion event photos on page 33
Contributed Photo
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
15

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 18
16
Homecoming 2004
Calendar of Events
Jerry (’76) and Fessey (’75) Hackney,
Homecoming Co-Chairs
For the full calendar of
Homecoming activities,
including student-oriented events, please
go to www.apsu.edu.
Thursday, Nov. 4
“Lights, Camera, Action”
Comedy Show
7 p.m., Clement Auditorium, free to APSU
students, $10 general admission. Contact
Student Life and Leadership (931) 221-7431.
Friday, Nov. 5
26th Annual Homecoming Golf
Tournament
8 a.m., Swan Lake Golf Course, $55 per person.
Sponsored by Ajax Distributing Co. and
Miller Lite. Fee includes ditty bag, refreshments
on course and light lunch. Nelson
Boehms (’86) and Jeff Turner, co-chairs.
Open to the public. Contact the Alumni and
Staying overnight?
Consider one of these host hotels
Riverview Inn
50 College St.
Clarksville
1-877-487-4837 or
931-522-3331
Quality Inn
Downtown
Highway 41-A
Clarksville
1-800-4CHOICE or
931-645-9084
Remember to ask for the special APSU
Homecoming Room Rate when making
reservations! There will be an APSU information
table in the lobby of both hotels.
Annual Giving Office (931) 221-7979 or 1-
800-264-2586.
Alumni and Friends Card Party
10 a.m., Morgan University Center; $10 per
person. Advance reservations required. Larry
(’67) and Kay (’62) Martin and Margaret Ann
Marshall, co-chairs. Open to the public.
Contact the Alumni and Annual Giving Office
(931) 221-7979 or 1-800-264-2586.
Alumni-Varsity Golf Match
1 p.m. shotgun start, Clarksville Country
Club, includes lunch from 12-1 p.m. Men’s
varsity golf alumni compete against the current
men’s golf team in this annual event.
Contact Sherwin Clift (’60) (931) 801-5138,
Steve Miller (’68) (931) 237-4195 or Jim
Smith (’68) (931) 645-6586.
Alumni Baseball Golf Outing
TBA (afternoon). Contact Brian Hetland
(931) 221-7902.
13th Annual Dave Aaron
Reception
6 p.m., Riverview Inn, free. Friends and former
players for the late Dave Aaron are
encouraged to reunite during this event. Also
visit the hospitality suite, room 402, on
Friday or Saturday. Creson Briggs (’51), Glyn
Broome (’51), Brandon Buhler (’51), George
Fisher (’52), Hendricks Fox (’51) and Dick
Hardwick (’49), co-chairs. Contact the
Alumni and Annual Giving Office (931) 221-
7979 or 1-800-264-2586.
Baseball Alumni Game
6:30 p.m., Raymond C. Hand Park, free and
open to the public. Contact Brian Hetland (931)
221-7902. (1994 OVC Championship team to
be honored at homecoming Football Game.)
Lady Govs vs. Samford (volleyball)
7 p.m., Dunn Center, free and open to the
public. Contact the Athletics Office (931)
221-7903.
Sepia Fashion Review
7 p.m., concert theatre, music/mass communication
building. Open to the public. “A
Fashion Silhouette 2004” presented by
Vogue-Esquire models of Chicago. Tickets
$20 in advance through Nov. 2; $25 after
Nov. 2, with tickets available at the Pace
Alumni Center at Emerald Hill and the
Morgan University Center Information Desk.
Sponsored by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Inc., to benefit scholarships. For more information,
contact Mary Davila (931) 552-0773
or at ladymad50@aol.com.
Homecoming Street Dance
8 p.m.-midnight, free. Reunite with friends
and dance the night away on Franklin Street
(downtown) to music by Mike Robinson, and
at 10 p.m. catch the “star syle” fashion show
presented by Posh Boutique. Food and beverages
for sale, sponsored by Budweiser of
Clarksville, along with the BlackHorse Pub
and Brewery and Front Page Deli. Terry
(’80) and Debbie Griffin, Nelson (‘86) and
continued on page 17 (after insert)
Don’t miss out on the
College of Professional
Programs and Social
Sciences Reunion
Call or visit our Web site
for details.
www.apsu.edu
or 1-800-264-2586

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 19
Homecoming 2004 Calendar of Events (continued from page 16)
Deborah Boehms, Craig (’85) and Lori (’87)
O’Shoney and Garnett (’83) and Nancy (’80)
Ladd, co-chairs. Open to the public. Contact
the Alumni and Annual Giving Office (931)
221-7979 or 1-800-264-2586.
Athletic Letter-Winners Reunion
9 p.m., Front Page Deli, 105 Franklin Street,
free (cash bar). Hosted by APSU Athletics
Office. Contact Athletics (931) 221-7903.
NPHC “Black & White Affair”
10 p.m.-2 a.m., “The Down Under” at the
Pinnacle Family Entertainment Center, 430
Warfield Boulevard. This first-ever event is sponsored
by the APSU National Pan-Hellenic
Council. Admission $10 single, $15 couple; tickets
available in advance at the Morgan University
Center Information Desk. Advance ticket purchase
required. Telephone (931) 221-6230.
Saturday, Nov. 6
Homecoming 5K Run
8 a.m., registration $20 in advance, $25 day
of race. Fee includes tee-shirt, refreshments,
prizes and cash awards. Mike (’78) and Lisa
(’81) Kelley, co-chairs. Open to the public, all
ages. Contact the Alumni and Annual Giving
Office (931) 221-7979 or 1-800-264-2586.
Homecoming Parade
9:45 a.m., open to the public. Contact Student
Life and Leadership (931) 221-7431.
Alumni Awards and College of
Professional Programs and Social
Sciences Reunion Brunch
10:30 a.m., Morgan University Center
Ballroom, $20 per person; advance reservations
required. Gather early to view the
parade from the alumni viewing tent on the
Browning front lawn, and then move on to
the brunch to meet and mingle with other
alumni and friends. Highlights include the
presentation of the 2004 alumni awards and
recognition of graduates from the College of
Professional Programs and Social Sciences.
Wayne and Kay (’77) Murphy, Elvy (’77) and
Sandra (’82) Watson, co-chairs; Open to the
public. Contact the Alumni and Annual
Giving Office (931) 221-7979 or 1-800-264-
2586. Reservations must be made by Nov. 2.
Hollywood Boulevard Tailgate Party
10:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m., corner Marion and
Summer Streets, open to the public. Foods
for sale by a variety of vendors; APSU students
eat free with vendor tickets. Live
music, face painting, Kiddy Land. Sponsored
by Student Life and Leadership (931) 221-
7431.
Alumni Hospitality Tent
10:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m., corner Marion and
Summer streets, beverages available, free.
Contact the Alumni and Annual Giving Office
(9313) 221-7979 or 1-800-264-2586.
Governors Club Reception
10:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m., parking lot between
Armory and Governors Stadium, beverages
available, free and open to public. Contact
Brenda Harrison (931) 221-7024.
APSU vs. Davidson Homecoming
Football Game
1 p.m., Governors Stadium, open to public.
Free admission for reunion group. Special
activities include recognition of members of
the 1994 OVC Championship Baseball Team
and presentation of the fifth annual National
Alumni Association Wyatt Award. For
admission prices, telephone the Athletics
Ticket Office (931) 221-7761.
Lady Govs vs. Jacksonville State
(volleyball)
2 p.m., Dunn Center, free and open to the
public. Contact the Athletics Office (931)
221-7903.
African-American Alumni Chapter
Reception
4-5:30 p.m., Morgan University Center
Ballroom, free. Makeba Webb (’00), Nancy
Washington (’99), Kenny Maddox (’96), cochairs.
Contact the Alumni and Annual
Giving Office (931) 221-7979 or 1-800-264-
2586.
Nursing Reception
4-5:30 p.m., McReynolds Building, free.
Sponsored by the Nursing Alumni Chapter;
information on RN-BSN and RODP Master’s
in Nursing program available. Contact the
Alumni and Annual Giving Office (931) 221-
7979 or 1-800-264-2586.
NPHC 2004 Homecoming
Step Show
7 p.m., Memorial Health Gymnasium.
Admission $12 in advance, $15 day of show;
tickets available at the Morgan University
Center Information Desk. Contact (931) 221-
6230.
17
17

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 20
Dr. John Foust (continued from page 3)
and realized they were right.”
He gave up his spot in GI and, for the next
three years, completed a fellowship in hematology
and oncology, the first year of which
was a research position at St. Jude’s Children’s
Hospital, Memphis. Although his work was
sometimes depressing because it centered on
very sick children, he discovered he was fascinated
by the possibilities.
“St. Jude’s offers some of the best science
out there,” he says. “I got to work with world
leaders in cancer research.”
His time at St. Jude’s gave him renewed
appreciation for the importance of medical
research—but it also made him realize that, at
heart, he was not a researcher.
“I need to treat patients,” he says. “It’s a
real calling for me.”
Coping with The Big C
Cancer. Perhaps the most dreaded word in
the English language. How do you tell someone
he has cancer?
“It’s never easy and never the same,” Foust
says and then pauses, reflectively. “Most
patients already know.”
Generally, another doctor has found a suspicious
mass or seen something unusual on an
X-ray. After the pathology report indicates
cancer, the patient is referred to Foust. In
some instances, Foust is called to the hospital
for consultation, and telling the patient the
diagnosis may fall to him.
“In more than 20 years of practice, I’ve
only had one patient say ‘I don’t want to
know.’ Most want it straight up. How are my
patients going to trust anything I say if I don’t
tell them the truth about their condition?
“When I first see a patient in the hospital, I
may ask, ‘What do you think is going on with
you?’ and, almost invariably, he or she will
say, ‘I think I have cancer.’
“I say, ‘Yes, you’re right. So what are we
going to do about it?’”
Although the Kleenex often come out at
this point, a partnership has been forged. A
literal live-and-die alliance between doctor
and patient.
Physician, heal thyself
When two married people are medical doctors,
especially when one is an oncologist and
the other a pathologist, the tendency is to
“take it home.” Conversations too easily turn
to “Did path indicate I should give chemo?”
Long ago, the Fousts determined to leave
work at work—for their own well-being and
to ensure any “free” time is shared with their
children, J.T., 14, Rachael, 12, and Taylor, 10.
