Austin Peay State University expanding reach into underserved communities with new Center for Rural Education

Clarksville, TN – In his retirement, Dr. Philander Claxton, the former U.S. Commissioner of Education under Presidents Taft, Wilson and Harding, felt a lingering nostalgia for his time in Clarksville, where he served as the second president of Austin Peay Normal School. He retired from the school in 1946.

“I accepted the presidency of Austin Peay Normal School because it had been founded for the purpose of preparing teachers for the rural schools,” the 90-year-old Claxton wrote in 1953. “As long as I was president, I did all I could to hold it to that purpose, which was and still is the most difficult and important part of an educational system.”

[Read more]