Dr. Cleveland and Mrs. Yvonne Hammonds Scholarship

Dr. Cleveland Hammonds Jr. was born in Rayville, Louisiana. At a young age, he and his family relocated to Alton, Illinois. It was there that he graduated from high school (Alton High) in 1954. After high school, Cleveland matriculated to Southern Illinois University. He graduated from SIU in 1958 with a BS in History. He began his teaching career in the Alton Public Schools in 1961 and taught there until 1963. In 1963, he earned a Master’s degree in Counseling from SIU and worked at Madison High School in Madison, Illinois as a counselor.

Hammonds moved to Champaign, Illinois in 1964 where he served as a teacher counselor (1964 – 1968) and was later promoted to the position of Assistant Superintendent (1968- 1975). In 1973, he earned his Doctorate in Education Administration from the University of Illinois. Dr. Hammonds became Superintendent of the Inkster, Michigan Public School System in 1975. In 1979, Dr. Hammonds became the first black Superintendent in the state of North Carolina when he took over the helm for the Durham Public School System (1979 – 1988). He has also served in that capacity in Birmingham, Alabama (1988 -1996) an St. Louis, Missouri (1996 – 2003).

Mrs. Yvonne Hammonds was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. She met her husband while a student at SIU. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Education in 1958. She taught Business Education courses for ten years before taking time off from teaching to raise thee
daughters. In 1987, Yvonne earned her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. She taught kindergarten in the Hillsboro Public School System (North Carolina), the Tarrant Public School System (Alabama) and the Birmingham Public School system (Alabama) before retiring.

The Dr. Cleveland and Mrs. Yvonne Hammonds Scholarship was established to honor their dedication to the field of education and their tireless efforts in serving the communities in which they have lived.

• Scholarship for an undergraduate education major pursuing a career in K-12 counseling or teaching.
• Recipient must have demonstrated financial need as determined by the SIU Financial Aid Office and must be a resident of Illinois, Missouri, or Louisiana.
• Recipient must also have a minimum GPA of 2.5.