Although he admits to feeling a bit guilty
when he leaves sick patients in the care of
another oncologist, Foust knows vacations are
more than just important. For this doctor, who
works 60 to 80 hours a week, they are his
personal prescription for good health.
In addition to taking regular family vacations,
Foust unwinds daily by walking, biking,
gardening or doing yard work. When it’s
possible, he spends time golfing, playing tennis,
boating and water and snow skiing.
When Foust tells his patients it’s vital to
exercise, they know he walks the walk.
If wishes were horses
Foust believes in miracles. He’s witnessed
them. Patients who should have been dead
long ago are alive. Some even doing well,
enjoying life. How does the scientist in him
explain it?
Simple. He believes in God. Although he
also acknowledges the power of prayer, he
doesn’t believe God turns the universe upside
down just to answer one person’s prayer,
because, in a nutshell, the supplicant has a
limited view of eternity.
“When my son asks for something, and I
say ‘no,’ he may not understand, but I do.
That’s the way it is with the Heavenly Father.
We don’t have to understand everything,
because He does.”
Foust knows from experience that a
patient’s attitude is critical. “One that gives
up does poorly in treatment, while someone
with a positive attitude will do much better.”
Photo: Bill Persinger
But how does any doctor handle the death
of a patient with whom he or she has formed
a bond? Foust says, “Death is never easy. But
for some, it’s a release—both the patient and
family are ready.
“To be the best doctor I can be, I have to
be objective. I cannot be overcome with emotion.
That isn’t something they can teach in
med school. It takes life experience.”
Someday is not soon enough
for some
Although patients may be blindsided by a
diagnosis of cancer, most cancers are not as
mysterious and random as once thought.
According to Foust, most cancers occur
through a combination of genetic predisposition
and external precipitators, such as smoking,
a fatty diet and lack of exercise. For
years, doctors have been able to affect the
likelihood of one’s falling prey to cancer by
encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
Now scientists are discovering new and
better ways to intervene in a patient’s genetics
to fight cancer. “It’s called genomics,” Foust
says. “Going right to the gene level in the
body and looking to see what’s broken.
“Targeted therapies are the way things are
going. The drug Gleevic is a home run for
chronic leukemia,” Foust says, glancing down
at his beeper as it goes off for the third time.
Although it’s his day off, he’s already made
early-morning rounds, and the series of beeps
herald a return trip to the hospital. Moving
out the door and toward the patient who
needs him, Foust offers a gracious good-bye.
Ironically, that same day, during the June
2004 meeting of the American Society of
Clinical Oncology in New Orleans, discussions
focus on the profound changes taking
place in cancer research, specifically within
the new field of personalized cancer treatment.
The public soon learns that, instead of classifying
cancers by organ, doctors are beginning
to group them and develop drugs for
them, based on molecular structure. Speaking
at the conference, Dr. Roy Herbst, chief of
thoracic oncology at M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center, Houston, says, “Patient-specific therapy
might be the only way we will make
inroads into this disease. Every patient’s cancer
is a little bit different.”
Gleevic. Iressa. Erbitus. Avastin. Tarceva.
Temodar. These new drugs being introduced
into the arsenal in the fight against cancer
aren’t cure-alls, but they soon will give doctors
greater abilities to tailor cancer treatment
to the genetics of a patient’s cancer cells.
18 Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Gary Scott (’72) is president and CEO of PrimeTrust Bank, Bellevue, Tenn.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 21
Titled “New Cancer Treatments Are
Coming,” an article in the June 3, 2004, edition
of USA Today, states: By individualizing
cancer treatments, doctors say they hope to
help patients and avoid some of the grueling
side effects of broad-based chemotherapy.
Compared to traditional chemo treatments,
Herbst compares Iressa to “a laser-guided
bomb,” validating what Foust has said repeatedly:
Weighing the use of traditional
chemotherapy is difficult.
“You have to remember chemos are poisons,”
Foust says. “Where is the point you
decide it’s beneficial to introduce poison into
one’s body?”
During the New Orleans conference of worldrenowned
cancer researchers, Dr. M.J. Van Den
Bent of the Daniel Den Hoed Oncology Center
in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, discusses using
the drug Temodar to improve the short-term survival
of patients with Glioblastoma multiforme,
the most common and aggressive form of brain
cancer.
“This is the first trial that has been clearly
positive in brain cancer in 30 years,” Van der
Bent says. “This is a great day.”
Foust is excited about these major advances
in his field but, unlike the researchers, he’s the
one who must face his cancer patients—who
often are begging for one of the new drugs—
and tell them the drug has not been approved
for general use, that it still is in the testing
stage. It’s difficult to deflate his patients’
renewed hopes, but it’s part of the job.
Medicine. Through the ages, it has been
called both an art and a science. Having
walked on both sides of that aisle, Foust
applauds the researchers and encourages them
to press forward faster, to develop new drugs
so he can better treat the patients who literally
put their lives in his hands.
Despite international conferences touting
the wonders of cancer treatments coming
down the pike, at the end of the day, it’s still
just the doctor and the patient.
“We don’t walk on water,” Foust says.
“But we’re here for them.”
Dr. Valencia May (continued from page 7)
For those willing to make an Active Duty
Service Commitment, the U.S. Air Force
offered a competitive salary, a food and housing
allowance and special incentive and
retention bonuses. Taking the Air Force up on
its slogan, May decided to “Cross into the
Blue.”
As in dental school, she found herself in a
male-dominated environment. “Patients
would come in and ask my assistant, who
was a male, a question, and he’d say ‘Let’s
see what Dr. May says.’ Then I’d come in
and introduce myself. They’d look at me and
say, ‘I’ve never had a female work on me
before.’ I’d respond, ‘Well, this is your lucky
day.’”
Invariably, after May was through, the
skeptics became patients. “They liked me
because I didn’t hurt them,” she says. They’d
say, ‘This has been the most comfortable dentist
visit I’ve ever had.’ I got letters from generals
I did work on. And some people from
out of town came back to me.”
May stayed in the Air Force for seven
years, providing dental care for enlistees at
bases in Michigan and Mississippi. Still leery
of starting a practice from scratch, she bought
into an established practice in Memphis. Why
Memphis? “A lot of my classmates were from
here or stayed here after graduating,” she
says. “And I enjoyed Memphis.”
The transition to full-time private practice
was facilitated by her partner, Dr. Mary
Crawford.
On a typical day, May might do a crown
preparation, several root canals, numerous
fillings and, often, surgery. And though “root
canal” is often used to describe something
only slightly less desirable than death, as a
dentist, May loves them. “I could do root
canals all day long,” she says. “That’s what I
like. That, and pathology.” She also sees eight
to 10 patients with her hygienist.
Though popular thought holds that with the
addition of fluoride to water, dental cavities
are virtually a thing of the past, May says it
isn’t so, at least not in the zip code in which
she and her partner practice. “We signed up
for TennCare a year ago,” she says, which
means she sees a lot of Hispanic immigrants
and lower-income residents. “So many people
are ignorant about dental care,” she says.
Education, along with the elimination of
pain, is one of the key focuses of her practice,
she says. “I go to the schools to talk about
teeth and tooth care. It’s so important to reach
kids at a young age.”
She winces when her young adult patients
come in and ask for a “grill,” a row of gold
teeth across the front. The trend has been elevated
to “coolness” by several hip-hop artists,
but May says. “My philosophy is ‘What you
were born with is the way it should be.’”
Asked to name the most important advance
in dentistry since she entered the field, she has
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
Photo: Bill Persinger
a quick answer: implants. Implants—tooth
replacements made of metal and designed to
look like the patient’s own teeth—integrate
with bone, she explains. “That’s a good thing.
Implants maintain bone function.”
Though she and her partner have been
happy in their current practice—except for
facility and space problems—in late June
they got even happier. They packed up the
paraphernalia of the practice and moved
across the plaza to a much larger facility.
Recently renovated from top to bottom, the
reception area in the new facility is five times
as large as the one in the former practice. It
has six treatment rooms instead of four. And
the treatment rooms are more private.
Painted in warm neutrals like taupe and
olive, the new space has lots of natural light
and workspaces for everyone on staff, including
not only Drs. May and Crawford but also
a hygienist, three dental assistants, a front
desk manager and an office manager.
“We have a great staff,” May says. “Some
days I might wake up and think ‘I don’t want
to go in today.’ But I get here, we start working
together, seeing patients, and I’m fine.”
May spends her spare time either exercising
(“I try to squeeze in power walks”) or enjoying
her family: husband James, daughter Darragh,
7, and son James “Alex” Alexander, 12.
Today, May is grateful for the crowded
teeth that made her so miserably self-conscious
in childhood. It was those teeth, after
all, that led her to the orthodontist, who
directed her to dentistry.
“Dentistry changes peoples lives. I can’t
imagine doing anything else,” she says.
19

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 22
Making APSU Headlines (continued from page 7)
the widow of Sgt. Ariel Rico, a 101 st soldier
who lost his life in Iraq. Jessica, are you here
tonight?”
In the back row, Rico stood slowly, embarrassed
by the attention. As the audience turned
its applause toward her, she nodded and tossed
a slight thank-you kiss to O’Malley.
O’Malley announced the establishment of
The Sgt. Ariel Rico Memorial Scholarship.
Once endowed, the scholarship will go to a
“son or daughter of a fallen soldier of the
101 st Airborne Division.” O’Malley also
pledged 5 percent of royalties from future
productions of the play.
If you would like to join O’Malley in honoring
the fallen soldiers of Fort Campbell
through a tax-deductible gift to the scholarship
fund, contact Sharon Silva at (931) 221-
7127 or send a check to The Sgt. Ariel Rico
Scholarship Fund, APSU Box 4417,
Clarksville, TN 37044.
Campus construction signals
renewed vitality, growth
During Homecoming weekend, drop by
Austin’s for hamburgers so good they’ll make
you cry.
Located adjacent to the Book and Supply
Store (old Harvill Cafeteria), the new diner,
which has a 1950s décor, serves up old-fashioned
burgers, hand-dipped milkshakes and
other faves.
So now we have Austin’s with its friendly,
retro feel. A spaciously bright and cheerful
University Center. A top-of-the-line science
education complex. Hand Village, with its
unique concept in housing. All of them new.
All adding beauty and space to campus.
