(L-R: Dr. Betsy Fleming, President – Converse College; Dr. Cleveland Sellers, President – Voorhees College; Russell Cook, Chair-Elect – SCICU)
Russell Cook, chair-elect of the SCICU Board of Trustees, presented Dr. Sellers with an SCICU board resolution during the April 12 Excellence In Teaching Awards Dinner. Representatives from the twenty SCICU member colleges and universities joined in salute of Dr. Sellers’ extensive contributions to Voorhees College and for his support of higher education.
Dr. Sellers is an accomplished scholar who completed his bachelor’s degree at Shaw University, earned a master’s degree from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro
He is the author of six publications, including the widely acclaimed The River of No Return: The Autobiography of a Black Militant and the Life and Death of SNCC, which chronicles his fight for justice and human rights across the South in the 1960s, including the Orangeburg Massacre of 1968 when Dr. Sellers was shot, jailed, and eventually pardoned 25 years later.
During his tenure as president, Dr. Sellers’ focus on academic excellence and student achievement resulted in new majors in Emergency Management, Environmental Science, Sports Management, and expanded Cyber Security Training. His commitment to improving student writing proficiency led to establishing a Writing Center, the construction of a Student Living and Learning Center, and an enhanced IT network.
President Sellers is leaving Voorhees College with a bold financial stability plan and Reaffirmation of Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in 2012. His retirement is effective on June 30, 2016.