Appointment of Crystal Ann Williams as Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
I am delighted to share with you that we have appointed Crystal Ann Williams to the newly-created position of Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion at Boston University. We will issue a University-wide announcement, accompanied by a BU Today story, to formally publicize this appointment to the entire community in September, when faculty and students have returned for the new academic year.
Crystal brings considerable experience and an accomplished record of leadership in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion over a nearly 15-year period and across two institutions. Since 2013, she has served as Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Professor of English at Bates College, where she is a senior advisor to the President. At Bates, she has developed programs and strategies that resulted in increased diversity among the faculty, staff, and students, while enhancing multicultural engagement across campus. She has garnered significant philanthropic support for this work, including a substantial grant from the Mellon Foundation. As a faculty member at Reed College (2000-2013), Crystal led multiple faculty-driven initiatives to create an infrastructure to support diversity and inclusion – efforts that resulted in her appointment as the inaugural Dean for Institutional Diversity in 2011. At both Bates and Reed, Crystal has demonstrated her ability to work collaboratively and effectively to establish and develop significant offices that promote, support, and advance an institutional culture of inclusion.
In addition to her leadership roles, Crystal is an award-winning poet, the author of four books, and the recipient of several artistic fellowships, grants, and commissions. She is consistently recognized as a thought leader on diversity in the arts and has helped to lead and convene programs at the state and local levels involving arts, civic, and philanthropic leaders. Crystal has also held faculty positions at Columbia College Chicago and DePauw University. She holds a B.A. from New York University and an MFA from Cornell University.
I am thrilled that we have been successful in recruiting Crystal Williams to Boston University. As Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion, Crystal will report directly to me, serve as a member of Provost’s Cabinet and University Council, and will provide vision, leadership, management, and strategic direction for diversity and inclusion initiatives across the Charles River and Medical campuses. Please join President Brown and me in welcoming her to the BU community; she will officially begin her appointment in mid-October.
Crystal’s appointment as Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion follows a competitive national search for the inaugural incumbent. I want to extend my sincere thanks to the members of the search committee and especially Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Julie Sandell, who served as Chair, for their dedication and commitment. We look forward to Crystal’s arrival and to building on our significant institutional momentum toward increasing diversity and enhancing a culture of inclusion at Boston University.
Appointment of Crystal Ann Williams as Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion – 6.29.17