What’s next? A first-class recreation center!
With growing emphasis on health and
wellness, recreation centers—with all the
amenities—are not considered luxuries.
Rather, they have become an expectation for
today’s college students. National studies
reveal that a recreation center, in addition to
providing workout opportunities for current
students, is one of the best recruitment tools
for prospective students.
This past year, Austin Peay students voted
to impose a student fee on themselves to fund
the construction of a new recreation center.
Making way for the new 74,000-square-foot
facility means tearing down the old Armory, a
decision that met mild resistance because of
the Armory’s sentimental value.
With a price tag of about $11 million, the
rec center will feature a climbing wall, a cardio/weight
area, three full-sized basketball
courts, four racquetball courts and other
amenities.
APSU’s national award-winning ROTC
program and military science department will
move to the Memorial Health Building—a
fitting location because, when the building
opened in 1952, it was dedicated to World
War II veterans.
SACS gives APSU an A+
To maintain accreditation with the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS),
APSU’s national accrediting body, every 10
years the University undergoes an intensive
internal study and external review. The review
takes about two full years.
During a final meeting with APSU officials
in April 2004, the visiting SACS committee
A gift of love
Perkins Freeman, Clarksville, has given the
University the roof over his head, literally.
A longtime supporter of the University, this
85-year-old gentleman recently transferred
his nearly 3,000-square-foot home and property,
located near the Swan Lake Golf
Course, to APSU with the stipulation that, at
his death, it is to be sold and the proceeds
used to endow two scholarships.
Freeman has lived in the home since 1981,
most of the time with his wife Ruth, who
passed away in 2002. Their daughter, Cindy
Meise (’73, ’96), is the music teacher and
acclaimed choral director for Dickson County
High School. She and her husband Michael
(’81, ’96) supported her father’s decision to
leave her childhood home to their alma mater.
A man who is passionate about helping
young people attain an education, Freeman
has established many endowed scholarships
at APSU over the years. He knows the price
of an education because, as one of 15 children,
he paid for his own college education—
first at David Lipscomb, Nashville, and then
at Cumberland College, Lebanon, by scrubbing
dorm floors and waiting tables.
To pay tribute to Freeman’s service to the
community, Clarksville Mayor Don Trotter
Perkins Freeman
(’70, ’73) designated Dec. 20, 1995, as
“Perkins Freeman Appreciation Day.”
In addition to his community and church
activities, Freeman is a member of the APSU
Tower Club, APSU Foundation Board of
Trustees and APSU President’s Circle of
Advisers.
In recognition of his support for the
University, he received the APSU
Outstanding Service Award for 2003. And on
Feb.17, 2004, Freeman was one of only four
people tapped for APSU’s elite Red Coat
Society, honoring his longtime support of
APSU athletics.
Photo: Bill Persinger
20
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Dr. Tom Grizzard (’59) is an ophthalmologist in Memphis.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 23
presented its preliminary findings, which
indicate APSU is in compliance with all core
requirements and standards. The group also
gave a thumbs-up to APSU’s plan for improving
retention.
APSU President Sherry Hoppe said, “In
my 25-plus years in Tennessee higher education
and in my service on the SACS
Commission on Colleges, as well as my 15
years on SACS visiting committees, I’ve
never heard of an institution receiving no recommendations
for improvements.”
Although reaffirmation of accreditation is
incomplete until the Commission on Colleges
approves the preliminary findings, Hoppe
expects approval, since APSU “had such a
clean report,” meaning no follow-up is
required.
Back from Iraq, soldiers hit
the books
Full classrooms at the APSU Center @ Fort
Campbell mean the 101st Airborne Division
(Air Assault) and special units are back from
Iraq, and the soldiers are ready to study.
Enrollment for Spring II Term was up 45
percent over last spring, with FTE (full-time
equivalency) up 43 percent. Freshmen enrollment
is up 118 percent, with the most noteworthy
jump being in new freshmen, which
increased 520 percent.
Senior enrollment at the APSU Center @
Fort Campbell rose 43 percent over last year,
and junior enrollment increased 17 percent.
With classrooms already bulging and with
news of the Army’s plans to establish a
brand-new division of 3,000 soldiers (plus
dependents) at Fort Campbell, Austin Peay
officials are making contingency plans to provide
adequate space, faculty and staff to meet
the educational needs of the incoming troops.
And the award goes to…
Austin Peay State University!
Last Spring, those words echoed across the
ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta,
during the annual meeting of the District III
Conference of CASE (Council for the
Advancement and Support of Education).
District III includes all universities and colleges
in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee and Virginia.
APSU’s television spot “Graduation Card”
won the Grand Gold Award. Only one Grand
Still a ‘star’
During May Commencement, Dr. Sherry
Hoppe made a presentation to Tenn. Rep.
Tommy Head (‘68)—APSU’s Distinguished
Service Award, which is given on rare occasions
to someone who has demonstrated an
unusually strong dedication to APSU.
The award is a piece of artwork that represents
the spirit of the recipient. Hoppe presented
Head with a sculpture of a large falcon—a
symbol of power.
“With his imposing glare, the falcon is perceived
as strong and determined, but in flight,
he is amazingly graceful,” Hoppe said. “For
much of his life, Tommy Head has been a
quiet but powerful force for Austin Peay.”
A transfer from Cumberland College, Head
played two seasons for the Govs Basketball
Team, but those two seasons put him in the
record books.
“Tommy was the kind of tenacious player
whom adversaries both dread and respect,”
Hoppe said. “Since those days on the basketball
court until now, he has shown a steely determination
to make the University a winner.”
A member of the General Assembly since
1986, Head has gained a considerable amount
of influence. He chairs the powerful Finance,
Ways and Means Committee and is a member
of the House Transportation Committee,
Calendar and Rules Committee and Public
Transportation and Highways Subcommittee.
These appointments are public knowledge,
but few people know the quiet battles Head
wages in Nashville on behalf of Austin Peay.
Hoppe said, “Tommy … has stood tall with
us (and often in front of us) through good
times and bad. When storm clouds begin to
gather above Austin Peay, he doesn’t run for
cover. Like the mighty falcon, he quietly
swoops down, shelters us beneath his wings
and lifts us into the sunshine.”
Hoppe cited a few examples of Head’s battles
on behalf of APSU:
• In the mid-80s, funds had been appropriated
to demolish an empty and deteriorating
Harned Hall, because too many
had a limited view of future space needs
for the University. But Head shared the
vision of faculty and community who
saw the possibilities for growth and,
knowing space would be needed, he led
efforts on the state level to reverse that
decision. Today, that magnificent and
historical building bustles with the
sound of students and faculty.
President Sherry Hoppe presents Tenn. Rep.
Tommy Head (’67) the Distinguished Service Award
at the May 2004 Commencement. Hoppe chose a
sculpture of a large falcon—a symbol of power.
new science building. McCord classrooms
were crowded, and the science
labs had become embarrassingly outdated.
The science faculty and alumni
implored the state for years to provide
funding, but a new science building for
APSU was so far down the state’s priority
list of construction projects, a new
facility might never have been constructed
in our lifetime, had it not been for
Head. He quietly cleared the way to
secure funding for a brand-new, state-ofthe-art
science education facility at his
alma mater. On Sept. 18, 2001, when the
Sundquist Science Complex opened, the
new facility—with its price tag of $38
million—represented the largest capital
appropriation for a single academic
building in Tennessee history.
• In early 2004, Tenn. Gov. Phil Bredesen
announced that state universities must
raise one-third of funds for any capital
project. At APSU, plans were on the
drawing board for renovation of McCord
Building to house the School of Nursing
and the School of Geosciences. While
appreciative of Bredesen’s funding of
any capital projects after a long, dry
spell, most colleges and universities
were concerned about the required
match.
Continued on page 30
• For decades, APSU was in dire need of a
Continued on page 33
Photo: Bill Persinger
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
21

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 24
Sports News
Former Govs in the “majors”
Trenton Hassell was to blame for the sleephangovers
of many APSU alums and
Clarksvillians during May.
With the former star basketball Governor
entrenched as the “defensive stopper” for the
NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, Hassell
earned plenty of TV airtime on TNT, ESPN
and ABC during the NBA playoffs. Most of
the Timberwolves playoff games were second
games of doubleheaders, many not starting
until after 9 p.m. (CST) and some not concluding
until well after midnight. But Hassell
fans were not left disappointed until the
T’wolves were eliminated by the Los Angeles
Lakers in six games in the Western
Conference championship series.
Despite Minnesota’s exit, Hassell’s season
was not diminished. After being released in
22
October by the Chicago Bulls, the team that
drafted him in 2001, Hassell signed with
Minnesota as a free agent. A team depleted
by injury, the T’wolves quickly moved
Hassell into the starting lineup. He started 92
times, including all 18 playoff contests, for
the team that posted the best regular-season
record in the Western Division.
Hassell’s outstanding defensive and hustling
efforts during the playoff drew raves
from commentators Doug Collins and Mike
Fratello, former NBA coaches, along with
Bill Walton, Steve Kerr and Sean Elliott, former
NBA stars.
In August 2004, Hassell signed a whopping
$27 million, six-year contract with the
Minnesota Timberwolves, who matched the
July offer from Portland.
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Dr. Joel Hargrove (’57) is a gynecologist with the Vanderbilt Clinic, Cool Springs.
Photo: Robert Smith/The Leaf-Chronicle
Trenton Hassell (‘01) is still a T-wolf. In August,
he signed a whopping $27 million, six-year contract
with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who
matched the July offer from another NBA team.
Below, Hassell gives some pointers to Trentonwannabees
during the Dave Loos Basketball Camp
at APSU this past summer.
Photo: Bill Persinger

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 25
Hassell wasn’t the
only former Gov
making his mark at a
major league level in
professional sports.
Jamie “Cat” Walker,
the OVC Pitcher of
the Year in 1992, has
developed into one
of major league
baseball’s top lefthanded
situational
Jamie “Cat” Walker
relief pitchers. After
playing for Kansas City in 1997-98, injuries
and illness sent Walker’s career spiraling the
next three-plus seasons.
But perseverance paid off. He fought his
way back with the Detroit Tigers in 2002 and
pitched 135 games over the next two seasons,
becoming one of the most dependable veteran
hurlers for what was otherwise a young pitching
staff. As a result, he earned a welldeserved
raise in 2004.
