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APSU Center for Advancement of Faculty Excellence

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APSU Center for Advancement of Faculty Excellence

The CAFE exists to offer dynamic programs and professional learning opportunities to faculty.

03/02/2026

Dr. Kameron Rinehart, Assistant Professor of Leadership, led a fantastic presentation entitled, “Integrating Emotional Intelligence Into Teaching Practice” to our APSU faculty in MUC 305 today from 1:25-2:20pm.

Thanks so much to everyone who attended and to Kam for his preparation and excellent presentation!

01/16/2026

A huge thanks to all our presenters at our January Professional Development Day “From Barriers to Bridges: Accessibility in Practice” featuring Keynote Speaker Mike Hess!
We hope that this day was a time for reflection and learning how our classes can be more accessible for all our students.
CAFE hopes you have a great start to the semester!

12/05/2025

was thrilled to partner with and and for the Symposium on Academic Writing held on Thursday, Dec 4, with Dr. Dan Melzer! Dr. Melzer is the distinguished author of _Reconstructing Response to Student Writing_ and many other texts on teaching writing! Thank you to everyone who attended! We know we took a lot from this valuable day of professional development!

11/19/2025

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! Our January Professional Development Day will take place Wednesday, January 14 from 9:30AM - 3:30PM in SSC E106A/B. Focusing on Accessibility, we will offer faculty speakers alongside a keynote speech given by Mike Hess!
We hope to see you there!!
Registration link in our bio! https://forms.office.com/r/kZsGdfr6wR

11/05/2025

Be sure to check out this amazing CAFE program offering TOMORROW!

10/16/2025

Dr. Amanda Patrick is our newest addition to the CAFE Advisory Board. She is Assistant Professor of Sociology & Community Development. She has been at APSU for 7 years!

When asked why she wants to serve on the board, she replied, “I am interested in serving on the advisory board of CAFE as I believe supporting faculty in their teaching, research, and professional development directly enhances student success.”

She shared her favorite aspect of APSU is that “the academic community here is collegial and supportive.” Her favorite hobby is curating vintage memorabilia and her favorite movie is Les Misérables.

Join us in welcoming Dr. Patrick to the CAFE Advisory Board!

10/15/2025

Dr. Eren Cifci was recently named one of the recipients for The Socrates Award for Excellence in Teaching! Here is a little more about him and his accomplishments.

Eren Cifci, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Austin Peay State University, where he has been teaching a diverse range of finance and real estate courses. He has played a key role in designing and revising curricula to meet evolving academic and industry standards and has developed exemplary, student-centered teaching pedagogy in his classes. Beyond the classroom, Dr. Cifci has been actively involved in student-oriented professional development events and played an instrumental role in establishing the Real Estate Club at Austin Peay, fostering student engagement and professional growth. For these contributions, he was recognized with the Socrates Award for Excellence in Teaching (2024–2025). His research in finance and real estate has been published in leading journals such as Real Estate Economics and the Journal of Real Estate Research, earning awards and attracting widespread attention from major outlets including Realtor.com, Fox Business, Yahoo Finance, USA Today, Fortune Magazine, Daily Mail, the New York Post, among others. In recognition of his outstanding research record, Dr. Cifci also received the A.J. Taylor Distinguished Professorship Award for Excellence in Research (2025).

When asked about his favorite thing at APSU, he said, “I truly value the community atmosphere here, where strong connections exist between students and professors. Our students genuinely look up to their professors and are eager to learn, which makes teaching at Austin Peay especially rewarding.”

Join us in congratulating Eren Cifci for being one of the recipients of The Socrates Award for Excellence in Teaching!

09/30/2025

Dr. Mir Hasan was recently named one of the recipients for The Socrates Award for Excellence in Teaching! Here is a little more about him and his accomplishments.

Dr. Mir Hasan earned his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Computer Science from Florida State University (FSU) and his B.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Dr. Hasan is passionate about teaching and enjoys offering courses in programming, databases, software engineering, and cybersecurity. In addition to this award, while at FSU he served as an instructor of record for several courses and was recognized with the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for his excellence in teaching.

