Peggy R. Williams assumed the presidency of Ithaca College on July 1, 1997. She is the College's seventh president and its first female president.

Since taking the helm, President Williams has led a collaborative effort to pursue the vision of making Ithaca "the standard of excellence for residential comprehensive colleges." To that end, she launched a campus-wide strategic planning process that culminated in a blueprint for achieving the College's essential priorities and goals. Since the adoption of the Institutional Plan in 2001, progress has been made in a number of areas. For example, initiatives such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar Program and the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity further the College's commitment to diversity and to interdisciplinary education. The Campus Master Plan provides a road map for major facilities and land use for the next two decades. The academic profile of the student body has been strengthened, and the Center for Faculty Research and Development encourages faculty to pursue innovative teaching and research projects. In addition, President Williams's strong interest in community service, evinced by the establishment of such annual programs as the Celebration of Service and Community Plunge, has resulted in an increase in campus volunteerism.

Williams came to Ithaca from Lyndon State College, where she had been president since 1989. She had previously worked at Trinity College in Burlington, Vermont, as associate academic dean, chair of the business and economics department, and associate professor. She also held various positions within the Vermont State Colleges system. Before entering the field of higher education, Williams was a social worker for the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont and the Monroe County Department of Social Services in New York.

In 1990 the publisher of Creating Excellence magazine named Williams one of Vermont's "top 10 achievers." She was the first recipient of the Jackie M. Gribbons Leadership Award in 1984 from the American Council on Education (ACE). The organization also established an honor in her name -- the Margaret R. Williams Emerging Professional Award -- to recognize the accomplishments of young female professionals in higher education.

Active in community and professional organizations, President Williams currently serves on the NCAA Division III Presidents Council, the boards of directors of the Canada-U.S. Foundation for Educational Exchange, the Academic Search Consultation Service, the Council of Independent Colleges, and the Tompkins Trust Company. She is also a member of the ACE Commission on Women and an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Ithaca. She previously served on the ACE board of directors and its executive and nominating committees, the board of directors of the Sacred Heart School of Montreal (past chair), and the Policy Advisory Group for Outcomes and Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness for the New York State Education Department.