Meanwhile, Jeff
Gooch, who played
anywhere from quarterback
to linebacker
to cornerback to
strong safety for the
Governors (1992-
95), re-signed with
the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers, his original
team, in the offseason.
After Jeff Gooch
playing
Hardin named OVC Female
Athlete of the Year
For the second consecutive year, the Ohio
Valley Conference named a Lady Gov as
OVC Female Athlete of the Year when senior
forward Gerlonda Hardin, the OVC Women’s
Basketball Player of the Year, took the
league’s highest honor.
Hardin was chosen after leading Austin
Peay to its second
straight OVC regular-season
title. She
also claimed her second
OVC tournament
MVP award
and fourth league
all-tourney selection,
while leading the
Gerlonda Hardin
Photo: Gail Hughes Photo: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Photo: Detriot Tigers
six seasons with the Bucs, he joined Detroit
for two seasons. In fact, he earned the Lions’
Yale Lary Special Teams Award in 2002.
However, with his home and family in the
Tampa area, Gooch elected to return to the
bay area for the 2004 campaign when the
Bucs came calling once again.
George Sherrill,
who lived a fourand-a-half-year
baseball
odyssey through
the independent
leagues until signing
with the Tacoma
Rainiers last summer,
is being called
up by the Mariners.
The left-handed
George Sherrill reliever was the only
pitcher who didn’t
pitch in the Class AAA All-Star game, reportedly
at Seattle’s request because of this
expected transaction.
Sherrill, a 2000 APSU graduate, played at
Austin Peay for two seasons (1998-99) after
transferring from Jackson State Community
College. He was 3-7 with eight saves and a
team-leading 4.92 ERA as a junior, pitching
mostly in relief. He fanned 59 in 60.1 innings
that season. As a senior in 1999, he was 5-7
and four saves with a 4.13 ERA (second on
the team), moving from the closer’s role early
in the season to the No. 1 starter spot once
OVC play began. He struck out 83 in 85
innings that season.
Photo: Seattle Mariners
Lady Govs to their
fourth straight conference
tournament title and NCAA tourney
appearance.
The Springfield native ranked among conference
leaders in scoring (18.4 ppg), blocked
shots (59) and field-goal percentage, while
also finishing third in the league in rebounding
(8.7 rpg). Her 60.8 field-goal percentage
led the Conference and ranked third nationally
in 2003-04, while her school-record 61.8
career field-goal percentage puts her among
the Top 25 in NCAA women’s basketball history.
A three-time All-OVC honoree, Hardin
leaves as the league’s all-time blocked shots
leader (223). In addition, she holds the APSU
record for career rebounds (982) and is second
in all-time scoring (1,863). A 2003-04
CoSIDA Academic All-District third-team
pick and APSU’s 2003-04 Most Outstanding
Female Athlete, Hardin was named to the
2003-04 Tennessee Sports Writers Association
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
Looking for
Austin Peay
sports schedules,
news and the
most up-to-date
information?
Get it all on-line at
www.apsu.edu
All-State Team.
Last year, Hardin’s former basketball teammate
Brooke Armistead was APSU’s firstever
OVC Female Athlete of the Year.
Mault, Hardy cement dominance
with top awards
Jeff Mault
Rowdy Hardy
The regular-season dominance of Austin
Peay’s top two pitchers was cemented as senior
Jeff Mault was named OVC Pitcher of the
Year and sophomore Rowdy Hardy earned
Rookie of the Year recognition. Both were
first-team All-OVC honorees.
Mault, a native of Wawaka, Ind., received
his second consecutive All-OVC honor (he
was named All-OVC as a relief pitcher in
2003) after a 2004 campaign that saw him
amass 10 wins faster than any OVC pitcher
and the sixth-fastest among Division I pitchers
in 2004.
Hardy, Bethel Springs, made a huge impact
in his first season at Austin Peay, taking over
the No. 1 starting spot and setting a school
record with 12 regular-season victories. In
addition, he was one of only two OVC student-athletes
named to the Louisville Slugger
NCAA Division I All-American baseball
third-team.
continued on page 24
23
Photos: Brad Kirtley

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 26
Photo: Sharon Silva
Third from left and third from right are the winners of the 2004 Bass Tournament, David Fields and John Morgan. They are joined by, from left to right, Carroll
McCray, APSU head football coach, Bass Club members Walt Hermann and Kenneth Head, 2004-2005 Govs Club President Kenneth Griffin and director of corporate
relations at APSU, Rip Watts. Executive Director of University Advancement Roy Gregory looks on.
Governors Bass Tournament breaks record
The 10th annual Austin Peay Governors Bass Tournament, held Saturday, May 8, at Kentucky Lake, raised more than $24,000, which will be
used to support APSU athletics. Approximately 241 boats were registered for the tournament–a new participation record.
The tournament was sponsored by Triton Boats by Earl Bentz, The Leaf-Chronicle, Legends Bank, Prudential Realty, Jenkins and Wynne Ford
Lincoln Mercury Honda Isuzu, B&J Marine, WJZM-1400 AM, Charter Communications, Wal-Mart Supercenter, 5-Star Radio Group, DBS and
Associates Engineering Inc., WKAG-TV and the Governors Club.
Photos: Gail Hughes
Hardin, Henning Selected
Most Valuable Athletes;
Wierzba and Adcock named
Joy Award Recipients
A quartet of athletes was recognized with
APSU’s most esteemed athletic honors at the
annual athletics banquet.
Women’s basketball star Gerlonda Hardin,
the Lady Govs all-time leading rebounder and
second all-time leading scorer, was named
Most Outstanding Female Athlete.
Men’s basketball player Adrian Henning,
who became the 10th member
of the Governors 1,000-
point, 500-rebound club
while helping lead the
Governors to a perfect 16-0
OVC regular-season title,
was named Most
Adrian Henning
24
Outstanding Male Athlete.
Rhet Wierzba, a threeyear
Govs basketball starter
who earned the OVC
Scholar-Athlete Award, was
named the Joy Award recipient
as the most valuable
Rhet Wierzba senior athlete. Wierzba also
received the Male Scholar-
Athlete Award.
Jennifer Adcock, a fouryear
softball player who has
never made anything but As
in the classroom, was named
the Female Joy Award recipient.
She also received the
Jennifer Adcock
Female Scholar-Athlete Award and the
Governors Club Academic Achievement
Award.
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
Three Lady Govs earn second-team
All-OVC softball
Three underclassmen
were selected second-team
All-Ohio Valley Conference.
Sophomore shortstop
Brianna Venable and freshman
first baseman Sarah
Longmire were named second-team
infielders, while
Brianna Venable
freshman pitcher-designated
player Natasha Anderson
was named second-team
utility player.
Venable, from Edmonds,
Wash., enjoyed a breakout
season. In batting .280, she
Sarah Longmire broke APSU’s record for
home runs with 13 and set
single-season records with 26 extra-base hits
PEAY Alum FACT: Lucy Gossett (’92) is a coaching assistant to Head Coach Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 27
Natasha
Anderson
Feedback
and 24 walks. Her 99 total
bases are second-best alltime.
Longmire was the Lady
Govs’ batting leader most of
the season, finishing second
with a .308 mark. The
Mascot native led the Lady
Govs with 46 hits and was
second on the team in RBIs with 23.
As the Lady Govs’ No. 1 pitcher, Anderson
posted a 13-12 record with a 2.91 earned-run
average and 205 strikeouts. The Clarkrange
native was the team’s first hurler with five or
more decisions to own a winning record since
1996. She also became the program’s second
The first e-mail, below, was received by Shelia
Boone, director of alumni and annual giving, in
response to her inquiry to Maj. Nathan Hines,
after learning he now heads up the Iraqi Schools
Project.
Heading up the Iraqi Schools Project is not my
primary function here. This is something I do in
my “down” time between missions. I have three
children, Kiana, 6, Nate IV, 4, and Jordan, 3
months. This helps me, as I love kids, and it hurts
to see how the children here are living.
I am currently the squadron executive officer
(second in command), 1st Squadron, 7th United
States Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.
As the Iraqi Schools Web page explains, Maj.
Greg Softly, a good friend of mine, started the program
and, as we transitioned with his unit as they
prepared to leave, he asked me to take it over. Our
squadron chaplain helps with the sorting of the
items. Then the cavalry troopers take the supplies
out with them during patrols in Baghdad.
The soldiers enjoy the reaction they receive
from the children, and it makes the deployment
worthwhile in a lot of aspects—the most important
being planting that seed that will grow with
the new generation of Iraqis and the first generation
to enjoy freedom from childhood in over 35
years. This is incredible, as we are engaged by
insurgents almost daily on patrol.
This is a great unit, as we have two APSU grads
in the squadron and three soldiers that attended
APSU when stationed at Ft. Campbell. Our
squadron scout platoon leader is 1st Lt. Eric
Johnson (’01). This unit traces its heritage as
Custer’s Cavalry (Little Big Horn) and the La drang
Valley in Vietnam (“We Were Soldiers”— Mel
Gibson). That makes it easy to put forth the effort
to do all that we can to resolve the problems in
Iraq, as we have big shoes to fill in a historical
sense.
Maj. Nate Hines (’89)
Baghdad, Iraq
P.S. Do me a favor and go to
http://mwww.iraqischools.com on the Web and pass
the address on to our alumni so anyone who would
pitcher to record 200 or more single-season
strikeouts and finished with a team-best .312
batting average. She was second on the team
in home runs (seven) and third in RBIs (20).
Four Govs selected for PFL
All-Academic team
Senior defensive back Demaro Isom (business/3.372
GPA) and sophomore defensive
end Jordan Richardson (biology/3.755) were
chosen first-team Pioneer Football League
All-Academic team members.
Junior linebacker Ryan Taylor (mathematics/3.210)
and placekicker Justin Deardorrf
(management technology/3.467) were named
second team.
like to help out. It really helps the soldiers deal
with the difficulties of combat and enhances our
mission as we help the children of this country.
Many times, we fail to put a good word in for
APSU when we get the opportunity. Not me! Any
chance I get, I’m going to say, “Let’s Go Austin
Peay!”
You don’t have to pay me to say “Let’s Go
Peay!” It’s free.
