President Matt Seimears, Ph.D., joined the LCC family on January 3, 2024.
Before coming to LCC, he served as the Interim Provost at Eastern Washington University.
He has extensive teaching and administrative experience in K-12, community college, and university settings.
Originally from Kansas, Dr. Seimears lives in Longview with his wife and children.
Dear students and campus community,
Since its founding 90 years ago, Lower Columbia College has been proud to welcome students from all backgrounds. We firmly believe that higher education should be open, inclusive, and accessible to all who seek to better their lives through learning. In light of recent federal announcements regarding immigration, we want to share some information that might be helpful for you.
- Diversity and Inclusion: We remain committed to our values of diversity, inclusiveness, and the right of all students to pursue their educational goals free from unlawful interference.
- Admissions and immigration status: As an open-access institution, we do not base admissions decisions on immigration or citizenship status. Our campus security personnel will never question or attempt to detain individuals based on their immigration status.
- Privacy protections: As federal law requires, we do not disclose protected information from student education records except as required in response to a lawfully issued subpoena or court order. Higher education institutions do, however, share certain information called “directory information.” Students can choose not to allow their directory information to be shared by submitting a Restrict Directory Information Form. For further details, please see the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) section of LCC's Academic Policies and Records webpage.
- Access to campus: As a public institution of higher education, our college has public spaces. Many of our spaces are reserved for use by students and employees so our college can fulfill its mission of delivering education to students. We can restrict entry to limited access, nonpublic areas (such as offices, student housing, and classrooms).
We know that recent federal announcements may be causing fear and anxiety for some campus community members. Please know that we are here to support you. Below are some resources that may be helpful:
- LCC Counseling Services
- LCC Resources for Immigrants and Undocumented Students/DREAMers
- Immigration Help Hotline
- WAISN Resource Finder
- National Immigration Legal Services Directory
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
- Washington State Office of the Attorney General – Immigration Services
- National Immigration Law Center
- Washington Law Help: Resources for Immigrants
We remain deeply committed to providing a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for every student who seeks to grow and create a brighter future. Together, we can uphold the values of compassion, understanding, and equity that define LCC. You are an essential part of our campus community and are always welcome here.
On December 2nd, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a directive to freeze state agency hiring, purchases, service contracts, and travel. The directive follows a state budget forecast showing state costs increasing faster than revenue, leading to an anticipated multi-billion dollar operating budget shortfall through 2029.
This directive applies to cabinet agencies, not higher education institutions.
Even though this does not directly impact LCC, the effects will be felt through our families and friends, the state services we use, and in many other ways. This directive may also signal future changes to our LCC state allocation.
As discussed at the last All Staff meeting, we are in a strong position with enrollment. We will carry on with the essential work of fulfilling our mission to serve students while closely monitoring the revenue situation.
I am pleased to invite you to celebrate LCC’s 90th Anniversary with us on October 4th, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Rose Center lobby.
Join us for:
- Chili, cornbread, and cupcakes
- Music
- Campus tours
- A presentation from LCC history instructor Dr. Courtney Shah
- A trivia contest with prizes
- A display of historical photos depicting the campus over time
This event is free and open to the public, so bring your family and friends!
Learn more and sign up for a campus tour on our 90th Anniversary webpage.
I'm looking forward to seeing you there!
Dear LCC Faculty and Staff,
I am writing to inform you of a recently discovered error in the state funds appropriated to our college system for the 2023-25 biennium.
The Office of Financial Management (OFM) recently identified a double-entry error that led to overfunding the Community and Technical College system. Colleges could not have identified the mistake independently because it’s related to a “back end” formula used by OFM. The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) was in the same position.
Please be assured that the error will not affect employee cost-of-living increases.
The SBCTC will revise each college’s allocation to account for the deficit. We are waiting for the SBCTC to identify the financial impact on LCC. I am working with the other system presidents, the SBCTC, OFM, legislators, and other stakeholders to find a solution, including pursuing a legislative option. The shared priority across the system is to protect our students and colleges.
While this news is concerning, it is not catastrophic. The Executive Leadership Team (ELT) is working diligently on all possibilities to mitigate any potential damage to LCC. We expect minimal to no impact on college operations.
I will provide additional information as it becomes available. Although the news was unexpected, LCC is a solution-oriented campus, and we will get through it together.
Respectfully,
Matt Seimears, Ph.D.
President of Lower Columbia College
Matt Seimears, Ph.D., a first-generation college student, entered the workforce after graduating high school as a MIG/TIG Welder, building and welding dust control equipment to keep milling operations clean. He attended Butler Community College and later transferred to Pittsburg State University, earning a bachelor's degree. He taught inner-city second- and third-grade ESOL students, eighth-grade ESOL Science, and rural ninth grade and coached high school wrestling for fourteen years.
He earned his Master's Degree from Wichita State University, a Bachelor's Degree from Newman University, and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University. He taught as an adjunct at Cowley Community College for six years. He worked at Emporia State University (2004-2019) as an Instructor/Academic Advisor, Professor, Associate Department Chair, and Department Chair. He became the Dean of the College of Education at Eastern Oregon University (EOU) in 2019 and was appointed Interim Provost at EOU in 2022.
Dr. Seimears began his presidency at LCC in January 2024.