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City Club of Cleveland - Dr. Gregory H. Williams, President, University of Cincinnati
From 2001-2009, Dr. Williams served as president of The City College of New York (CCNY), the flagship college of The City University of New York. He has worked as a university administrator for over 30 years, serving in a variety of posts at The George Washington University, The University of Iowa and The Ohio State University. Prior to becoming CCNY's president, he was Dean of the Law School and Carter C. Kissell Professor of Law at The Ohio State University. Early in his career, Dr. Williams was a Deputy Sheriff, and he later worked as an aide to a U.S. Senator.
At UC, he is the first African American to serve as president. The author of three published books, he is best known for his award-winning and best-selling memoir, Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black. As a result of his autobiography, he has been featured on a number of national programs including "Oprah," "Dateline NBC with Tom Brokaw," "Larry King Live," ABC's "Nightline with Ted Koppel" and "Fresh Air with Terri Gross" of National Public Radio.
In 1995, Life on the Color Line was selected as Book of the Year by The Los Angeles Times. In 1996, the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America named Life on the Color Line an "Outstanding Book on the Subject of Human Rights." It is often required reading for entering students at U.S. colleges and universities. President Williams also has written a number of articles and book reviews for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and other publications.
Currently, Dr. Williams serves on the board of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC), Uptown Consortium, and United Way of Greater Cincinnati. He is also a member of the Cincinnati Business Committee, the Strive Executive Committee and the CincyTech Executive Committee. He is the former Chair of the Commission on Access, Diversity and Excellence (CADE) of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU, formerly the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges), and he is a past president of the Association of American Law Schools.
During his tenure at CCNY, Dr. Williams' leadership brought the college increased national recognition. Enrollment increased by nearly 50% - including an increase in new freshmen, under new, more rigorous admissions standards, with the largest incoming honors class in the college's history. According to US News and World Report, City College is the most diverse college campus in the nation, where Hispanics are the largest group. As a result of his leadership, the State of New York has begun to invest close to $1 billion dollars in new science facilities and a new home for the CCNY School of Architecture. Dr. Williams also led CCNY's first capital campaign in history, which has raised over $330,000,000.
Dr. Williams has received numerous awards. Among them are the "Governor's Tribute to African-American Leaders of Excellence in State Service" (2004) from New York Governor George Pataki for his significant contributions to the people of the state, the Austrian Cross of Honor in Science and Art, First Class (2006), and the "Dean of the Year" award given by the National Association of Public Interest Law (1999). He also was the first recipient of the National Bar Association's A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Preservation of Human and Civil Rights (1999).
President Bill Clinton invited Dr. Williams to the White House in 1998 as part of his "Call to Action" to promote pro bono work and diversity in the legal profession.
President Williams has earned five degrees, including a JD and PhD from George Washington University,
September 9, 2011