Michael A. Powell (’99)
Library Assistant III, Monographs
APSU Woodward Library
Just wanted to send a quick note congratulating…the
team on a wonderful issue of “Austin
Peay.” It’s always exciting for me to get news of
what’s been going on.
I was especially interested in the upcoming
Institute for Global Security Studies and Center for
the Study of Politics. What brilliant ideas. And
with so much expertise at the school and nearby
Campbell, I think these will be a home run for
Austin Peay.
Cristina Henley (‘01)
Washington, D.C.
It was a great pleasure working with the fantastic
team of people at Austin Peay State University.
I enjoyed my last four years there as professor of
military science and leadership.
The University is people-oriented, just like our
Army. Operating under severe budget limitations
from the state but able to accomplish the mission.
I was always amazed at the teamwork everyone
displayed. Everyone’s support to the Governors
Guard Battalion was enormous, and I truly appreciate
that. We were allowed to do our job with no
interference.
Particularly of note is the institutionalizing of
the Commencement “Ceremonial Army Oath of
Office.” In front of the 3,000 family friends and
graduates, the oath of office helps bring the
American people closer to the Army. I will never
Softball’s Adcock named
CoSIDA second-team
Academic All-District
Jennifer Adcock, who has achieved a 4.0
GPA during her nearly four years at Austin
Peay, was named to the 2004 CoSIDA
Academic Second-Team All-District IV softball
team as selected by the College Sports
Information Directors of America.
Adcock, a senior outfielder from Jackson,
was one of 24 players to earn either first- or
second-team Academic All-District IV, comprised
of all Division I schools in Tennessee,
Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Alabama.
forget standing in front of that crowd, having the
cadets recite the oath of office—then watching a
standing ovation by all in the Dunn Center. This
truly shows the respect, honor and dedication
toward the newest commissioned second lieutenants
in the Army.
Lastly, please remember that freedom is not
free! There are many sacrifices by soldiers and
their family members. Next time you see a soldier
while you are out on the town, buy him a beer or
soda. The soldiers will truly appreciate your gratitude.
God bless you all, and God bless the United
States of America.
Let’s go Peay!
Lt. Col. Patrick H. O’Hara III
U.S. Army
The Pentagon
Send us your feedback
We want to hear from you. Tell us what you
like and dislike about your alumni magazine.
You can contact us the following ways:
E-mail:
publications@apsu.edu
Phone: 931-221-7459
Mail:
In person:
Austin Peay Alumni Magazine
P.O. Box 4567
Clarksville, TN 37044
Public Relations &
Marketing Office
206 Browning Building
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
25

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 28
Class notes
1940s
EVANS HARVILL
(’47), Clarksville
attorney, was
awarded the
2004 Chancellor’s
Award for
Excellence in
Philanthropy. The
Evans Harvill
award is based
on generous support
of a TBR institution and outstanding
volunteer efforts to raise
money for the institution.
Personal Information
Name
Street
Photo: Bill Persinger
DR. HAROLD S. PRYOR (’46)
received the 2003 Chancellor’s Award
for Excellence in Philanthropy from
the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Pryor recently gave $100,000,
matched by another $100,000, to
establish an endowment for the
visual arts at Columbia State
Community College. He served 17
years as a department head and faculty
member at Austin Peay.
1950s
BEN KIM-
BROUGH (’51)
was named the
2004 recipient of
the Regents
Award for
Excellence in
Philanthropy
Ben Kimbrough
during a meeting
of the Tennessee Board of Regents.
He and his wife, Margaret Patch
Kimbrough, reside in Clarksville.
Been promoted? Honored? Awarded?
Recently moved? Married? Had a baby? What’s the scoop about you and your family?
We want to hear from you!
Date
(first) (middle) (maiden) (last)
City State Zip
Contributed photo
MELTON SELF (’51), former girls
basketball coach at Dickson High
School, was honored when Dickson
Middle School, the site of the old
Dickson High, dedicated its Melton
Self Gymnasium. Self coached there
from 1958 until 1972.
ROBERT THOMPSON (’52) received a
state Certificate of Merit for his lifelong
work restoring, maintaining and
protecting county historical sites. As
Montgomery County executive, he
supported the restoration of L&N
Train Station and the Batson-
Blackford Cemetery, located the John
✁
McAlister Cemetery and encouraged
the establishment of a full-time
county archivist. He also created a
county historical guide, “Tennessee
Historical Markers in Montgomery
County.”
1960s
Larry Michael
Ellis
Colleges/universities attended (include undergraduate and professional schools even if
degrees were not earned)
Institution
Major/Minor
Degree
Contributed photo
LARRY MICHAEL
ELLIS (’65) has
published a historical
fiction
novel,
“Spizzerinctum:
The Life and
Legend of Robert
‘Black Bob’
Renfro.” Ellis,
who worked for 20 years as the
highway safety coordinator for the
state of Tennessee, was instrumental
in helping pass the first Child
Passenger Safety Law.
JOHN FOY (’65) is vice chair, chief
financial officer and treasurer of CBL &
Associates Properties, a Chattanoogabased
firm that recently acquired two
John Foy
Year
Contributed photo
more malls,
Volusia Mall in
Daytona Beach,
Fla., and Honey
Creek Mall in Terre
Haute, Ind., for
more than $200
million.
WILLIAM F.
“FRED” LEE JR.
(’69) has been
promoted to
administrative
attorney at
Blackburn and
McLune, PLLC,
Fred Lee Jr. Nashville. Lee
retired from metro schools in 2001.
His wife is Dr. Jeri L. Lee, a former
APSU faculty member now working
as an associate professor of counseling
education at Tennessee State
University.
Contributed photo
DR. RONALD MILLER (’65) was
inducted into the Honor Society of
Phi Kappa Phi’s Academic Hall of
Fame at APSU. A physicist and senior
intelligence officer at the
Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile
Phone SSN Grad Class
E-mail address
I would like my name and e-mail address to be included in an online directory of APSU
alumni: ❏ Yes ❏ No
Campus Affiliations and Activities
Family Information
Spouse’s Name
SSN Did spouse attend APSU? Grad Class
Spouse’s Employer
Personal News
Address
Position
Children’s names and ages
Phone
Employer
Address
Position
If retired, former occupation and retirement date
Phone
Attended APSU? Class SSN
Please return survey to Alumni Office, P.O. Box 4676, Clarksville, TN 37044,
or complete the online form at www.apsu.edu/alumni
26 Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Rebecca Wyatt (’77) is senior vice president of Hilton Hotel Corporation, Los Angeles.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 29
Class notes
and Space Intelligence Center,
Redstone Arsenal, Ala., he is a key
intelligence adviser to the Pentagon,
Congress, the U.S. Department of
Defense and others.
WALTON SMITH (‘63) of Synaxis
Mann, Smith & Cummings, where he
began his career in 1965, has been
named chair of the Clarksville-
Montgomery County Convention and
Visitors Bureau. He also is chair of
the board of directors for Gateway
Health System.
1970s
BRIG. GEN. REMO BUTLER (’74),
who retired in May 2004 after 30
years of service to the U.S. Special
Operations Command, accepted a
position with Kellog, Brown and
Root in Baghdad, Iraq.
KENNETH W. DANIEL (’71) is a
home mortgage consultant for
Preferred Mortgage, Clarksville.
DR. WILLIAM E. EVANS (’70) will
take over the top post at St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital,
Memphis, effective Nov. 1, 2004. He
is the fifth director since the hospital
was founded by the late entertainer
Danny Thomas in 1962. He
had been a member of St. Jude’s
staff since 1976 and was leading the
scientific department and serving as
executive vice president prior to his
appointment as director.
RONALD E. FUQUA (’73), golf coach
at Clarksville High School, has been
named Tennessee’s Boys Golf Coach
of the Year and Section Three Coach
of the Year for Boys Golf by the
National Federation of State High
Schools Coaches Association.
CAMELLIA YARBROUGH GLOSSON
(’70) has retired after 30 years of
teaching physical education in the
Cobb County School System of
Marietta, Ga. She resides in Acworth,
Ga.
Kevin C.
Kennedy
Contributed photo
KEVIN C.
KENNEDY (’78,
’79), an attorney
with The
Kennedy Law
Firm, PLLC,
received the
2004 Community
Individual
Volunteer Award
at the fifth annual Ed Atkinson
Volunteer Center awards. Kennedy
and his wife, RHONDA (’83, ’86),
have three children, Kevin Jr.,
Kenneth and Katelin.
JOSEPH PAYNE MINOR (’75, ’81), a
special agent and forensic scientist
for the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation working in the
Forensic Serology/DNA Section, was
inducted into the Honor Society of
Phi Kappa Phi’s Academic Hall of
Fame at APSU. He helped develop
the state’s first forensic DNA-typing
laboratory and continues to research
new DNA technologies.
BILL OGLES (’76) has joined CM&H
Commercial Properties as an affiliate
broker. He has than 25 years of
experience in retail sales and the
commercial real estate industry.
Ogles is a member of the Boy Scouts
of America and has served on the
board of directors for Leadership
Clarksville, Main Street Clarksville,
Association of the U.S. Army, the
Clarksville Area Chamber of
Commerce and the Rotary Club.
DAVID SCANLON (’74) has had a
lead technical role in the development
and administration of flight
planning weather distribution during
his 25-year career with the Federal
Aviation Administration.
JANE SLATE SIENA (’76), a founder
of the St. Petersburg (Russia)
Preservation Center and chair of the
International Center for Cultural
Legacy Preservation, was one of 43
Americans awarded a medal “In
Commemoration of St. Petersburg’s
300 th Anniversary” by Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
WILLIAM “BILL” SITES SR. (’72),
owner of Sites Jewelers, is president
of the American Gem Society.
1980s
MIKE BIGGS (’80), a financial consultant
formerly with Wachovia
Securities, is senior vice president
LPL financial adviser at Legends
Bank, Clarksville.
MARK BOONE (’84) is vice president
LPL financial adviser with Legends
Bank in Clarksville. He formerly
worked for Wachovia Securities. His
wife, DUSTI (’88, ’03), teaches art
at Barksdale Elementary School.
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PATSY G. BUCKNER (’86), a teacher
at Eakin Elementary School in
Nashville, won the 2004 Frist
Foundation Educator of the Year
Award. Her previous awards have
included the “I Teach 1 st ! National
Teacher of the Year” award and FOX
17 “Top Teacher of the Week.”
