A new era of Affirmative Action at UW-Madison
The business of equity
The business of equity
While Williams takes a business approach to the cause of affirmative action in higher education, it is his passion for equity and diversity that has driven him
since his youth. Williams was born and raised in an inner-city neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio. His mother worked at a university although she didn’t have a
degree.
And it’s perhaps her observations about people that made him aware of the barriers that keep people in their place. “She used to always talk about the
uppity professors or the uppity administration that didn’t speak,” Williams recalled. “And the ones that did speak and the ones who did treat her with a level of
respect and collegiality were the people who always stood out. ‘Dr. So and So, he’s good people.’ Now her son is in the Chronicle of Higher Education and I’m
writing all of these articles and everyone knows me. She’s sending them all of this stuff. She says ‘No matter how big you get, no matter what you do, you always
remember these things.’”
As their neighborhood began to deteriorate with a profusion of crack houses, Williams’ parents sent him off to the high school boarding school, Western
Reserve, the same high school his father had attended making Williams the first second-generation African American to attend the school. It was a challenge
for Williams because he was only one of eight African Americans enrolled at the school. “It was a difficult experience, particularly early on going from such a
different kind of environmental context,” Williams said. “What it did was it began to make me hyperaware of my environment and questions of identity and
boundary spanning and who fits in and who doesn’t and why and questions of power and privilege. I remember my senior year, I wrote my thesis on Malcolm X
and the Black Muslims. Like many folks before me, that was a watershed moment in my young life. It really sparked in me a real deep passion and interest.”
From there, Williams went on to the Miami University of Ohio where he received his undergraduate degree and a Master’s degree in college personnel services
and leadership development. And it was during this period of his life that Williams met a cohort of similarly motivated African American men whose friendships
sustain him to this day.
“We still stay connected and I was talking to one of them yesterday and he was actually a first-year Master’s degree student,” Williams said. “He was 23 years
old at the time. I’ll never forget. He was telling me about his career focus was. He wanted to be president of a HBCU. He’s now four years into his presidency at
Philander-Smith College in Arkansas. He was a president at 37 years old. He was the youngest president at the time. He told me what he wanted to do and he
became a model for me. There was another young man who is now department chair for history at Bowie State University. All in all, there were about 10 of us
that got our Ph.D.s who were in that cohort, which is a statistically anomalous occurrence, 10 Black men out of about 200 including the football team, the
basketball team and the track team. If you take them out, you’re talking about some pretty small numbers in a given time period who came in together and are
doing wonderful things.”
While he was finishing his Master’s degree, Williams had another seminal moment in his life. While he had a personal commitment to diversity and equity,
Williams was not sure which approach would be the most effective for him. “Tupac Shakur talks about thug life hitting him like the Holy Ghost,” Williams said.
“One of the things I talk about is how organizational dynamics hit me like the Holy Ghost.”
Williams went on to the University of Michigan to get his Ph.D. and that is when he started to put it all together. “It was then that I first started trying to
combine these ideas of ‘Hmmm, this very powerful lens of analysis, which comes from the social sciences around power, privilege and inclusion, always left me
dissatisfied about how to get something done,’” Williams said. “’Those lenses were incredibly illuming for helping me understand the issues. But they were
leaving me wanting more when it came to ‘How do I get something done?’ outside of go lead a protest, go take over a building. I did all of those things as an
undergrad. It was going forward where I became deeply steeped in organizational behavior, change management and strategic planning.”
Williams’ career took off on a meteoric rise as he combined his passion with an understanding of how systems work in order to effect change from within
institutions of higher education. “I have been tremendously blessed to come into opportunities very early in my career chronologically,” Williams said. “I was
probably the youngest student ever accepted in my doctoral program. I was 21 years old. And in my program, the average student is probably closer to 30 years
old. I was running a $250,000 program and research budget before I was 25 years old. I was an assistant vice provost before I was 30 years old at a major
research university. Here I am now in my mid-30s and I am in this current role. The only reason I have been able to be successful in these ways is by really
leveraging the experiences of people around me.”
One of the biggest influences on Williams was Ron Taylor, the vice provost at the University of Connecticut for whom Williams worked for six years, who
taught him to stick with his values. “He said ‘Damon, you always play it straight,” Williams recalled. “You play it straight with people. You lead with integrity. You
treat people right. When they come to see you and talk about issues, you don’t overpromise. You do what you said you were going to do.’”
