Bowyer Honored for 35 Years of Service

Regent Summons, Dr. Karen Bowyer and Regent Prescott

Tennessee Board of Regents, Governor Bill Lee, TCCAA and faculty and staff celebrate Bowyer's anniversary

Dr. Karen Bowyer, president of Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC), was honored with a surprise reception in front of faculty, staff and friends to celebrate 35 years of dedicated service to the College Nov. 5. The reception was held in the Sells Family Lobby inside the Learning Resource Center on the Dyersburg campus.

Guest speakers included Dr. Jan Reid-Bunch, vice president for the College, Dr. Charlene White, vice president for finance and administrative services at DSCC; Regent Bill Summons, Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR); Regent Barbara Prescott, TBR; Dr. Foster Chason, commissioner of Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA); and Beverlee Weatherly, former assistant to the president at DSCC.

The celebration included the presentation of gifts from various college departments and words of congratulations from Drs. Reid-Bunch and White. Regents Prescott and Summons presented Dr. Bowyer with a framed certificate from Governor Bill Lee recognizing Nov. 5 as a “Day of Recognition” in Dr. Bowyer’s name.

“Dyersburg State provides students in this area hope and a future and you’ve been a part of it for so, so many years,” stated Regent Prescott. “Thank you on behalf of the Tennessee Board of Regents and all of the students in this area. We cannot measure the impact that you’ve had on them.”

Dr. Foster Chason was on hand to formally induct Dr. Bowyer into the TCCAA Hall of Fame in which she is the seventh college president and the first woman president to be honored. The formal program concluded with words from Beverlee Weatherly who congratulated Dr. Bowyer on her monumental achievement and talked about how Dr. Bowyer’s determination over the years propelled DSCC to have cutting-edge programs; successful reaccreditations; off-campus centers in Tipton and Gibson counties; and the DSCC Foundation.

“She was named president of Dyersburg State Community College exactly 35 years ago,” stated Weatherly. “And at that time, there were no other female college presidents in the State of Tennessee. She was the first. She’s broken barriers and she’s opened doorways.” Weatherly concluded by acknowledging Dr. Bowyer’s contribution to the success of the College and how she has ultimately contributed to the attainability of higher education to all students.

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