GRANT E. COLE (’87) is a policy
analyst for Anteon Corp., a major
defense contractor in Washington,
D.C. His wife, SUSAN (’86), works in
the U.S. House of Representatives’
Official Reporters Office. They have
two daughters, Olivia and Amelia.
ROBIN DAVIS (’89), who has worked
in investments for 17 years, is a
financial consultant with Legends
Bank in Clarksville. He formerly
worked for Wachovia Securities.
LT. CMDR. DUANE “D.D.” EGGERT
(’85) serves as officer in charge of
the U.S. Navy Forward Deployable
Preventive Medicine Unit covering
the Pacific Rim. He also served as
chemical and biological weapons
inspector in Iraq, briefed the
National Security Council at the
White House in 2003 and received
the Bronze Star.
JOAN GUSTAFSON (’80) was a
regional finalist for the Tennessee
Teacher of the Year award. She is a
special education teacher at
Glenellen Elementary School in
Clarksville.
JEFF HUGGINS (’88), field marketing
director for The Hartford Life and
Annuity Insurance Company, was
featured in “Field Focus,” the
bimonthly publication for agents
representing the Middle America
Division of Hartford Life. Titled
“Being Jeff Huggins,” the article
presented itself as “an inside look at
the brains behind Huggins Financial
Group.” Huggins and his wife,
Heather, have four children: Abigail,
Hannah, Eli and Jacob. The family
lives in Alpharetta, Ga.
BRUCE JOBE (’88) is the Clarksville-
Montgomery County School System’s
new human resources director. Jobe,
who has worked 13 years as an educator,
previously served as principal
of Northwest High School.
VALENCIA DICKSON LEGETTE, R.N.
(’89) recently won the Macauley
Award at St. Joseph/Candler
Hospital in Savannah, Ga., where she
is employed. She is pursuing her
Master of Science in Nursing at
Armstrong Atlantic State University.
SUZANNE M. PEARSON (’89) has
become a partner in Batson, Nolan,
Brice, Williamson and Girsky, a general
services law firm in Clarksville. She
earned her J.D. from Samford
University, Cumberland School of Law.
Dr. David M.
Royce
Contributed photo
DR. DAVID M.
ROYSE (’81,
’83), coordinator
and associate
professor of
music education
for the University
of Tennessee
School of Music,
was one of three
UT professors awarded an Excellence
in Advising Award during the university’s
annual Chancellor’s Honors
Banquet. The honor carries a $2,500
cash award. Prior to his appointment
to UT in Fall 2000, Royse was on the
faculty of Kansas State University for
10 years. He resides in Knoxville
with his wife, Molly, and their children,
Laura, 11, and Paul, 9.
GREGORY V. SMITH (’85), chief
financial officer of Forensic Medical
Management Services, PLG, Nashville,
has earned the professional designation
of certified medical practice
executive (CMPE) from the American
College of Medical Practice. He lives
in Clarksville.
EDUARD STEPHENS (’81, ’91) has
been named principal of Northwest
High School in Clarksville. He had
served as assistant principal at
Northwest for 13 years.
JAMES M. WALKER JR. (’81) is
director of homeland security for the
state of Alabama. He and his wife,
the former Dana Lynn Campbell,
have four children: Amanda, Emily,
James III and Samuel.
DANNY WEEKS (’87, ’89, ’91) was
named one of The Tennessean’s “Top
40 Under 40” in Middle Tennessee.
He is the supervisor of secondary
education for the Robertson County
Board of Education and a former
teacher and administrator at several
Middle Tennessee schools. He resides
in Springfield.
STEVE WILLIARD (’81),
Goodlettsville, has served as the
public address announcer for APSU
Continued on page 28
27

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 30
Class notes
ROB EVANS (’95) and wife, Kerri Evans, Memphis, graced the cover of “R.S.V.P.
Memphis” magazine for June 2004. The couple was among the 500 people in
attendance at the Liver Gala 2004, Peabody Hotel Ballroom.
home football and basketball games
for 21 years.
SANDY WOOTEN (’89) has been promoted
to director of volunteer services
for Gateway Health Systems.
1990
ALEX ALLWEIN (’98) recently graduated
from the University of
Tennessee at Memphis with a
Doctorate of Medicine. He will serve
a surgical internship at Balboa Naval
Hospital in San Diego and will be
commissioned a lieutenant in the
U.S. Navy. Allwein and his wife, the
former Olivia Vasquez, have three
children ages 9, 8 and 4.
LAURA CHRISTIN DILLARD BAR-
NETT (’90, ’92, ’98) has been
named principal of New Providence
Middle School in Clarksville. She
served as the school’s assistant principal
for two years and previously
spent one year as part-time assistant
principal at Northwest High,
where she had been an English
teacher for 10 years.
HAL M. BEDELL (’93, ’95) was
tapped to serve as principal of
Kenwood High School, Clarksville. He
previously served as principal of
Trigg County Middle School in
Kentucky and assistant principal of
Russellville High School in Logan
County, Ky.
CONSTANCE BROWN (’95) was honored
as a 2003 Distinguished
Science Teacher in Tennessee. She
resides in Clarksville.
BRENDA BURNEY (’92) is an
account executive for education
funding company Sallie Mae’s
Southeast higher education sales
team. The former director of financial
aid at Tennessee State
University has more than 20 years of
experience in the field.
Carol Clark
Contributed photo
CAROL CLARK
(‘97) has been
appointed special
assistant to the
president at
Austin Peay. She
served as director
of the APSU-
Contributed photo
Tennessee Small Business
Development Center since 2001. She
is enrolled in the University’s
Master’s in Corporate Communication
program.
WALTER VIDAL DICKERSON (’98)
serves as director of multicultural
affairs and coordinator of the retention
management system for
Fontbonne University, St. Louis. He
also is a member of the education
committee of the Urban League and
facilitator for the National Conference
for Community and Justice.
JUTTA FOURNIER (’94) earned a
Master of Science in Community
Counseling from the University of
Nebraska-Omaha on May 7, 2004.
CHRISTY RENE (MACKEY) HOUSTON
(’96) has been named principal of
Montgomery Central High School,
Clarksville.
PATRICIA JANETTE (LOWE) INBODY
(’95) is a substitute teacher for
Department of Defense Education
Activity (DoDEA) in Birkenfeld,
Germany. She and her husband,
Marc, who is deployed in Operation
Enduring Freedom in Baghdad, Iraq,
have two children, Raechel, 15, and
Nathan, 12.
DANNY MAGRANS (’93, ’97), a
Spanish teacher at Clarksville High
School, won the 2004 DisneyHand
Teacher Award. He won $10,000 for
himself, $5,000 for the school and a
trip to Disneyland. More than
150,000 teachers were nominated.
RODNEY ERRIC SAULSBERRY (’95)
has been named head coach of
Whitehaven High School, Memphis, for
the upcoming 2004-05 school year. He
and his wife, Tijuana, have two children,
Rodney Jr., 6, and JyMae, 1.
LEA CHRISTIAN SCHEUREN (’90) is
a senior manager in field training for
Dollar General Corp., Goodlettsville.
She and her husband, John, have a
2-year-old son, Christopher.
DR. KEITH PATRICK STEINHURST
(’91), a nuclear, biological and chemical
defense officer for the Army’s 1 st
Medical Brigade, volunteers as a solar
system ambassador for NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory. In this capacity,
he has been giving presentations
to 95 service men and women stationed
with him in Tikrit, Iraq.
JAMES ROSS “CAT” WALKER (’93),
former Govs pitcher, has signed a
one-year, $775,000 contract with
the Detroit Tigers. He and his wife,
Natalie, have two children, Ross, 9,
and Harlee, 5. They make their offseason
home in Overland Park, Kan.
KIMWA LATRIS WALKER (’94) is a
histology technician at Integrated
Laboratory Systems Inc. She resides
in Durham, N.C.
DONALD WALLAR (’97) graduated
from San Diego State University in
May 2004 with a Master of Science
in Business Administration in information
and decision systems.
2000
ANGELA BROWN (’04) is an assistant
professor of art, with a teaching
emphasis on graphic design, at
Union University, Jackson.
ANA CARMONA (’02), a certified
school psychologist in Kentucky and
Tennessee, has been accepted into
the doctoral program at Tennessee
State University, Nashville. She is
one of the only people in the area
qualified to do bilingual assessment
in Spanish.
THOMAS (TOM)
CREECH (’00)
has been promoted
to manager of
Spring Hill
Funeral Home and
Cemetery,
Nashville. He previously
worked at
Tom Creech
McReynolds, Nave and Larson
Funeral Home, Clarksville. He and his
wife, Leslie, a teacher at Rossview
High School, reside in Clarksville.
Contributed photo
MATTHEW THEODORE DREW (’00)
received his Doctor of Optometry
degree from Southern College of
Optometry in May 2004.
JOHN DAVID HAZLETT (’02) saw his
composition “Dreams,” a four-movement
piece based on the poetry of
Edgar Allan Poe, premiered at Austin
Peay during a concert April 1, 2004.
CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER CHARLIE
KING (’00), who recently returned
from deployment in Iraq, sang “God
Bless America” at the end of each
performance of the Montgomery
County Historical Society’s “Dinner
with the Lively Dead,” April 12-17,
28
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Chris Keylon (’90) is managing director of regional operations for FedEx in Indianapolis, Ind.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 31
ANN-MARIE BROWNE (’00) represented
Antigua and Barbuda in the
2004 Miss Universe Pageant.
2004. He and his wife, Michelle,
have three children: Morgan, Laura
and Aaron. The family resides in
Clarksville.
KARYN PAIGE SMITH (’04), who
played on three consecutive OVC
women’s basketball championship
teams as a Lady Gov, is the girl’s
basketball coach at Clay County High
School.
DENNIS THOMPSON (’01), former
director of K-12 curriculum for the
Metropolitan Nashville School
District, has been named superintendent
of the Rockford School
District in Rockford, Ill. He and his
wife, Jane, have three daughters.
MICHAEL
ANTHONY WALL
(’00) received a
Doctor of
Jurisprudence
and graduated
with honors from
the University of
Michael Wall
Tennessee College
of Law May 7, 2004. He served as
senior commentary editor on the
executive board of the Tennessee
Law Review. He accepted a position
as an associate attorney in the
Atlanta office of Hall, Booth, Smith
and Slover, P.C.
