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Austin Peay board approves Lot 26 lease, $1.2M renovation, bylaws changes and president’s contract
Summary
Trustees approved a Lot 26 land lease, authorized up to $1.2 million to renovate 328 College Street into a Community Engagement and Sustainability Center with a gift‑in‑place letter of intent, adopted revisions to board bylaws, approved the president’s evaluation instrument and employment contract, and approved mission statement and institutional mission profile updates.
At their September 2025 meeting, the Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees approved multiple committee motions, including property and governance actions and the president’s employment contract.
By direction of the business and finance committee, Trustee Catherine Cannata moved to approve a Lot 26 land lease; the board approved the motion on a roll‑call vote. Cannata then moved, by committee direction, to renovate the garage portion of 328 College Street into a community engagement and sustainability center at a cost not to exceed $1,200,000 and to approve a letter of intent to enter a gift‑in‑place agreement with "Leo and Lily Bien" to fund design and construction. The motion carried following roll‑call voting.
The executive committee presented three items for board action. The board approved revisions to the board of trustees’ bylaws and adopted the same performance evaluation criteria and instrument for fiscal year 2025–26 that had been used previously. The board then considered and approved the president’s employment contract as written. Trustees expressed support for President Licari’s leadership during discussion; Trustee McInnis said the president "has thoroughly lived up to that and exceeded all of our expectations." The president thanked the board and said he and his spouse appreciate the confidence.
Associate General Counsel Corey Harky presented a small change to the university mission statement, describing the edit as responsive to federal regulations and a new state law referenced in his remarks. The board voted to approve the mission statement as presented. Provost Mitch Cordova presented amendments to the institutional mission profile (including language reflecting the university’s Carnegie reclassification) and the board approved those changes as well.
All motions described above were presented as committee motions (where the committee moves the item and a second is not required). The meeting record shows roll‑call voting with affirmative responses from trustees present; individual votes were recorded verbally by the secretary during each roll call.
The board set its next regular meeting for Dec. 5, 2025 and adjourned.
