Deacon William Seibert receives professional honor
Is also appointed to Columbia College Board of Trustees
Deacon William Seibert, who assists the pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City, is the 2023 recipient of the Columbia College Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award.
He was also recently appointed to the Columbia College Board of Trustees.
The Rev. Dr. Brad Stagg, board chairman, announced the appointments of Deacon Seibert and three other new board members, bringing the total number to 22, effective July 1.
Deacon Seibert will serve a four-year term.
A member of Columbia College’s Class of 2009, he rose through the ranks of the Missouri State Highway Patrol to serve as assistant superintendent, overseeing daily operations of the 2,300-person agency, before retiring in 2006.
“Not very many people get to that level,” said Brad Jones, who worked with Deacon Seibert at the State Highway Patrol headquarters in the 1990s. “It’s due to his personality, his intellect, how he treats people, the example that he gives. I could go on and on about his professionalism.”
Later serving as deputy police chief and interim police chief in O’Fallon, Missouri, he earned his bachelor’s degree online through Columbia College’s St. Louis location, finishing what he had started as one of the first African American students on the main campus in the 1970s.
“What Columbia College means to me probably more than anything is family and second chances,” he said.
Embodying the benefits of higher education in furthering professional pursuits, he then leveraged his business knowledge into a job at the Missouri Gaming Commission, which oversees a billion-dollar industry that regulates casinos and gambling entities.
He worked as deputy director for nearly five years before serving as executive director for four years.
“Saving lives on the highway. Saving lives in the heart and soul. Two very different ways, but that just sounds right about Bill,” said Ellen Miller-Mapp, Class of 1975, who met Seibert when they both were among the first African American students to integrate CC’s main campus. “He just has that generous spirit.”
Deacon Seibert is now applying his faith to restoring relationships through his ministry, said Robert Lowery, who was the city manager of O’Fallon when Seibert worked there. They also served together with the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad and on the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“Bill is a can-do kind of person,” Mr. Lowery stated. “He always brings a positive attitude. He doesn’t just tell us about it, the man lives it.”
Deacon Seibert and his wife, Rachelle, were married in 1976. They have three adult sons and a grandson.
Mr. Seibert was received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in 1995.
Bishop W. Shawn McKnight ordained him a permanent deacon of the diocese in 2019.
“I am a prime example of God’s grace and ability to change people,” Deacon Seibert said at the time of his ordination. “I’m always willing to testify to God’s love.”
He said Columbia College’s Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award was a surprise.
“I really like to kind of stay under the radar,” he stated.
