During Dr. Hite’s tenure, Cleveland State underwent a redesign of its math curriculum, resulting in CSCC winning the prestigious Bellwether Award. Pictured from left to right: Dr. Dale F. Campbell, Community College Futures Assembly director, Dr. Carl Hite, Cleveland State Community College (former) president, John Squires, Cleveland State (former) Math Department chair, and Marilyn Rhinehart, president for the National Council for Instructional Administrators.
Dr. Carl Hite, CSCC’s former president, was recently honored when the college officially changed the name of the Math and Science Building to the “Carl Hite Math and Science Building.”
According to the Tennessee Board of Regents, the naming of buildings, facilities, grounds and organizational units of institutions for individuals who have made significant contributions to society is considered “an honored tradition of higher education.”
“At the December Board of Regents meeting, they approved the naming of our Science Building in honor of Carl Hite for his long and outstanding service to this campus and the community,” stated Dr. Bill Seymour, CSCC president. “We were very proud to erect the building sign this week for the Carl Hite Science building and pleased that Carl’s impressive legacy will always be recognized on this campus.”
The building named after Dr. Hite houses the mathematics and science classes and labs and is also the location of the offices for the faculty and staff members in the mathematics and science departments.
Dr. Hite retired in December, after serving as the president of CSCC for 17 years, making him the longest serving president in the history of the college. Under Dr. Hite’s leadership, the campus underwent a redesign of its math curriculum earning the college the prestigious Bellwether award in 2009, which received national recognition.
The Bellwether Awards were established to recognize outstanding programs that are at the forefront of innovation throughout the United States and Canada. Cleveland State won in the Instructional Programs and Services category, which recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college.
Among the national recognition received for the program, President Obama also mentioned Cleveland State in a speech given at the University of Texas at Austin in 2010:
“And that means looking for some of the best models out there. There are community colleges like Tennessee’s Cleveland State that are redesigning remedial math courses and boosting not only student achievement but also graduation rates. And we ought to make a significant investment to help other states pick up on some of these models.”
- President Barack Obama
During his tenure as president, Dr. Hite received numerous recognitions including the President’s Higher Education Community Service Award, the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction for Phi Theta Kappa, the Administration Leadership in Campus Sustainability Award, Junior Achievement Award and was instrumental in promoting the tnAchieves program, which provides last dollar scholarships and mentoring to all high school graduates in Bradley and Meigs counties. During his 17 years as president, he has provided distinguished leadership to the college and its five-county service area, which resulted in an enrollment of 121,000 students and more than 7,500 students earning certificates or degrees. Dr. Hite has served as a mentor to many of his fellow community college presidents and is a member of the Executive Council of the Southern Association of Colleges and has served on a number of professional and community boards and executive committees. He was recently granted President Emeritus status for his continued support and leadership.
Printree Printing and Signage workers erect the building sign for the new Carl Hite Math and Science Building on Cleveland State’s campus in honor of the former president.