BIRTHS
Hayden Thomas
Haley
Contributed photo
Contributed photo
SOMER JANE
(NEUMANN)
HALEY (‘02) and
Bradley Haley
announce the
birth of their
first child,
Hayden Thomas
Contributed photo
Haley, born Dec. 26, 2003. Mrs.
Haley is focusing on full-time motherhood,
while Mr. Haley is employed
by DynCorp, Fort Campbell.
Bennett
Matthew Mobley
JENNIFER
ELAINE (BEN-
NETT) MOBLEY
(’98) and
MATTHEW MOB-
LEY (’99)
announce the
birth of their first
child, Bennett
Matthew Mobley,
born Nov. 7, 2003. Mrs. Mobley is
the office manager at Eden Day Spa
and Salon. Mr. Mobley works for the
Clarksville Department of Electricity.
BOBBIE JO (HESTER) SCHOLES
(’99) and Alan Scholes announce
the birth of their daughter, Alora
Beth Scholes, born Oct. 6, 2003.
WEDDINGS
ELNOR WEAKS MCMAHAN (’53),
professor and emeritus head of
library cataloging, married DR.
JAMES X. CORGAN JR., professor
emeritus of geology at APSU, on
June 5, 2004, at Madison Street
United Methodist Church. The couple
resides at “Woodstock” in Trenton,
Ky.
BRANDT SCOTT (’89) married Sandie
Parker of Pegram in a private ceremony
May 1, 2004, in Bellevue. The
couple resides in Pegram.
DEATHS
Contributed photo
LARRY BLACK (’66), Clarkesville,
Ga., died May 2, 2004. He played for
Bill Dupes at Austin Peay and was
the athletic director and former
head football coach for the
Habersham County School System in
Clarkesville. Donations may be made
to the Larry Black Field House
Foundation, Habersham County
Board of Education, 132 W. Stanford
Mill Road, Clarkesville, Ga. 30523,
attention: Mark Alley.
EDWARD WALKER DEPRIEST (‘63),
Dickson, died April 26, 2003. He is
survived by his wife, Doris; three
daughters, Charla, Sherri and Michele;
and two sons, William and Richard.
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
In Memoriam
Dr. David Snyder
A memorial
service for Dr.
David Snyder,
professor of
biology, was
held May 12
in the concert
hall of Austin
Peay State
University’s
music/mass
communication building, with Dr.
Bert Randall, professor of philosophy,
officiating.
Snyder, 65, passed away unexpectedly,
May 8, at his home in
Palmyra.
The son of Wallace and Pearl
Snyder of Mountain Lake, Va., Snyder
earned his bachelor’s and master’s
degrees at the University of Missouri
and his Ph.D. at the University of
Notre Dame. He started his career at
Austin Peay in 1962.
He was a member of Phi Kappa
Phi, National Audubon Society,
Tennessee Herpetology Society,
Herpetologist League, Society for
the Study of Amphibians and
Reptiles and the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
APSU President Sherry Hoppe
said, “Dr. Snyder served this institution
exceptionally well for more than
40 years, and he will be missed on
campus. Many of us have special
memories that will live on beyond
Dave’s life, and I hope we will share
those memories during this sad time.
“For some, our latest contact with
Dave was as he was building and
installing bluebird houses across
campus. I will treasure the one he
placed in the yard of Archwood and
will remember him every time I see
a bluebird fly into it.”
Snyder is survived by his wife,
Cathy Petty, Palmyra; five sons, Brian
Snyder, Girdwood, Ark.; Jared Snyder
and Logan Snyder, both of Palmyra;
Nathan Snyder, Clarksville; and
Shawn Snyder, Hebo, Ore.; and four
daughters, Isabelle Givens, Louisville,
Ky.; Kathy Martin, Longmont, Colo.;
Dianne McLain and Megan Snyder,
both of Palmyra; 10 grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
Peg Harvill
Renowned artist and avid APSU
supporter Peg Harvill, 74, died at
her Clarksville home July 25, after a
long battle with Alzheimer’s disease
and other sicknesses.
According to a July 26 article in
The Leaf-Chronicle, her husband of
58 years, attorney Evans Harvill (’44,
‘47), said his wife “fought the good
fight,” beating breast cancer only to
succumb to Alzheimer’s disease,
which surfaced in 1995.
Among her many legacies are
Harvill’s magnificent watercolor
paintings. Her paintings of such
famous local landmarks as the Pace
Alumni Center at Emerald Hill were
so popular she donated them for
fundraisers. One of the most prominent
displays of her art is in the Peg
Harvill Gallery inside the Roxy
Regional Theatre, Clarksville.
Harvill also will be remembered
for her successful work in saving
APSU’s Harned Hall from demolition.
She received the Ovation Award from
APSU’s Center of Excellence for the
Creative Arts and was named the
Cancer Society Citizen of the Year.
She was honored as the first-ever
recipient of the Customs House
Museum and Cultural Center’s Gracey
Award in 2000.
Harvill was on the board of directors
of the Customs House Museum
and Cultural Center and served as
past chair of Austin Peay’s
Candlelight Ball.
Survivors include her husband, F.
Evans Harvill, and a daughter,
Catherine “Kitty” Harvill, Little Rock,
Ark.
Jim Bowman
Jim Bowman, who was APSU vice
president for finance and administration
for 10 years, died April 25,
2004, at his home in Gray, Tenn.,
following a long illness.
A native of Johnson City, Tenn.,
Bowman resigned from APSU in 1994
to assume the post of vice president
for business and finance at East
Tennessee State University, Johnson
City, where he worked until he
retired in 2002.
A Celebration of Life Service was
held on the evening of April 27 at
the Sunrise Chapel, Tetrick Funeral
Home, Johnson City.
Bowman is survived by his mother,
Dorothy, and his wife, Phyllis; two
daughters, Dale Armstrong of Olive
Branch, Miss., and Susan C’deBaca of
Nashville; one son, James,
Clarksville; and nine grandsons.
29

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 32
Making Headlines (continued from page 21)
Gold is presented, and it is chosen from
among all Gold Award winners in video.
Designed to appeal to prospective nontraditional
students, the spot was produced by Dye
Van Mol and Lawrence, Nashville, in collaboration
with the APSU Office of Public
Relations and Marketing.
Chuck Denney, Knoxville, judging coordinator
for the videos category, said, “What a
great spot … surprising and emotional. It was
a lump-in-the-throat kind of moment.”
APSU also received a Special Merit Award
for its interactive CD-ROM viewbook.
Center for Field Biology gets
half million dollars
In April and May 2004, the Center of
Excellence for Field Biology pulled in more
than $500,000 in grants for APSU.
“Not only do these grants give students
learning opportunities, they also provide
funding for faculty to
engage in research,”
Dr. Sherry Hoppe,
president, said. “With
limited state resources
for scholarly activity,
grants such as these
expand our research
capabilities.”
“With the Center
and the University’s
Dr. Andy Barrass
matching funds, that
brings our total beyond $650,000,” said Dr.
Andrew Barrass (’74, ’76), director of the
Center for Field Biology. Grants and contracts
received include the following:
• Project WET (Water Education for
Teachers—The Next Step) received
$234,000 to fund workshops for teachers
Photo: Bill Persinger
statewide to guide them in teaching
water-pollution prevention.
• The Miller Creek Restoration Project
received $181,600 from the Tennessee
Department of Agriculture to study the
Miller Creek Watershed, identify pollutants
and begin restoration.
According to Barrass, the TDA intends
for the study to serve as a pilot project for
a larger interstate watershed project,
including a partnership with the Kentucky
Natural Resources Department.
• A $50,000 grant from the Environmental
Protection Agency and Tennessee Department
of Environment and Conservation
to study springs in Tennessee’s Red River
Watershed, which will provide needed
information on the impact of pollutantunloading
into sinkholes.
It takes one to know one
On May 14, 2004, before a standing-roomonly
crowd in the Dunn Center, Joe Calloway
(‘74) stood behind the lectern, looking out
over 700 graduates sitting where he once sat.
And from his opening joke, he had them.
His comments were brief, but they will be
remembered because, as new alumni, the
grads listened to him as they would an older
brother. “Don’t be afraid of messing up,”
Calloway said. “The best things you can ever
learn will be from your mistakes.”
His own path through life has not been
straight—but it wound its way to more success
than he ever imagined possible 30 years ago
on the day he graduated from Austin Peay.
A motivational and business speaker,
Calloway has earned The National Speakers
Association’s highest honor—induction into
the International Speakers Hall of Fame.
Recently, Sales and Marketing Management
magazine named him one of the top business
speakers in the country, and he was featured
in the nationally telecast “Masters of
Motivation” television series.
In addition, he is a restaurant owner, business
author and branding consultant whose
client list reads like a “Who’s Who” is business—from
newspapers in Sweden, hotels in
Great Britain and computer companies in
South Africa to such world brands as
American Express, IBM, AT&T, RCA
Records and BMW.
His award-winning Nashville restaurant,
Joe Calloway
Mirror, has been featured on television’s
Food Network. Through a film-production
company in which he holds partnership, he
has produced videos for such clients as
BMW, Texaco and General Motors.
He is the author of three books on business.
Released in 2003 by John Wiley &
Sons, his best-selling book, “Becoming a
Category of One,” received rave reviews
from the media, including The New York
Times and Publishers Weekly.
Photo: Bill Persinger
30 Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Jeff Bibb (’76) is managing partner at BLF Marketing, Clarksville.

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 33
‘Labman’ tapped as Alumni
Distinguished Prof
During the annual Academic Honors and
Awards Day in April, Dr. Ronald Robertson
(aka Labman), associate professor of chemistry,
received the 2004 Alumni Distinguished
Professor Award.
Robertson came to APSU in 1992 after 14
years of teaching high school chemistry,
physics and math at Dickson County High
School. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s
and Ph.D. degrees from Vanderbilt
University.
As a result of his passion for teaching,
Robertson created the popular “Labman”
character in 1992 and has used this persona in
appearances before more than 11,000 students
and teachers, while doing scientific demonstrations
at schools, teachers meetings, malls
and civic clubs.
