TBR Approves William Seymour as Cleveland State President, Other Actions During December Quarterly Board Meeting

The Tennessee Board of Regents today unanimously approved William Seymour as the next president of Cleveland State Community College.

Seymour will assume his leadership role on January 2 after current president Carl Hite retires.

The Board took the action during its regular quarterly board meeting in Nashville, acting on a recommendation from TBR Chancellor John Morgan. Seymour was selected after a nationwide search. He currently serves as vice president for Institutional Advancement at Jackson State Community College in Jackson, Tenn.

Among other actions, the Board:

• discussed new completion strategies designed to provide a system approach to student success by using predictive analytics and guided pathway systems;
• approved a draft version of the criteria for the position announcement to be used in selecting the next president at the University of Memphis (The Board granted editing authority to Morgan, who will work with the search committee and others to finalize the criteria after considering input from the campus and community.);
• affirmed the October revised budgets for the institutions and TBR System Office; and
• approved a number of new programs at Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology to allow them to be more responsive to the workforce needs in their communities, an Associate of Applied Science degree in Advanced Integrated Industrial Technology at Dyersburg State Community College, and a new Ph.D. program in Health Systems and Policy at the University of Memphis; and
• presented an award of appreciation to Senator Douglas Henry and resolutions honoring retiring TCAT-Morristown Director Lynn Elkins and retiring Cleveland State President Carl Hite.

The Tennessee Board of Regents is among the nation’s largest higher education systems, governing 46 post-secondary educational institutions. The TBR system includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 27 colleges of applied technology, providing programs across the state to about 200,000 students.