Provost William Williams retired on Feb. 8 after 10 years in academic affairs.
Williams started his position on Jan. 2, 2003.
He said that his life in the past 10 years has been structured around this institution and that he needs time off. He will be taking a two to three-month break after retirement.
“I think my wife has ideas for what I should do during that time,” Williams laughed. “She has ideas about cleaning the house, cooking meals and doing laundry.”
During this week’s work overlap, he trained the new Provost Dr. Philip Way. William is assisting Way about getting started and learning about areas such as the sabbatical program, resource allocation and program development.
“Although they are similar, each institution has its own way of doing things,” Williams said.
Williams believes Way will be a real asset to SRU.
“I like him,” Williams said. “He has a wealth of experience in the academic environment. He is very qualified.”
President Norton is pleased with the decision-making.
“I couldn’t be more pleased that SRU has hired an educational leader with the talent of Dr. Way,” Norton said. “I think his hire speaks volumes about the quality of our institution as well as the quality of the candidate.”
Way was announced provost on Dec. 14, 2012 just before students left for Winter Break.
“The dominant emotion is excitement,” Way said. “I’m not only excited about being provost in general but the national reputation of the institution.”
Way found a strength in SRU that lead him to apply for the position.
“SRU faculty does a good job of sharing what it is going on,” Way said. “That’s what drew me in.”
Reaching for 2025 and Beyond is SRU’s strategic planning and assessment for emphasizing on students’ educational needs for the future.
“During my 10 years here, my goal is to meet Reaching for 2025 and Beyond,” Way said. “My goal is to get the university to where it wants to be.”
Way was an associate provost at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and earned his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Selwyn College, Cambridge University.
At UAB, Way focused on its core curriculum and the quality enhancement plan, academic programs and policy, all aspects of the student academic engagement plan and the strategic enrollment management plan, including retention initiatives and student success strategies.
