Though not fully retired – Williams is president and CEO of a consulting firm – his proximity to campus affords him the opportunity to engage Stillman students. “I did not conceptualize it in the context of what we’re seeing with our programming and the results we’re seeing today, but I knew that, based on my experiences, I could facilitate success in their lives.” “There’s a void I see coming in our society for leaders of character – dedicated and disciplined – in order to move forward, and I think this Institute will try to instill some of those qualities,” Williams said. Williams also serves on Stillman’s Board of Trustees and is aĬonsistent presence on campus for Williams Institute and communityĮvents, and to provide mentorship to Stillman students. The Williams Institute also oversees student-focused programs like the Black Male Initiative, which aims to increase matriculation, retention, and graduation rates for males of color. The Williams Institute is an effort to afford Stillman College and the community extensive access to scholarly research, interdisciplinary study, discourse and debate, and advocacy on cutting-edge issues related to leadership, education equity, and race relations in America. He is now working to remove barriers for current Stillman students through the Williams Institute for Leadership, Education Equity and Race Relations in America, which launched in in 2021 at Stillman College. Williams credits his faith in God for directing his and others’ footsteps, according to the “Will of ‘I AM’” in the Book of Exodus. “I use their example now when I’m mentoring kids and as I’m mentoring others as well – those teachers, from my high school to Stillman College, were some of the first to take away my excuse for failure, and they facilitated my success with the Marines.” (Albert) Sparks take such an interest in me, to be flexible like that, was pretty symbolic of how much the faculty cared about the students. “It was pretty tough there for a while,” Williams said. Friends would also make sure he balanced social life into his schedule. Faculty members would coordinate with students to share lecture notes if Williams missed a class friends would make sure he was up and ready for work. He says the support from Stillman alumni and high school faculty to get him to Stillman grew once he enrolled faculty, staff and classmates all played roles in helping Williams navigate a difficult schedule of classes, a work-study position, and a full-time job at a nearby textile mill. Williams’ career as a Marine Corps officer would not have materialized if not for Stillman College, as military officers must possess a college degree. He also served as chief of the Marine Corps staff before retiring in 2013. Williams would earn a bachelor’s degree in business at Stillman in 1974 before embarking on an impressive and trailblazing career in the United States Marine Corps, where he would ascend to the rank of lieutenant general, only the third African-American Marine at the time to wear the rank of three-star general. “So, when people ask why I chose Stillman, I tell them ‘Stillman College chose me.” “I don’t know who my high school teachers talked to at Stillman, but at my graduation, when they read my name they announced that I’d accepted scholarships to Stillman. “I guess they submitted my application for me because I don’t remember doing it,” Williams says jokingly. They began working with admissions staff at faculty to create scholarship and work-study aid packages for Williams, who agreed to consider Stillman if he could attend without the financial burden. “I didn’t have the resources to think about college, so I didn’t plan for it,” Williams said.įaculty and staff in his high school, many of whom were alumni of Stillman College, took notice of his potential for higher education. Though he was an honors student, Williams wouldn’t apply to colleges or universities. Affording college would be difficult for a family “just trying to survive.” ![]() ![]() He grew up in a segregated community in Moundville, Alabama. Williams had no intention of pursuing a college degree.
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