As the character become more popular and
Robertson could not fulfill all the requests for
appearances, he began training members of
APSU’s chemistry club, XEM, to visit the
schools. As a result, the Kids and Chemistry
Program was born.
Robertson started the Montgomery County
Science Fair in 1992 and was instrumental in
Dr. Ronald Robertson - AKA Labman
bringing the Middle Tennessee Science and
Engineering Fair to Austin Peay in 2004.
Although his own research has been oriented
toward studying the environment, he
served as the University’s pre-med adviser
since 2002. For the past few years, he has
been working with his undergraduate students
on a research project involving phosphates in
water supplies.
During the same ceremony, Dr. Carlette
Hardin (’71, ’79), professor of education,
received the Richard M. Hawkins Award in
recognition of her noteworthy contributions
to scholarship and creative activity. Dr.
Carmen Reagan, professor of marketing,
received the Chamber of Commerce
Distinguished Community Service Award.
Photo: Bill Persinger
Singing star Suzy Bogguss belts out one of her
many hits on the evening of Aug 14. at the annual
Govs Club Concert and Membership Drive. With
vocal talents that range from country to Western
swing to jazz, Bogguss has won many awards,
starting in 1992 with the Country Music
Association’s Horizon Award for most promising
country artist and including a recent nomination
for the Western Swing Female Artist of the Year at
the Academy of Western Swing-Will Rogers Cowboy
Awards Show.
Photo: Bill Persinger
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
31

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 34
Tommy Head (continued from page 13)
During the dedication of the Tommy Head Atrium of the Sundquist Science Complex, President Sherry Hoppe
presents Tenn. Rep. Tommy Head with a plaque similar to the one mounted in the atrium, which bears his
likeness and a tribute to his work in securing funding for Austin Peay’s top-drawer science education facility.
of 1965. Deloris, now his wife, came along,
and the couple moved into Emerald Hill
apartments. A leading scorer on the basketball
team at Cumberland (his personal best was 38
points in 21 minutes in a single game), Head
was quickly pressed into service for the Govs.
At Austin Peay, as at Cumberland, he averaged
19 points a game, an accomplishment
that, years later, led to his being inducted into
the basketball Hall of Fame at both schools.
The Govs finished third in the 1967 regular
season. “Should have been second,” Head
says, still a bit miffed. “But we played against
Western Kentucky, a team that was undefeated
that year. Those boys were powerhouses.”
Graduating from Austin Peay that same
year, Head says he had no idea what he was
going to do. And he didn’t have the luxury of
carefully deliberating his choices, according
to Deloris. “A baby came along in 1967. He
had to think fast,” she says.
A math major, Head was hired by the Fort
Campbell school system to teach the ninth and
10 th grades and coach basketball. It wasn’t
exactly his dream job. “I had a headache every
day by 1 o’clock,” he says. Citing discipline
issues as the major problem, he speculates that
the transience of the students’ lives made it
tough for them to develop relationships with
or respect for their teachers. It made it tough
for coaches, too. “You’d get a good player,
start to develop his skill and, by Christmas,
he’d be gone.” Head did, however, manage to
pull off an 11-10 season. “It was the first time
they’d had a winning season.”
By the end of his second year in teaching,
Head was ready to try something new. About
that same time, his dad expressed the desire
to buy out the partner with whom he shared a
construction business. “Dad said, ‘If you want
to take the backhoe and go into business, you
can have it.’ I took it.”
No stranger to heavy equipment, Head
began pursuing work as a utility contractor,
laying and maintaining water and sewer lines
in Montgomery, Robertson and Cheatham
counties. “I laid 55 miles of pipe in my second
year,” he says. “I was able to buy my dad a
truck.” Tommy Head Construction is still in
business, keeping its owner working some 45
to 50 hours a week.
But construction would be only one of
Head’s vocations. In 1986, a group of friends
would come calling, and their urgings would
take the farmer-turned-teacher-turned-construction-worker
in a direction he could never
have predicted.
Heading for the House
It was 1986. The incumbent representative
for Montgomery County in the Tennessee
State Legislature, was drawing criticism for
what some called ineffectual leadership. A
group of Montgomery Countians wanted to
see him replaced, and they had a strong opinion
about who should replace him: Tommy
Head. They just had to convince him to run.
“They started calling me,” Head recalls. “I
told them no. I wasn’t a politician. I didn’t
have a law degree. I didn’t have any public
speaking skills.”
But the group was persistent. “They called
me at 2 and 3 in the morning, saying, ‘Just
want to make sure you’re thinking about it,’”
he says. “On Wednesday, just 13 hours before
the deadline for submitting signatures and
declaring one’s candidacy, Head made his
decision. “I told them if they’d go home and
let me sleep I’d get myself qualified.”
With little money, Head and his supporters
turned to family and friends to cover the nittygritty
of winning an election. “The boys and I
sent out about 5,000 letters,” Deloris Head
recalls. “A local ad agency created ads for The
Leaf-Chronicle.” Meanwhile, Head and the
people who had “talked him into” running
went around the county putting up signs.
Their work paid off. While Head’s agreement
to serve may have been tentative, his
victory was sound. “I got more than 60 percent
of the vote,” he says.
He was 41. And he was headed for
Nashville’s Legislative Plaza.
A Headstrong Newcomer
Recalling the adage that it was best to keep
your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to
open it and remove all doubt, Head says he
“pretty much kept his mouth shut” in his first
year. “I was just observing, getting advice.”
One piece of advice turned out to be particularly
valuable. “Gene Davidson (’69) told
me to call or go see Ed Murray. He said, ‘He’s
going to be the next speaker of the House.’”
Head did. And Murray was. “I got on the
Finance Ways and Means Committee and the
Transportation Committee, which was unusual
for a freshman. Been on them ever since.”
Head describes himself as a conservative
Democrat. “You’ve got your far left and your
far right. I’m middle of the road.” He believes
it’s largely he and other middle-of-the-roaders
32 Austin Peay/Fall 2004
PEAY Alum FACT: Walter Vidal Dickerson (’98) is director of multicultural affairs at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Mo.
Photo: Bill Persinger

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 35
who get much of the work done in the
General Assembly. “I’ve sponsored bills with
both Democrats and Republicans. I get along
equally well with both sides.”
His reputation among his fellow legislators
is that of a quiet man with a big voice. “I
have a lot of respect from the other members,
I think,” he says. “I don’t speak very often,
but when I do, they listen.”
Fortunately for Austin Peay, they “listened”
when Head requested funding for Austin
Peay’s Sundquist Science Complex. At $38
million-plus, funding for the facility represented
the largest capital appropriation in the
state’s history.
Perhaps the greatest testament to Head’s
“durability” in his position, however, is the fact
that he was re-elected after openly supporting
tax reform—a move that would have sunk less
venerable representatives. The proposal for
reform failed by five votes. “Tax reform would
have lowered the sales tax and took the tax off
food,” he says. “I didn’t vote for the 1 percent
sales tax increase or add-on taxes to business. I
supported what I thought was a fairer tax to all
the citizens of Tennessee.”
The General Assembly’s sessions usually
begin in early January and end mid-May.
Though the legislators will tell you they’re
never really off-duty. “I get a lot of phone
calls,” Head says. “People wanting me to help
them with everything from their SSI to getting
the grass cut along state roads. In Nashville, I
get a hundred phone calls a day and at least a
hundred e-mails. Some things I can help with,
and some I can’t. I do what I can.“
Head’s dedication to his job was made
even more evident three years ago, when a
slow-to-heal wound on his foot was invaded
by staph that could only be obliterated with
IV antibiotics. “For seven weeks he carried
the pole, bag and port to Nashville and just
kept working,” says Deloris Head.
He was similarly undeterred by bypass surgery
in 1993. But the bodily insult he finds
most distressing was the “blown out” knee
that took him out of basketball for good at age
37. “Until then I was still playing 80 games a
year with an independent team,” he says.
What Head’s friends—and foes—would
quickly affirm, though, is that the competitive
spirit that made Head a force on the basketball
court is still there. He’s just taken it to a
new arena.
Fortunately for Austin Peay, Tommy Head
is on our side.
Still a ‘star’ (continued from pg. 21)
Since APSU is the smallest university in
the Tennessee Board of Regents system,
APSU officials were especially concerned
because of the difficulty anticipated in raising
funds for a 50-year-old building. While saluting
the governor for his innovative approach,
APSU officials feared this challenge could
delay the long-awaited McCord project.
Enter Tommy Head. He and Rep. Kim
McMillan joined forces with other legislators
and were successful in their efforts to exclude
matching requirements for all state institutions.
As a result, renovation on McCord
begins soon.
In 1998 when he was inducted into APSU’s
Athletics Hall of Fame, the program said,
“Tommy Head brought an aggressive style to
the basketball court—the same attitude he
now displays in the Tennessee legislature.”
Class of 1954 reunites for 50-year reunion (continued from pg. 15)
Twenty members of the class of 1954 gathered to celebrate their 50-year reunion last
spring. Those attending were (front row, l-r) Anne Miller, Anne Gary Baynham, Dorothy
Hodges Nolen, John Miller, Bonnie Garrett McIntosh, Annelle Lyle Bon, Jo Ann
Hoffmann. (second row) Robert Welch, Reuther Boyd, Tommy Baynham, Delwyn Fryer,
Lawrence J. Hatcher, Austin Peay, Brown Harvey, Robert McMurry. (back row) Jack
Huffman, Lynn Canady, Jim Young, Durward Harris, Walter Williams.
Photo: Bill Persinger
Catching up on the whereabouts of fellow classmates
at the 50-year reunion were (l-r) Lynn
Canady, Durward Harris and Brown Harvey.
Reunion committee members (l-r) Reuther Boyd, Austin Peay,
Durward Harris, Johnny Miller, Brown Harvey and Jim Young did an
excellent job of planning enjoyable activities for their 50-year
reunion. Also on the committee but not pictured was Jack Huffman.
Photo: Shelia Boone Photo: Shelia Boone
Austin Peay/Fall 2004
33

fall 2004 10/4/04 9:55 AM Page 36
Don’t miss out on a
weekend of fun for
the whole family.
Join us for
Govs Go Hollywood
Homecoming 2004
Nov. 5-6.
Looking for a certain event?
You can see all of the events on
pages 16 and 17 or find them
online at www.apsu.edu.
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