Williams is in the midst of writing a book called “The Chief Diversity Officers: Strategy, Structure and Change Management” that reflects his ability to learn
from other people as he devises his strategy to reach his goals. “In my scholarly life, I’m considered one of the persons involved in a national conversation about
this work in higher education,” Williams said. “One of the things I talk about in the chapter when I talk about developing your strategic plan as a new chief
diversity officer is that in year one, the theme is learning and relationship building. Coming into this role, in playing the role, I think that is one of the things that
is a value-added that I bring to the table. I’m the only person in the country who has done 200 hours of interviews with my counterparts. I’m the only person in
the country that has 1,000 surveys from institutions all across the country talking about what their budgets are, what initiatives they have in place and what their
challenges are. I think that gives ne an advantage because I do bring the wisdom of all those hours of interviews and conversations with people who are much
more experienced than I am traditionally.”
And so, while Williams is committed to action, he knows he must listen before he can act effectively. “I really listen,” Williams emphasized. “I try to grow
from others. I try to take their wisdom and knowledge and skills and make it a part of mine. I’m very collaborative. I like to ask questions. Already, I’ve been
engaging in a series of meetings with my colleagues who understand this place intimately. ‘Hey what do you think about this? What do you think about that?
This is how I’m thinking about approaching this.’ ‘No I wouldn’t do that. I would do this.’ I’m really trying to leverage the wisdom of those around me. I have this
thing that I talk about when I talk to students, in particular, when I lecture about leadership. Study, relationships, experiences and observations. If we think about
that as four points on a diamond and the center of that is whatever you are focused on. For me, it is issues of diversity, inclusion and organizational change.
That’s what sits in the center of that, not just diversity, not just organizational change. It’s the synergy of those ideas. That is what my practice is built upon,
whether it is as a scholar, an administrator or as a leader engaging this work nationally, regionally or in my lectures. It’s that focus on diversity, inclusion and
change, which for me is not a fall back position, is not the secondary thing, is not the tertiary thing, it’s the first thing I’ve wanted to do since I was probably 17
years old.”
And so, Williams hasn’t had time to unpack and get his office ready. He’s been too busy listening and getting ready to become fully immersed into the
business of diversity.
Next issue: the business of diversity
since his youth. Williams was born and raised in an inner-city neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio. His mother worked at a university although she didn’t have a
degree.
And it’s perhaps her observations about people that made him aware of the barriers that keep people in their place. “She used to always talk about the
uppity professors or the uppity administration that didn’t speak,” Williams recalled. “And the ones that did speak and the ones who did treat her with a level of
respect and collegiality were the people who always stood out. ‘Dr. So and So, he’s good people.’ Now her son is in the Chronicle of Higher Education and I’m
writing all of these articles and everyone knows me. She’s sending them all of this stuff. She says ‘No matter how big you get, no matter what you do, you always
remember these things.’”
As their neighborhood began to deteriorate with a profusion of crack houses, Williams’ parents sent him off to the high school boarding school, Western
Reserve, the same high school his father had attended making Williams the first second-generation African American to attend the school. It was a challenge
for Williams because he was only one of eight African Americans enrolled at the school. “It was a difficult experience, particularly early on going from such a
different kind of environmental context,” Williams said. “What it did was it began to make me hyperaware of my environment and questions of identity and
boundary spanning and who fits in and who doesn’t and why and questions of power and privilege. I remember my senior year, I wrote my thesis on Malcolm X
and the Black Muslims. Like many folks before me, that was a watershed moment in my young life. It really sparked in me a real deep passion and interest.”
From there, Williams went on to the Miami University of Ohio where he received his undergraduate degree and a Master’s degree in college personnel services
and leadership development. And it was during this period of his life that Williams met a cohort of similarly motivated African American men whose friendships
sustain him to this day.
“We still stay connected and I was talking to one of them yesterday and he was actually a first-year Master’s degree student,” Williams said. “He was 23 years
old at the time. I’ll never forget. He was telling me about his career focus was. He wanted to be president of a HBCU. He’s now four years into his presidency at
Philander-Smith College in Arkansas. He was a president at 37 years old. He was the youngest president at the time. He told me what he wanted to do and he
became a model for me. There was another young man who is now department chair for history at Bowie State University. All in all, there were about 10 of us
that got our Ph.D.s who were in that cohort, which is a statistically anomalous occurrence, 10 Black men out of about 200 including the football team, the
basketball team and the track team. If you take them out, you’re talking about some pretty small numbers in a given time period who came in together and are
doing wonderful things.”
While he was finishing his Master’s degree, Williams had another seminal moment in his life. While he had a personal commitment to diversity and equity,
Williams was not sure which approach would be the most effective for him. “Tupac Shakur talks about thug life hitting him like the Holy Ghost,” Williams said.
“One of the things I talk about is how organizational dynamics hit me like the Holy Ghost.”
Williams went on to the University of Michigan to get his Ph.D. and that is when he started to put it all together. “It was then that I first started trying to
combine these ideas of ‘Hmmm, this very powerful lens of analysis, which comes from the social sciences around power, privilege and inclusion, always left me
dissatisfied about how to get something done,’” Williams said. “’Those lenses were incredibly illuming for helping me understand the issues. But they were
leaving me wanting more when it came to ‘How do I get something done?’ outside of go lead a protest, go take over a building. I did all of those things as an
undergrad. It was going forward where I became deeply steeped in organizational behavior, change management and strategic planning.”
