By Ken Campbell
Collegian Staff
Deputy Chancellor Marcellette Williams will succeed Chancellor David Scott when Scott steps down on the first of July. The Board of Trustees approved Williams unamiously yesterday morning.
P
resident William Bulger announced the appointment of Williams as interim Chancellor on Monday, ending months of speculation.
‘
I have had the good fortune of working with Dr. Williams for the past five years and have been deeply impressed with her commitment, dedication and judgment,’ Bulger said. ‘I am certain that she will perform with great distinction.’
Deputy Chancellor Williams is quite pleased with the appointment.
‘We have an excellent faculty and staff and an exceptional student body,’ Williams said. ‘I have
always been impressed with the heart of the people here- faculty st
aff and students. I look forward to working with the University’s many constituencies after July 1 in my new role.’
Williams will make a fine replacement, according to Chancellor Scott.
‘I can think of no other person who better exemplifies the type of leader academe needs today
than Marcellette Williams,’ Scott said.
Student Trustee Seth Av
akian shares Scott’s sentiments.
‘I told Chair Grace Fey that if I ha
d been given the option of choosing the intexemplifies the type of leader academe needs today than Marcellette Williams,’ Scott said.
Student Trustee Seth Avakian shares Scott’s sentiments.
‘I told Chair of the Board of Trustees Grace Fey that if I had been given the option of choosing the interim Chancellor myself, I would have picked Marcie [Dr. Williams],’ Avakian said. ‘I have every confidence in Dr. Williams.’
Williams has been Deputy Chancellor of the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts since 1994, and is a tenured professor of English and Comparative Literature. Williams graduated from Michigan State University in 1968. Her postgraduate and doctorate work at MSU led up to a teaching post there in 1981, at various points chairing the English Department. Williams was the associate chairperson for Undergraduate programs for the Department of English from 1986-1990. In the 1990s, Williams held a variety of administrative posts at MSU, and finished her Spartan career as the Executive Assistant to the President and Secretary of the Board of Trustees.
Williams first met Scott while Scott was a physics professor at MSU. Williams ran into Scott again at honor society function.
‘When I talked him there, he was the provost at Michigan,’ Williams told the Collegian in 1994.
Current MSU provost LouAnna Simon was very happy to hear the news about Williams.
‘I was the associate provost when she [Williams] was here. She is an extraordinarily gifted administrator, and a very caring person,’ said Simon. ‘We’ve been very pleased that she has remained connected to Michigan State.’
UMass recruited Williams and her husband, Keith Williams, a professor of French and administrator at MSU, in 1994. Keith Williams then became Associate Vice Chancellor for University Advancement.
In 1994, the Williamses accepted $7,500 apiece in consulting fees from the University of Massachusetts, while still being employed by Michigan State. Chancellor Scott accepted the blame for the mix up.
‘I did actually forget at the time, due to some serious illness in my family and other distractions,’ Scott told the Daily Hampshire Gazette in 1994. ‘It was mentioned once or twice, and I guess I procrastinated because of the issue of the time merging into their actually being employed full-time.’
The couple returned the $15,000 in July of 1994. In a released statement, the couple expressed their willingness to move on and work hard.
‘We are eager to fulfill our commitment of working for the continued growth of this fine institution. We hope that with the rescission of the consulting contracts we can continue to focus on our jobs.’
