“The Board is very excited to announce Dr. Bill Seymour will lead Lambuth University into the future,” said Mike Keeney, Chairman of the Lambuth Board of Trustees. “This is a significant step in maintaining and growing Lambuth’s success and service of excellence. The search committee investigated and met with several potential candidates in finding the right fit.”

 

Seymour, a graduate of Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management, received his Ph.D. and M.Ed. from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his BS from State University of New York College at Oswego.

 

“I am very honored and proud to have been selected as president at Lambuth University,” Seymour said. “I have been a patriot of the small, private, church-related university educational environment for most of my career. I believe in the valuable learning opportunities that exist, the strong and personal interactions that occur between educators and students, and the extent to which students can become involved in the life of the university within such an atmosphere.”

 

Prior to his appointment at Lambuth, Seymour served as Vice President for Administrative Services from 2004 – 2009 and Vice President and Dean of Students from 1995 – 2004 at Maryville College, in Maryville, Tenn. Before his work at Maryville College, Seymour held positions at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Wesley College in Dover, Del., Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and the University of Missouri-Columbia in Columbia, Mo.

 

“I have been fortunate to have many excellent professional experiences. Specifically, the diversity of administrative experience that I gained at Maryville College has prepared me well for this new role at Lambuth,” explained Seymour.

 

“During my tenure there, we were very successful at transforming the college in many dimensions – record enrollment growth and improvement in student quality, significant enhancements to the physical campus, financial strength and reputation of the institution. I learned to have a strong planning ethic through the development and success of multiple strategic plans.”

 

Seymour has been the author of over 30 publications and presentations, including several newspaper columns. In addition, he has been very active in the Maryville community, with involvement in the church, brass ensemble, choir, community band and community choir. His civic involvement includes the Kiwanis Club of Alcoa and the Blount County Habitat for Humanity’s board of directors. This year, he has chaired the board of directors for United Way of Blount County.

 

While growing up in New York State, most of Seymour’s family members were school teachers. He chose to take a slightly different path within the family business of education.

 

“I was inspired by my dad, who transitioned from a biology teacher to a principal,” Seymour said. “Also, his brother, my favorite uncle, earned his Ph.D and was a professor of education at the University of Missouri.”

Seymour has been married to his wife Catherine for 27 years. She has a master’s degree in education and is a special education teacher. The couple has twin daughters who graduated from small private colleges in 2006.

 

Seymour’s daughter Jessica is in graduate school at the University of Kentucky, completing her studies to be a Physician Assistant, and his daughter Blair and her husband David McLeod live in Nashville. Blair is a Volunteer Coordinator for the Siloam Family Health Center, and her husband is a portrait artist.

 

“I feel a strong sense of fit with Lambuth University, its students, faculty and staff, as well as the challenges that face them,” Seymour said. “I come with a confidence that I can provide leadership that will build a process toward Lambuth becoming the best possible university of its kind.”