Herma B. Williams, Ph.D., provost and academic vice president, will give the address. The title of her talk is "Acting Boldly: Honor Requires Responsibility."
Williams joined FPU August 1, 2006, after serving as associate provost at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. She has been a Fulbright Scholar and a fellow at the Kellogg Foundation and Ford Foundation. Williams has been a faculty member or administrator at George Mason University, Ithaca College, Byrn Mawr College and Morgan State College. She earned her bachelors and masters from Southern Illinois University and her Ph.D. from Iowa State University. Williams also completed post-doctoral studies at Harvard University. She is married to Eric Williams, Ph.D., a professor of education at Howard University. They have two grown children: son Eric, Jr., graduated from Bowdoin College and Columbia University and daughter Dana is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard University.