His research interests include information retrieval, search engines and recommender systems, software engineering, cybersecurity, and computer science education. His work has been published in leading venues such as the ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium, IEEE Big Data, HICSS, ACM SIGIR, IEEE Access, and ICSE. He also co-authored a textbook on defensive programming. Dr. Hasan has mentored and supervised numerous master’s students on research projects, several of which have resulted in peer-reviewed publications.

“My favorite thing about teaching at APSU is the opportunity to mentor and inspire students. I find it deeply rewarding to guide students as they discover their strengths, develop their skills, and prepare for future success. Watching them grow as learners and professionals—and knowing I had a part in their journey—is one of the most fulfilling aspects of being a faculty member here.”

Join us in congratulating Dr. Mir Hasan for being one of the recipients of The Socrates Award for Excellence in Teaching!

09/25/2025

Dr. Niranga Wrickramarathne is a new addition to our CAFE Advisory Board! She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agriculture and has served at APSU for one year.

When asked about serving on the board, she said, “I was drawn to serve on the CAFE Advisory Board because I am inspired by its mission to support APSU faculty in teaching research leadership and community-building. Being part of the board gives me the opportunity to contribute to professional development and programs that foster faculty growth and excellence across campus.”

Her favorite thing about APSU are the welcoming community and strong sense of support for both faculty and students. Her favorite hobby is gardening and her favorite movie is the Pursuit of Happiness.

Let us welcome Dr. Wickramarathne to the CAFE Advisory Board!

09/23/2025

Professor Kebede Wordofa is another new addition to our CAFE Advisory Board. He serves as an Associate Professor & Systems Librarian at the Woodward Library. He has served at APSU for 14 years.

When asked about why he is interested in serving on the CAFE Board, Prof. Wordofa said, “My interest in CAFE grew from my involvement in the Faculty Leadership Program (FLP), where I gained valuable insights into CAFE’s crucial role in enhancing faculty excellence. This was particularly evident in our cohort’s white paper, focused on strategies to strengthen faculty mentorship.”

His favorite things about APSU are the students and the beautiful campus. In his free time, he enjoys watching live sports, especially soccer, football, and basketball with family and friends. His favorite movie is the Parent Trap.

We are so thankful to welcome Prof. Wordofa to the CAFE Advisory Board

09/16/2025

Allison Oliver was recently named one of the recipients for The Socrates Award for Excellence in Teaching! Here is a little more about her and her accomplishments.

Dr. Allison Oliver is a Special Education teacher educator with over 20 years of experience serving in a variety of roles within the field. A proud Mississippi native, she currently serves on the Teacher Education Division Board (TED) of the Council for Exceptional Children and as President-Elect for TN-CEC. Dr. Oliver is a lifelong advocate for individuals with disabilities and marginalized populations, with a passion for equity work in all its forms. Her goal as an educator is to equip others to see lessons beyond eligibility and to challenge conventional approaches to education. She is also a textbook author on practical behavior management strategies and enjoys adding to the research in the field through presentations, service, and publications. In addition, she enjoys creative outlets such as podcasting and content creation, which she considers her “heart work.”

Dr. Oliver’s favorite thing about teaching at APSU is the PEAYPLE. No matter the modality, she values connecting with students in ways that encourage them to think outside the box and challenge the traditional considerations of special education.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Allison Oliver for being one of the recipients of The Socrates Award for Excellence in Teaching!

09/12/2025

Dr. Amy Thompson is joining us for her first year on the CAFE Advisory Board! She is the Department Chair and Professor of Biology. Dr. Thompson has served as a faculty member for 20 years (and graduated with her Bachelors from APSU too!).

She is excited about bringing the department chair perspective to the board.

Her favorite thing about APSU is the focus on the students to help them grow throughout their time at the university.

She enjoys traveling, going to see live music and reading. Her favorite movies include Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Forrest Gump, and the Conjuring series.

Join us in welcoming Dr. Thompson to the CAFE board!

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212 McCord Building
Clarksville, TN
37040

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+19312217188

Website

https://www.apsu.edu/academic-affairs/faculty/cafe/index.php

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