Former SBU President James Sells dies

Sells, who was 79, was traveling westbound on Forest Street in Bolivar on Sunday morning when he failed to make the curve at the intersection with North Oakland Avenue and struck a parked truck, according to an SBU news release. Sells was found in respiratory distress and transferred to Citizens Memorial Hospital, where he died.

Sells’ tenure as the Bolivar school’s president lasted from 1968 to 1979. He was then named chancellor, a position he held until 1992.

“Dr. Sells saw the institution through the transition from a college to a university, the development of signature graduate programs and a significant increase in enrollment,” current SBU President C. Pat Taylor said in the release. “In addition, many of the current buildings on campus were built under his leadership. … This university owes Dr. Jim Sells a debt of gratitude.”

Funeral services were Wednesday at the First Baptist Church of Bolivar.