Peggy R. Williams

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.

After taking the helm, President Williams 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, the College began or continued initiatives in several areas. The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar Program and the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity furthered the College's commitment to diversity and to interdisciplinary education. The campus master plan provided a road map for major facilities and land use for the next two decades. The academic profile of the student body was strengthened, and the Center for Faculty Research and Development encouraged faculty to pursue innovative teaching and research projects. In addition, President Williams's strong interest in community service, evinced by the establishment of a full-time coordinator of community service and such annual programs as the Celebration of Service and Community Plunge, resulted in an increase in campus volunteerism.

Williams came to Ithaca from Lyndon State College, where she served as 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.  In 2006 Ithaca College established the Peggy R. Williams Award for Academic and Community Leadership in recognition of students who demonstrate excellent academic accomplishments and an exemplary level of service to both the College and the Ithaca community.

Active in community and professional organizations, President Williams served on the board of trustees of St. Michael's College in Burlington, Vermont. She currently serves on the NCAA Division III Presidents Council and on the boards of directors of the Canada-U.S. Foundation for Educational Exchange (which administers the Fulbright Program) and the Tompkins Trust Company. She is also a member of the ACE Commission on Women.

Williams holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from St. Michael's College of the University of Toronto; a master of education degree from the University of Vermont; and a doctorate in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University.

A native of Montreal, Williams has lived in the United States since 1968 and is a citizen of both the United States and Canada. She has many interests beyond higher education -- sailing, skiing, bicycling, wilderness expeditions, music, reading, and photography.