Dannelle Whiteside

On Aug. 10, 2020, Dannelle Whiteside began her tenure as interim president of Austin Peay State University. Her appointment by the APSU Board of Trustees makes her the first Black president of the more than 90-year-old institution.

Whiteside originally joined the University in 2017 as Austin Peay’s general counsel. In the spring of 2019, she was named vice president for Legal Affairs. During her career at Austin Peay, she has also served as Secretary to the Board of Trustees.

Prior to her time at APSU, Whiteside served as General Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, General Counsel for the Tennessee State Board of Education and District Policy Advisor for Metro Nashville Public Schools.

She was recently named to the 2020 class of the Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI), a premier leadership development program of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). MLI provides individuals traditionally underrepresented in the highest ranks of postsecondary education with the opportunity to develop skills, gain a philosophical overview, and build the network and knowledge needed to advance to the presidency.

In 2019, Whiteside was named to the inaugural cohort of the Tennessee Higher Education Leadership and Innovation Fellows program. That program is designed to develop the next generation of enterprise leaders in higher education, according to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).

Whiteside received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with honors and received her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, graduating Summa Cum Laude.