# Cleveland State Community College

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Public college in Cleveland, Tennessee, US

This article is about the community college in Tennessee. For the community college in North Carolina, see [Cleveland Community College](/source/Cleveland_Community_College). For the community college and public university in Cleveland, Ohio, see [Cuyahoga Community College](/source/Cuyahoga_Community_College) and [Cleveland State University](/source/Cleveland_State_University).

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Cleveland State Community College Motto Obstinatus sed Aequus (Latin) Type Public community college Established 1967 Parent institution Tennessee Board of Regents President Ray Brooks (interim) Undergraduates 3,200 Location Cleveland , Tennessee , United States 35°12′01″N 84°52′44″W / 35.2002°N 84.8789°W / 35.2002; -84.8789 Campus Urban, 105 acres (0.42 km2) Colors Navy Blue and Columbia Blue Nickname Cougars Website www.clevelandstatecc.edu

**Cleveland State Community College** is a [public](/source/Public_college) [community college](/source/Community_college) in [Cleveland, Tennessee](/source/Cleveland%2C_Tennessee). It is operated by the [Tennessee Board of Regents](/source/Tennessee_Board_of_Regents). Like most community colleges, it emphasizes [associate degree](/source/Associate_degree)-level classes but it also offers some third- and fourth-year college-level courses as well through arrangements with other institutions.

## History

The entrance to Cleveland State Community College

The Tennessee Board of Education authorized the establishment of one of the first three community colleges in Tennessee on June 22, 1965.[1] The name Cleveland State Community College was chosen by the board of education on February 11, 1966.[2] Bids for the first five campus buildings were announced on July 20, 1966, and the school's campus broke ground on September 11, 1966.[3] David F. Adkisson was named the first president on January 1, 1967.[2] Approximately 700 students enrolled for the school's first classes which began on October 2, 1967, and took place at North Cleveland Baptist Church, due to a delay in the completion of the campus.[3] At this time offices were held at 685 Broad Street N.W. in [Downtown Cleveland](/source/Cleveland_Commercial_Historic_District).[3] The move to the current campus and permanent facilities took place on January 3, 1968.[3] At this time, the campus consisted of the Administration Building, Library, Science Building, Student Center, and Gymnasium. The official dedication ceremonies for the college took place on April 29, 1968.[2] The first graduation ceremonies were conducted on June 1, 1969.[2]

In 2021, the college opened its first new buildings in 46 years. The 53,000-square foot, $25 million two-story Health and Science Center opened on its Cleveland campus.[4] The 52,000-square foot McMinn Higher Education Center opened in neighboring [Athens](/source/Athens%2C_Tennessee) three months later.[5]

## Campus

The college's Health & Science Center

The 105-acre (42 ha) sits on the eastern foot of [Candies Creek Ridge](/source/Candies_Creek_Ridge) in northern Cleveland near [Interstate 75](/source/Interstate_75_in_Tennessee). The campus has 10 major buildings housing modern classrooms, laboratories, and student activity centers. Additional features include a library, a multi-media center of emphasis, computer laboratories, a 400-seat theatre, a 3,000-seat gymnasium, athletic fields and tennis courts, a large [reflector telescope](/source/Reflector_telescope), and a satellite downlink receiver which enables the college to serve as a site for many teleconferences.[6] Cleveland State offers classes throughout the service area in southeast Tennessee, which includes Bradley, [Meigs](/source/Meigs_County%2C_Tennessee), [McMinn](/source/McMinn_County%2C_Tennessee), [Monroe](/source/Monroe_County%2C_Tennessee), and [Polk](/source/Polk_County%2C_Tennessee) counties. The college also has offices and classrooms in [Athens](/source/Athens%2C_Tennessee) and [Madisonville](/source/Madisonville%2C_Tennessee).

## Organization and administration

Cleveland State Community college operates within the governance of the [Tennessee Board of Regents](/source/Tennessee_Board_of_Regents).

David F. Adkisson served as founding president of Cleveland State Community College from 1967 to 1978. L. Quentin Lane was appointed to the presidency in 1978 and served until 1985. A. Ray Coleman served briefly as interim president in 1985. James W. Ford was then appointed as president of Cleveland State from 1985 to 1992. Renate G. Basham served as interim president from 1992 to 1996. Carl M. Hite served as president from 1996 until 2013.[7] Dr. Bill Seymour, served as the college's president from 2013 to 2022. Dr. Ty Stone, served as Cleveland State's first African American president from 2022 until 2023. Dr. Ray Brooks was appointed interim president until the appointment of Dr. Andy White. Dr. Andy White, who was appointed president of Cleveland State in April 2024, retired in 2025. Ray Brooks was appointed as interim president in November 2025, while a presidential search committee was established.

