Notices
The 黑料门University Chicago community mourns the death of鈥疶erry Williams, PhD, associate professor emeritus in the School of Education. He is survived by his partner, Patricia Jean Maroder; his son, Ryan; and his family.
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Terry earned his bachelor's degree in education and business administration and mathematics at Illinois State University in 1970. His own higher education plans were interrupted when he was drafted into the armed services. While in the United States Army, his service included a tour of duty in Vietnam as a combat infantry soldier. Immediately following his service, he attended Indiana University Bloomington, earning his master's degree in college student personnel administration in 1974. In 1979, he was awarded his doctorate in higher education at Florida State University. His dissertation received NASPA Dissertation of the Year award in 1980.
After graduation, Terry served as an Assistant Dean of Students at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago before joining the faculty at 黑料门in 1980. Over the next 35 years, he positively impacted the lives of all who studied and worked with him at Loyola. A patient and caring leader, he was beloved within the School of Education, the University, and the field of higher education. He was extremely generous with his time and talent and always willing to help and support students and colleagues. An active member in both the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and American College Personnel Association (ACPA), he was a consistent and valuable presence at conferences and on committees. He served as ACPA President from 1992-1993, a challenging time for the organization. As the nominee for this position, he rose to the occasion and encouraged student affairs professionals to emphasize their campus role as professional educators. His address emphasized the need for the membership to educate and empower students to address key social justice issues facing U.S. society and to consider a call to serve others who are in great need. This message which was delivered fairly early in his career was integral to the foundation of what Terry practiced and taught throughout his career.
The author of numerous publications, Terry鈥痺as an outstanding leader in the field of higher education. Until his retirement in 2015, he was an invaluable member of the School of Education Higher Education faculty for three and a half decades. A highly respected member of the school, Terry taught, advised, and mentored hundreds of students in the field of higher education and international higher education, directing numerous dissertations, and developing curriculum for new courses and programs. In addition to being teaching faculty, Terry served as program director, department chair, and twice as interim dean of the School of Education.
Terry taught courses in Rome, Italy, for twelve summers and provided consultation to University faculty and leaders at Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City for more than five years. Returning to the land where he had served as an Army infantryman decades earlier, this was a meaningful and powerful homecoming. His interests were grounded in a strong desire to learn more about the Vietnamese higher education system, especially the role of faculty in teaching and research. In his educational diplomatic endeavors during this time, he was able to observe classrooms, discuss pedagogical processes and methods with the Vietnamese faculty, and to have conversations with local families to better understand the context.
The following reflection was quoted in a Florida State University interview with Terry about his time in Vietnam: 鈥淭hese class visits reinforced within me my commitment to make my own classes as engaging and meaningful as I possibly can for my students. The visits underscored for me that allowing students the space in which to question the faculty member and to explore alternative perspectives on a topic of interest is very important to advancing learning.鈥� Later in that same interview, Terry reflected on his own guiding philosophy: 鈥淎s an educator grounded in the humanities and the social sciences, I feel strongly that higher education today benefits not only the individual interests of the student but our larger society as well, and that we need to remind ourselves and our students of this. Students need to know that much is expected of them in the years ahead and that they have the power to become important catalysts for positive social change in society and to be strong advocates for justice in our world. If we can engage our students in formational activities that enable them to reflect on their emerging roles in our global community, then I believe higher education will have served one of its most important roles and functions in our society.鈥�
Terry lived out the very lessons he taught so many students during the 35 years we were fortunate to have him in the School of Education. His contributions to the field and to all who had the privilege to know him, to study with him, and to practice with him are beyond measure. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.