CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Austin Peay State University will bring together academic leaders from across Tennessee and provide them with resources and training for supporting military-affiliated students during a special two-day Veteran’s Reconnect Conference.

On Oct 14 and 15, the conference will be held at Austin Peay, which is the ideal location for the conference, because the university is the state’s largest provider of higher education to military-affiliated students, with at least 2,659 enrolled students having a military connection in the fall of 2018.

In July, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) awarded Austin Peay a $100,000 grant to host “Bridging the Gaps: Tennessee Institutions Leading the Change for Military/Veteran Transition,” in University’s Morgan University Center.

Austin Peay, who won the competitive grant by pooling its military resources to develop a meaningful event that will help individuals successfully transition from the military and to institutions of higher learning.

Speakers include:

Mike Krause, executive director of the THEC and Student Assistance Corporation

Ken Hanson, senior director of Veterans Education, THEC

Mary Laphen, navigate reconnect director, THEC

Gregg Crawford, veterans outreach coordinator, Tennessee Department of Veterans Services

“The University will invite experienced military and veteran personnel to speak on various topics of veteran education to help other schools enrich the conversation on bridging the gap between military service and civilian education,” said Scott Brower, a retired brigadier general and APSU military adviser in residence. “The mission of this conference is to bring Tennessee’s best minds together to create more robust educational experiences and career-readiness for military-affiliated students.”