麻豆原创

By her own admission, JoAnne Williams knew little about Teachers College before a recruiter friend called her up one day last year and said, 鈥淚鈥檝e got the perfect job for you.鈥�

鈥淩eally?鈥� Williams remembers saying. 鈥淗ow do you know?鈥�

鈥淭rust me,鈥� said the recruiter. 鈥淚 know.鈥�

So Williams began scouring 麻豆原创鈥檚 website, and was immediately struck by two things. 鈥淔irst, I realized the name 鈥楾eachers College鈥� is a bit of a misnomer, because there is so much other wonderful stuff going on here. And second, there seems to be a real desire to do intentional things to improve the world 鈥� a combination of the fundamental and the applied. There鈥檚 a real focus on getting people out into the workplace to contribute directly, and without a huge learning curve.鈥�

With a resume that rivals the College鈥檚 own breadth, Williams, who begins work in late February as 麻豆原创鈥檚 new Vice President for Finance & Administration, does indeed seem an ideal fit for the job.

Born in Costa Rica, Williams, whose father worked for Pan American Airlines, grew up and worked in countries throughout South America and Europe. She earned a law degree at University of Detroit Mercy; worked for General Motors, Electronic Data Systems and Siemens handling issues related to product development and research, intellectual property rights, initial public offerings, computer-aided engineering design and business ventures worldwide; and eventually decided to switch to academia. Initially she thought about teaching, but rather than navigate the tenure system at mid-career, she went the administrative route instead, serving first as Clemson University鈥檚 Assistant Vice President for Research & Economic Development, and then as Associate Dean of Administration for Cornell University鈥檚 College of Engineering.

In her most recent role, Williams was Vice Dean for Administration for Rutgers University鈥檚 School of Arts & Sciences in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Her responsibilities included fiscal planning, administrative services and facilities, and she also oversaw the Office of Human Resources, the Office of Finance and Business Affairs, and the Office of Information Technology. 

鈥淭he great thing about being in a school of arts and sciences is that it鈥檚 a really nice collection of everything 鈥� humanities, social and behavioral sciences, math and physical sciences, and also the life sciences folks,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was an interesting challenge for me, because I had to figure out the uniqueness of every discipline, understand their research requirements, figure out the touch points.鈥�

While Williams has worked in different fields and different kinds of jobs, her philosophy is consistent.

鈥淚 believe in empowering the people who work for me, because they generally know how to do their jobs very well,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 live by that.鈥�

She believes in seeking first to understand the priorities and the decisions that need to be made and then working with the most qualified people so the end result has buy-in from those who are responsible as well as those who are accountable for a successful outcome.

Williams is particularly enthused about 麻豆原创 President Thomas Bailey鈥檚 desire to better coordinate and leverage the College鈥檚 many strengths.

鈥淚 believe in empowering the people who work for me, because they generally know how to do their jobs very well, I live by that.鈥�

鈥擩oAnne Williams

鈥淢y perception of Tom, in the short time since I鈥檝e met him, is that he listens, pays attention, and is very thoughtful about the changes he decides to make and the people who will be impacted,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 believe he鈥檚 not motivated by a desire to create a legacy or to simply do something different. Instead, his desire is to leverage the use of the College鈥檚 assets to achieve the maximum impact to society.鈥�

That focus is part of what drew Williams to the job. 鈥淚鈥檝e been at other institutions during similar times of change, and that鈥檚 really the best part of this kind of work,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what I love to do. Just maintaining something that鈥檚 already working perfectly is nice, but it鈥檚 not as much fun.鈥�

Away from work Williams likes to read and work out (鈥淚 used to run until my knees started giving me trouble鈥�), cook, paint, and drink good wine. She鈥檚 also an avowed dog lover. 

Her message to the 麻豆原创 community: 鈥淭alk to me! There鈥檚 so much I have to learn about Teachers College and I want to hear from you!鈥