Dr. Bill Seymour
Cleveland State Community College has finalized plans for its Spring 2022 Commencement Ceremony. Approximately 414 degrees and certificates will be awarded during the graduation ceremony. The ceremony will be held on Friday, May 6, at 5:30 p.m. in the L. Quentin Lane Center.
Cleveland State President Dr. Bill Seymour will be the speaker of the ceremony. Dr. Seymour is originally from Dansville, NY, where he attended SUNY at Oswego, receiving a B.S. in psychology. He received his master’s in education at the University of Missouri, specializing in counseling & personnel services. Dr. Seymour received his doctorate also from the University of Missouri in higher adult education. He is also a graduate of the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard University, Graduate School of Education.
Dr. Seymour has been an educator in Tennessee for 27 of his 43-year professional career in
higher education. He was appointed by The Tennessee Board of Regents to serve as president of the college on Jan. 1, 2014. Before serving at Cleveland State, he previously served at Jackson State Community College in West Tennessee as vice president for Institutional Advancement and vice president for Student Services. He served as president of Lambuth University and was instrumental in transitioning that college to the University of Memphis.
Under Dr. Seymour’s leadership, Cleveland State was selected by the College System of Tennessee as the 2019 College of the Year. In 2021, Dr. Seymour received the Shirley B. Gordon Award for Distinction, the highest award for community college presidents presented by Phi Theta Kappa. In 2022, he was named by the American Association of Community Colleges as a finalist for the CEO of the Year Award.
After seven years at the college, Dr. Seymour will be retiring, and his last day in office will be June 30.
“My last commencement at Cleveland State will be the definition of bittersweet,” said Dr. Seymour. “Commencement is our biggest celebration of the year. It is what all of our students and employees have worked toward. I am just happy to celebrate with the Cleveland State family one last time.”
For those unable to attend the Cleveland State Community College Spring 2022 Commencement Ceremony, the event will be streamed live and can be viewed at mycs.cc/graduation.