FDTC board elects Hartsville woman as new Chairman

“I am excited for the opportunity to serve as Chair of the Board and I am looking forward to working with the board, President Ford and the staff as we move forward in the implementation of FTDC’s new strategic plan,” Dr. Sims said. “FDTC continues to emerge as a leader in the workforce and economic development spaces as we offer programs to support the employment needs of our local businesses and industry partners.”

Dr. Sims replaces Commissioner Paul Seward, who has served the past two years as Chairman. The board generally rotates the Chair position every two years.

“I have been honored to have the opportunity to serve as the Area Commission Board Chairperson for the last two years,” Seward said. “It has been very rewarding to work alongside our new President Dr. Ford and his team as we work to re-build relationships throughout the three counties that we serve.”

Seward reflected on the work that has been accomplished over the past two years including: the progress the College has made in improving relationships with area school districts; the College is now fiscally sound; the enrollment process has seen measured improvements; program offerings have been improved as the College strives to provide a quality education at a very reasonable cost in an effort to grow the workforce in the Pee Dee Region; and the College’s enrollment continues to see a steady increase through all of these efforts.  

“To have the opportunity to be on stage and see each of our graduates receive their degree has been the highlight of my time as Chairperson,” Seward said. “I look forward to continuing my service on the board and certainly look forward to working with our incoming Chairperson, Dr Ershela Sims.” 

Dr. Sims is the Executive Director of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN). Prior to joining WEPAN she was the Interim President and Senior Vice President for Virtual and Outreach Programs at the SC Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM). She was the first African-American and first female to lead GSSM. She began her career at GSSM as Vice President for the Accelerate Virtual Engineering Program in 2017. Prior to GSSM, Dr. Sims was the Dean of Engineering and Technology at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) which housed the Engineering and Computer Science programs, as well as the Peter T. Haughton Fabrication and Innovation Lab. During her tenure at NCSSM, Dr. Sims developed and taught courses in Statics, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Research, and Biomedical Instrumentation.

In addition to her service on the FDTC board, Dr. Sims serves on the Clemson General Engineering Advisory Board and NSBE Healthcare Innovation Special Interest Group. She also is a member of several professional associations including the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).