William Seymour ’79 began his tenure in January as the sixth president of Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, Tenn.
He says it is an exciting time to be leading a community college and helping expand access to higher education to a diverse pool of students.
He says his Oswego experience helped him make two major decisions about his future. “I learned at Oswego that I loved the college environment, so I made it my life’s work,” he says. The second major decision about his life was to avoid a cold climate after graduation. “I have been living down south ever since,” he says.
He had previously served as vice president for institutional advancement at Jackson State Community College in Jackson, Tenn., and as president of Lambuth University in Jackson for two years until he helped it transition into a branch campus for the University of Memphis in 2011. He also was a vice president for administrative services and dean of students during his time at Maryville (Tenn.) College and held administrative roles at Wesley College in Delaware, Austin College in Texas, and the University of Missouri-Columbia. He also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville in 2004.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Oswego, a master’s of education degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Ph.D. in higher and adult education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He also attended the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management.
—Margaret Spillett