Williams’ career took off on a meteoric rise as he combined his passion with an understanding of how systems work in order to effect change from within
institutions of higher education. “I have been tremendously blessed to come into opportunities very early in my career chronologically,” Williams said. “I was
probably the youngest student ever accepted in my doctoral program. I was 21 years old. And in my program, the average student is probably closer to 30 years
old. I was running a $250,000 program and research budget before I was 25 years old. I was an assistant vice provost before I was 30 years old at a major
research university. Here I am now in my mid-30s and I am in this current role. The only reason I have been able to be successful in these ways is by really
leveraging the experiences of people around me.”
One of the biggest influences on Williams was Ron Taylor, the vice provost at the University of Connecticut for whom Williams worked for six years, who
taught him to stick with his values. “He said ‘Damon, you always play it straight,” Williams recalled. “You play it straight with people. You lead with integrity. You
treat people right. When they come to see you and talk about issues, you don’t overpromise. You do what you said you were going to do.’”
Williams is in the midst of writing a book called “The Chief Diversity Officers: Strategy, Structure and Change Management” that reflects his ability to learn
from other people as he devises his strategy to reach his goals. “In my scholarly life, I’m considered one of the persons involved in a national conversation about
this work in higher education,” Williams said. “One of the things I talk about in the chapter when I talk about developing your strategic plan as a new chief
diversity officer is that in year one, the theme is learning and relationship building. Coming into this role, in playing the role, I think that is one of the things that
is a value-added that I bring to the table. I’m the only person in the country who has done 200 hours of interviews with my counterparts. I’m the only person in
the country that has 1,000 surveys from institutions all across the country talking about what their budgets are, what initiatives they have in place and what their
challenges are. I think that gives ne an advantage because I do bring the wisdom of all those hours of interviews and conversations with people who are much
more experienced than I am traditionally.”
And so, while Williams is committed to action, he knows he must listen before he can act effectively. “I really listen,” Williams emphasized. “I try to grow
from others. I try to take their wisdom and knowledge and skills and make it a part of mine. I’m very collaborative. I like to ask questions. Already, I’ve been
engaging in a series of meetings with my colleagues who understand this place intimately. ‘Hey what do you think about this? What do you think about that?
This is how I’m thinking about approaching this.’ ‘No I wouldn’t do that. I would do this.’ I’m really trying to leverage the wisdom of those around me. I have this
thing that I talk about when I talk to students, in particular, when I lecture about leadership. Study, relationships, experiences and observations. If we think about
that as four points on a diamond and the center of that is whatever you are focused on. For me, it is issues of diversity, inclusion and organizational change.
That’s what sits in the center of that, not just diversity, not just organizational change. It’s the synergy of those ideas. That is what my practice is built upon,
whether it is as a scholar, an administrator or as a leader engaging this work nationally, regionally or in my lectures. It’s that focus on diversity, inclusion and
change, which for me is not a fall back position, is not the secondary thing, is not the tertiary thing, it’s the first thing I’ve wanted to do since I was probably 17
years old.”
And so, Williams hasn’t had time to unpack and get his office ready. He’s been too busy listening and getting ready to become fully immersed into the
business of diversity.
Next issue: the business of diversity
| Dr. Damon Williams assumed his duties as vice provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison beginning August 1. |
Part 1 of 2
By Jonathan Gramling
When we meet in his office in Bascom Hall, Dr. Damon Williams, the new vice provost for diversity and climate at UW-
Madison, comes across as a personable and yet serious business administrator. While he started his position nearly two weeks
before, nothing hangs on the walls of his office. He’s been busy.
Williams has already been meeting with dozens of people on and off campus and has been busy planning retreats and
roundtables with many different constituency groups on campus in preparation for his debut, in a way, at the Plan 2008 Diversity
Forum on September 23. That’s when he will give a 25 minute presentation and roll out his strategic transition document that
will outline his agenda for the next year.
By Jonathan Gramling
When we meet in his office in Bascom Hall, Dr. Damon Williams, the new vice provost for diversity and climate at UW-
Madison, comes across as a personable and yet serious business administrator. While he started his position nearly two weeks
before, nothing hangs on the walls of his office. He’s been busy.
Williams has already been meeting with dozens of people on and off campus and has been busy planning retreats and
roundtables with many different constituency groups on campus in preparation for his debut, in a way, at the Plan 2008 Diversity
Forum on September 23. That’s when he will give a 25 minute presentation and roll out his strategic transition document that
will outline his agenda for the next year.