CSCC honors city council, county commission with TBR Chancellor’s Award

AUTUMN HUGHES and ALLEN MINCEY
Wednesday, July 14, 2021 12:00 AM
Community, Press Releases, TBR, All

This article was published by the Cleveland Daily Banner on July 13, 2021. 

Both the Bradley County Commission and Cleveland City Council were recognized Monday for their support of Cleveland State Community College, when the Tennessee Board of Regents presented both with the 2021 TBR Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Philanthropy.

The award is in recognition of both legislative bodies’ donations and volunteer efforts supporting CSCC. The college nominated them after helping secure $25 million for campus improvements.

Cleveland Mayor Kevin Brooks and Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis accepted the awards on behalf of the city council and the county commission, respectively.

Speaking first during the county commission meeting, CSCC President Dr. Bill Seymour said, “I want to make sure that we show proper appreciation for what you did a few years ago to support Cleveland State in its first capital campaign in its history, to bring about the development of the first new classroom building on our campus in 46 years, as well as the renovation of our humanities building.”

Seymour also thanked Commissioner Bill Winters for serving on CSCC’s master plan committee during the process.

Seymour also noted CSCC has entered into an agreement with Bradley County “to make sure we’re doing everything we can” to train paramedics.

“In fact, we have agreed to provide last-dollar scholarships … to two students a year,” he said, adding it is “about a $10,000 program.”

“We’re providing the assistance to make sure that you get at least two individuals completed each year in that program,” Seymour said.

To represent that commitment, Seymour showed commissioners a plaque that will be placed inside the new Health and Science Center. It states: “This Paramedic Lab is made possible by a generous gift from the Bradley County Commission.”

A similar plaque honoring the gift from the city of Cleveland will adorn the new building. Seymour showed that plaque to the city council Monday as well, and were recognized at its official meeting for the TBR award.

Seymour said it is “a really nice facility; it has a simulated ambulance in it [to offer] really state-of-the-art training for individuals training to be a paramedic.

“So it’s very fitting that we enter into that program to support your employees to get that additional training and this will be put up in that space so that everybody will know that Bradley County Commission was a sponsor of our campaign and that room is dedicated for them to see that all the time, as well,” he said.

Seymour added his personal appreciation for the county commission’s support of the capital campaign.

“I know it was kind of unusual to do it, but this is the project that’s going to pay back and pay for decades to come because we’re training hundreds of people a year in terms of not only nursing, EMT, paramedic, [and] medical assistants,” he said. “Our students come from this area, they stay in this area, and they continue to work and improve the workforce not only here in Bradley County, but also in this region.”

Seymour expressed his appreciation on behalf of himself, CSCC’s faculty, staff and students.

He then introduced Cris Perkins, assistant vice chancellor for strategic advancement for the Tennessee Board of Regents.

“Cris is responsible for the fundraising efforts for the Tennessee Board of Regents; he is executive director of the foundation for the college system,” he said.

Perkins said each year TBR recognizes an organization or individual “that has given special assistance to a TBR institution, known as the Chancellor’s Award in Excellence in Philanthropy.”

“While Bradley County has supported their local community college in numerous ways throughout the 54-year history, your contribution to the college’s Community First Capital Campaign through a donation of $250,000 was very unique and significant,” he said. “As one of the top five donors to the capital campaign, this commission provided 10% of the required match goal of $2.5 million, enabling a grant of $22.5 million from the State of Tennessee to bring essential expansion and renovation of the Cleveland State main campus, the first since the original physical plant was built.”

Perkins added it is “not common for local governments to make contributions to state organizations; however, given the significant impact of Cleveland State on the community, we recognize the wise investment you’ve made to expand the educational opportunities and strengthen the workforce development of this region.

“We feel confident this investment will pay dividends to your community for decades to come,” he added.

At Monday's city council meeting, Seymour thanked not only the council, but Mayor Kevin Brooks in his assistance while serving in the state legislature.

"I want to thank Mayor Brooks for his time as state representative," the CSCC president said. "I've called him my bulldog on the hill, and he and other state legislators were instrumental in working with all the powers that be to make sure that Cleveland State got this funding. In fact, we were the only community college in the state that year that got this funding so we were very, very thankful.

"I wanted to circle back today and say thank you, and show our appreciation to this council for a very, very significant year. This means a lot to Cleveland State and to the community that we serve," Seymour added.

CSCC expanded on the award presentations in a news release Monday afternoon.

“We are so fortunate to have the support from both Cleveland City Council and the Bradley County Commission,” Seymour said. “Their gifts helped us leverage another $22.5 million from the state of Tennessee for our community. Our new facility is all about workforce development, and it will enable CSCC to produce thousands of healthcare workers for decades to come.”

According to the news release, both the city council and county commission were nominated by CSCC for this award “because of their contribution in implementing the vision for a better educational experience for Cleveland State students.

“With their financial help and community relations, the college was approved by the State of Tennessee to receive $25 million for campus facilities improvements,” the news release stated. “These funds provided $20 million for a new Health and Science building and $5 million to renovate the Humanities building.”

Seymour noted the state’s grant process required the college to provide a 10% match to be raised. Due to that requirement, CSCC had the unique opportunity to engage both the city and the county government leadership in its fundraising efforts.

“The college reached a historic campaign goal from the buy-in from both the county and the city,” the news release stated. “The Cleveland City Council and Bradley County Commission stepped up to the challenge. They each provided 10% of the match goal, $250,000 each.”

About the award

In March 2001, the Tennessee Board of Regents adopted the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendations, one of which was the need to recognize outstanding accomplishments in fundraising. This recommendation is what led to the creation of TBR’s Excellence in Philanthropy Awards recognition program. This program is comprised of two awards — the Regents Award for Excellence in Philanthropy and the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy.

The awards were created to honor the individuals, companies and organizations who continue to donate their resources, finances and personal time to TBR institutions.