A house RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR DR. RONALD L. RHAMES, PRESIDENT OF MIDLANDS TECHNICAL COLLEGE, UPON HIS RETIREMENT AFTER THIRTY-FOUR YEARS OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE, AND TO WISH HIM CONTINUED SUCCESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives has learned that Ronald Rhames will begin a well-deserved retirement after years as a premier educational administrator, the last nine of which have been as the distinguished and highly regarded president of Midlands Technical College (MTC); and

Whereas, Dr. Rhames earned an associate's degree in management from Midlands Technical College; a bachelor's degree in business and economics from Benedict College; a master's degree from Central Michigan University in administration; and a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University in Florida in business administration; and

Whereas, from 1980 to 1983 he served as branch manager/loan officer with Bankers Trust of South Carolina in Columbia, and from 1983 to 1990, he served as vice president of fiscal affairs at Claflin University. From 1990 to 2015, he served as the senior vice president and COO at MTC. He served as an adjunct professor at Webster University from 1998 to 2015 in Beaufort and Columbia and at the University of South Carolina from 2012 to 2015 before being named president of MTC in 2015; and

Whereas, as president of MTC, Dr. Rhames oversees six regional campuses and a center on Fort Jackson, serving some twenty-eight thousand credit students and continuing education students in over a hundred programs. He has implemented such significant innovations as a comprehensive strategic planning process that focuses on institutional-wide engagement and execution and a restructuring of the college's academic and continuing education programs into guided pathways for students. He has published articles in professional publications, such as the Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, Journal of Risk Management, and NACUBO's Business Officer; and

Whereas, he has served as board chair of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, president of the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers, president of Community College Business Officers (CCBO), dean of CCBO Leadership Academy, and president and state representative of the Government Finance Officers Association of South Carolina; and

Whereas dedicated to his community, Dr. Rhames serves on the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Urban League, CentralSC Alliance, Central Midlands Council of Governments, South Carolina Philharmonic Advisory Board, and Goodwill Industries. He serves on the boards of the Midlands Middle College, a charter high school, and on the MTC Foundation, ex officio; and

Whereas, Dr. Rhames was selected as the 1998 International Outstanding Chief Business Officer for Community Colleges by the CCBO of the United States and Canada and was named a 2015 IMARA Man by IMARA magazine for serving as a role model and giving back to the community. He was honored with induction into the Richland County School District One Hall of Fame in 2017 and was named one of the Fifty Most Influential People in the Midlands by the Columbia Business Monthly magazine in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 and inducted into the Fifty Most Influential People in the Midlands of South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2020. He was presented the 2022 Excellence in Education Award by the Columbia Branch of the NAACP and was an honoree in the 2023 South Carolina African American History Calendar; and

Whereas, grateful for his years of distinguished service to Midlands Technical College, the South Carolina House of Representatives takes great pleasure in extending best wishes to Ronald Rhames as he transitions to a richly deserved retirement and the unhurried pace of the days ahead, and the members wish him many years of enjoyment in his well-earned retirement. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Ronald L. Rhames, President of Midlands Technical College, upon his retirement after thirty-four years of outstanding service, and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Ronald L. Rhames.

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