## Academics

Approximately 3,200 credit students and 1,300 non-credit students enroll in Cleveland State Community College in a typical fall semester. The credit student population is split about evenly in the choice of transfer or career-technical programs. The average age of all students is 28 years and the student population is non-racially identifiable. There are over 200 employees at the college including more than 70 full-time faculty members. Eighty-six percent of the faculty hold master's or doctoral degrees.

## Athletics

The college athletic teams are nicknamed the Cougars.

## Noted people

This section needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

For a more comprehensive list, see [Category:Cleveland State Community College alumni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cleveland_State_Community_College_alumni).

- [Ryan Casteel](/source/Ryan_Casteel) - baseball player[8]

- [Jason Davis](/source/Jason_Davis_(baseball)) - baseball player

- [Bubba Trammell](/source/Bubba_Trammell) - baseball player

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["History timeline ..."](http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/history-timeline,44144) *[Cleveland Daily Banner](/source/Cleveland_Daily_Banner)*. Cleveland, Tennessee. October 8, 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-04.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-timeline_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-timeline_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-timeline_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-timeline_2-3) ["The History of Cleveland State Community College"](https://50years.clevelandstatecc.edu/history/). *50years.clevelandstatecc.edu*. Cleveland State Community College. 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-04.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-banner916_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-banner916_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-banner916_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-banner916_3-3) Armstrong, Christy (September 30, 2016). ["CSCC celebration includes tour of first college campus sites"](http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/cscc-celebration-includes-tour-of-first-college-campus-sites,43574). *Cleveland Daily Banner*. Cleveland, Tennessee. Retrieved 2019-04-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Cleveland State Celebrates Grand Opening of New Health and Science Center | Cleveland State Community College"](https://www.clevelandstatecc.edu/news/news-article34.html). *www.clevelandstatecc.edu*. Retrieved 2024-03-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Grand Opening for CSCC's Athens Location - The McMinn Higher Education Center | Cleveland State Community College"](https://www.clevelandstatecc.edu/news/news-article48.html). *www.clevelandstatecc.edu*. Retrieved 2024-03-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Cleveland State Community College Campus Map"](https://www.clevelandstatecc.edu/content/uploads/pdf/CampusMap.pdf) (PDF). *clevelandstatecc.edu*. Cleveland State Community College. 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["CSCC 50th Anniversary Magazine"](https://50years.clevelandstatecc.edu/our-stories/50th-anniversary-magazine/). *50years.clevelandstatecc.edu*. Cleveland State Community College. 2017. Retrieved 2019-04-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Texas League notebook: Colorado Rockies' Ryan Casteel comes back strong with Tulsa Drillers - Texas League News"](https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-86714258). *Texas League*. Retrieved October 24, 2014.

## External links

- [Official website](http://www.clevelandstatecc.edu)

v t e Tennessee Junior and Community College Athletic Association Chattanooga State Cleveland State Columbia State Dyersburg State Jackson State Motlow State Pellissippi State Roane State Southwest Tennessee Volunteer State Walters State

v t e Tennessee Board of Regents institutions Community Colleges Chattanooga State Community College Cleveland State Community College Columbia State Community College Dyersburg State Community College Jackson State Community College Motlow State Community College Nashville State Community College Northeast State Community College Pellissippi State Community College Roane State Community College Southwest Tennessee Community College Volunteer State Community College Walters State Community College Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology Athens Chattanooga Crump Dickson Elizabethton Harriman Hartsville Henry/Carroll Hohenwald Jacksboro Jackson Knoxville Livingston McKenzie McMinnville Memphis Morristown Murfreesboro Nashville Northwest (Newbern) Oneida/Huntsville Pulaski Shelbyville Upper Cumberland

v t e Community and technical colleges in Tennessee Community colleges Chattanooga Cleveland Columbia Dyersburg Jackson Motlow Nashville Northeast Pellissippi Roane Southwest Vol State Walters Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology Chattanooga Crump Newbern Pulaski Shelbyville

v t e Education in McMinn County, Tennessee Public schools McMinn County Schools McMinn Central High School McMinn County High School Athens City Schools (K-8) Etowah City Elementary School District (K-8) Tertiary Tennessee Wesleyan University Cleveland State Community College McMinn Higher Education Center

v t e Athens, Tennessee Education Athens City Schools (K-8) McMinn County Schools (HS) McMinn County High School Tennessee Wesleyan University Cleveland State Community College McMinn Higher Education Center History Battle of Athens (1946) This list is incomplete.

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF National United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cleveland State Community College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_State_Community_College) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_State_Community_College?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.