 "Photo: Provided Photo")
Seymour Bryson has been in the business of diversifying SIU for the last 53 years.
He started as one of the first few black basketball players to letter at SIUC and plans on ending as associate chancellor for diversity when he officially retires Sept. 1. In between the 53 years from running the floor to running offices, Bryson earned three degrees, served as a dean and oversaw more than nine programs, including affirmative action and career preparation.
Bryson said he has enjoyed his time at the university, but that it is time to enjoy the other half of life.
"You should plan two things in life. You should plan to get something done and then plan to enjoy it," Bryson said. "So now it's my time to enjoy it."
Bryson said it was his goal to help the legacy SIU has of being diverse and tried to accomplish that through numerous positions throughout his career. He is the former president of the Carbondale chapter for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, former chair of the Diversifying Faculty Initiative and currently works in the Center for Academic Success.
He also holds three governor-appointed positions for the Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, the African American Family Commission and the State Use Commission.
Bryson said his contributions through so many different positions was his way of giving back to the university he said gave so much to him.
"In my own way, I'm trying to give back to the individuals that helped me so much along the way," Bryson said.
Bryson has also been the recipient of countless awards, including the 2007 Senator Emil Jones Mentoring Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the Illinois Committee on Black Concerns in Higher Education.
Harold Bardo, associate professor of medical education preparatory, shares the award of being a Saluki hall-of-famer with Bryson.
Bardo said it was Bryson's passion for SIU that led to so much success, and it will be his passion that brings him back - even in retirement.
"I've known him a long time and he will always have an impact on this institution," Bardo said. "He'll be around, he'll be doing things."
With the departure of Bryson, interim Chancellor Sam Goldman said he must begin the difficult task of finding a replacement.
Goldman said Bryson was the first person he worked with when he came to SIU in 1980 and has remained one of the most dedicated and unique people he has ever known.
Goldman said the associate chancellor for diversity is a position that would require a lot of thought in the hiring process.
"Seymour is a very unique individual and that office took on his methodology and uniqueness," Goldman said. "We're going to spend some time and get a lot of input from a lot of people to see how we should continue."
Bryson said he feels lucky for the career he had and said it was a matter of meeting the right people at the right time. He said he never expected to be a university administrator, but always remembered one piece of advice.
"I was told basketball was the means to an end," Bryson said. "It was never meant to be the end, and I never forgot that."
Jeff Engelhardt can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 268 or jengel@siu.edu.
