Stricklen is an actor, director and educator. He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of California San Diego and a BFA in Drama (now known as Acting) from CCM where he was awarded the Dolly Award for sustained excellence in achievement and performance by a senior.

As a professional actor, some of Stricklen's theater credits include: Superior Donuts (Broadway Music Box Theater), Creation: A Clown Show (Off-Broadway), Six Degrees of Separation (The Old Globe), Clybourne Park (Premiere Stages) and Current Nobody (La Jolla Playhouse).

Stricklen's television and film credits include: Marlon, Six Degrees, The Mysteries of Laura, Law & Order, As the World Turns, The Good Wife, Bosch, Mozart in the Jungle, High Maintenance, Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show and The Visit.

Stricklen is an Emeritus Artist of SITI Company, an ensemble-based theater company whose mission was the creation of new work, the training of theater artists and a commitment to crossing boundaries. He was first introduced to the training and the work of SITI Company through CCM Professor Emeritus of Acting and Directing Richard Hess, who retired in 2022 after 32 years of teaching at CCM.

Stricklen's national and international production credits with SITI Company, under the direction of Anne Bogart, include: The Bacchae (The Getty Villa/Brooklyn Academy of Music), bobrauschenbergamerica (The Dublin Theater Festival/New York Live Arts), Under Construction (Actor Theatre of Louisville), the theater is a blank page (Wexner Center for the Arts), Radio Macbeth (Tbilisi International Theatre Festival), and Lost in the Stars (CAP UCLA).

Stricklen is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Actors’ Equity. He has led workshops in both the Viewpoints and Suzuki methods of actor training with SITI Company, in conjunction with Skidmore College, Ohio State University and Spelman College. He has also served as a drama instructor at the Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School and the University of California San Diego.

"We are excited that Samuel Stricklen will be able to share his extensive experience as an actor and director with the next generation of performing artists at our college," said Kregor. "We welcome him back to his alma mater as a proud CCM alumnus and look forward to collaborating with him on stage and in our classrooms. I want to recognize the outstanding work of our search committee, which was chaired by Brant Russell and also included Donald Hancock, D’Arcy Smith and Sharon Huizinga."