Dr. Bill Seymour, Cleveland State President, provides the welcome at Cleveland State’s Growing Our Future press conference on Thursday
Dr. Michael Stokes, Vice President for Student Services, announces the expansion of the CSCC Athletic programs. The college is adding Women’s Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Men’s and Women’s Golf to the intercollegiate athletics program.
Because of his significant financial contribution by Greg A. Vital, the college announced the first named academic program – the Greg A. Vital Center for Natural Resources and Conservation. Pictured from left to right: (First Row) Dr. Tommy Wright, Vice President for Finance and Advancement; Robert Brewer, Associate Professor of Biology; and Vital with students from Brewer’s Wildlife and Fisheries program.
At the Cleveland State Community College’s “Growing Our Future” press conference held Thursday in the L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium, Dr. Bill Seymour and other representatives from CSCC shared plans for new athletic sports programs, enhanced academic programs and a significant financial contribution which will result in the first named academic program at the college.
“In 2015, we launched the Cleveland State Community First Plan—our strategic plan that is leading us toward the future we desire,” said Dr. Bill Seymour, Cleveland State president. “One of our primary goals is to grow our enrollment from 3,500 students to consistently over 4,000 students. Our goal is not to be the biggest, but the best community college our region can imagine – serving the needs of learners, supporting our workforce and always putting our community first.”
Dr. Seymour insists that growth is a key component of CSCC’s future success. “In tough economic times, organizations too often focus on cutting expenses to solve their problems…to move forward, we need to focus more on growth as a means to strengthen our institution. New and expanded programs announced today are expected to add 80 - 100 new students to the college.”
Dr. Michael Stokes, vice president of Student Services, announced the expansion of the CSCC athletic programs. The college is adding three new sports to the intercollegiate athletics program for the fall of 2017 – Women’s Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Men’s and Women’s Golf.
Dr. Stokes stated, “Our athletic program gives students the tools they need not just to succeed in college, but to succeed in life after college. Many of our former student-athletes have gone on to successful careers in education, business, medicine, law enforcement and many other professions.”
Coaches for these sports have been hired and are already contacting prospective student athletes and will be working throughout the coming months to fill their rosters and develop schedules for competition. Dr. Stokes introduced coaches for each of the new programs: Randy Evans, head coach for Women’s Volleyball and Alizabeth Atnip, assistant coach; L.J. Kilby, director of Golf for Men and Women; and David Kyle, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country coach.
Dr. Denise King, vice president for Academic Affairs, announced an expansion of academic programs at the college. Recently, the college approved three new programs that will begin this fall: Associate of Science in Mechanical Engineering; Associate of Applied Science in Law Enforcement; and Associate of Applied Science and Certificate in Mechatronics Technology. In addition to these new programs, the college has also added new faculty and resources to various other programs on campus, including the Medical Assisting degree program and the Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries program.
According to Dr. King, the college also worked closely with the farming communities of McMinn County to create the Agriculture and Agribusiness programs needed to support and grow that sector and has invested in a new full-time faculty member to lead in the implementation of Agriculture and Agribusiness programs and to develop additional support through development of education in soil and water conservation.
Another announcement during the press conference was made by Dr. Tommy Wright, vice president of Finance and Advancement. Because of a significant financial contribution by Greg A. Vital, the college announced the first named academic program at the college – the Greg A. Vital Center for Natural Resources and Conservation.
Mr. Vital is president and CEO of Independent Healthcare Properties and Morning Point Assisted Living based in Chattanooga. Mr. Vital has always had a strong entrepreneurial spirit for job creation, and his personal commitment has always been to stewardship of land and natural resources. Mr. Vital is an active board member with the Tennessee Aquarium which focuses on aquatic education, conservation and research programs. His farmland is under a conservation easement with The Land Trust for Tennessee which works to preserve land and farms for the enjoyment of present and future generations, and Mr. Vital is a board member there. In addition, he is active with the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park at Blythe Ferry and Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge and also serves as vice chair on the Board of Trustees for the National Parks Conservation Association that promotes and protects America’s national parks and the ongoing work of the National Park system.
Dr. Wright stated, “While most of us would agree and understand that our Natural Resources and Conservation efforts are important to not only our generation but future generations, I’ve not met anyone with more passion for these areas than Greg Vital.”