When family, friends, and colleagues reflect upon the legacy Dr. Julie Williams left behind, her dedication to leadership and commitment to faculty success often emerges. As Senior Vice Provost for Engagement and Faculty Development, Williams shared her expertise across the university and beyond to develop new approaches to faculty development and create programs that supported faculty throughout the lifecycle of one’s academic career.
She created numerous programs and partnerships to help faculty succeed in their teaching and research, including Writing Academy, Pathway to Professorship, New Faculty Orientation, and Research and Engagement Academy, among others.
Advancing Academic Leaders
Most recently, Dr. Williams forged UNH’s first long-term partnership with Howard University, a historically black university, to help enhance each institution’s capacity in academic, research, and cultural exchange.? Through this partnership, faculty will be able to share ideas, learn from one another, and capitalize on the shared strengths of both universities.
To honor her contributions to the academic community, a Legacy Committee, made up of senior faculty from across UNH, is planning a memorial to remember Williams by—an oil portrait that will be hung in a prominent location on campus to commemorate the extraordinary contributions she made for nearly 20 years. ?A fall dedication and installation ceremony is planned.
“Julie used her life experience, deeply held values, well-honed sense of social ?justice and her commitment to helping others to improve us and our university. Her devotion to UNH leaves us with a powerful legacy and she will live on in what we make of it,” according to Ellen Fitzpatrick,? professor of history.?
“We’ll be asking for donations to cover the costs of this memorial through direct solicitations. We realize this is a time when people are prioritizing their contributions, so the window for participation will remain open longer than initially planned," said Leslie Couse, executive director of UNH Engagement and Faculty Development. Alumni and friends now have the opportunity to donate directly to the Faculty Development and Faculty Excellence Fund.
Williams passed away on September 25, 2019. UNH friends and colleagues celebrated her life at a memorial service held at Hamilton Smith Hall on December 8, 2019. She was a part of the UNH family from 2001-2019. A native Virginian, Williams received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Tennessee, was a predoctoral fellow at Yale University, and completed her undergraduate education at the College of William and Mary. She was awarded an American Council on Education (ACE) fellowship served at William and Mary and led the first ACE Fellows convening to three South African universities. Prior to joining UNH, she held faculty and administrative appointments at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Tennessee Medical Center, and Knoxville College.
Keep Julie Williams' Legacy Alive at UNH: Donations in Julie’s memory may be made to the Faculty Development and Faculty Excellence Fund.
