Damon Williams, a national expert in diversity leadership and organizational change, will offer his insight in how successful institutions and organizations embrace and implement effective inclusion and diversity strategies amid changing demographics and a society and world that are growing increasingly diverse.
Williams, a former associate vice chancellor, vice provost and chief diversity officer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will provide his perspective as the fall Power of Diversity speaker Oct. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at Case Western Reserve University’s Tinkham Veale University Center. The event, presented by the university’s Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, is free and open to the public.
During this lecture, titled “From Awareness, to Action, to Innovation: Empowering Leaders Through Inclusive Excellence,” Williams is expected to urge businesses, organizations and institutions to create real and meaningful change by using more evidenced-based diversity, equity and inclusion strategies.
“We are fortunate to have a diversity professional of Dr. Williams’ caliber as our guest speaker for this fall’s Power of Diversity series,” said Marilyn Mobley, the university’s vice president for inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity. “He’s not only a well-informed engaging speaker, but he brings a perspective that is inspired both from his own experience as a thought leader in higher education and from his work as a consultant with campuses from around the country. He genuinely cares about this work and will address the concerns of all our constituencies and stakeholders in a compelling way.”
Through his work and lectures, Williams strives to empower campus leaders, executives, faculty and students to work toward culture change within their organizations and to develop the skills and strategies needed to increase the impact they have on their organizations around issues of inclusion and diversity.
Williams is a global thought leader, having worked with more than 1,000 colleges and universities, Fortune 100 companies, foundations and government agencies, as keynote speaker, strategist, educator and social-impact leader.
A former senior vice president for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Williams received his PhD from the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Higher and Post-Secondary Education, where he specialized in organizational behavior and management. He received both his master’s degree in educational leadership and his bachelor’s degree in sociology and black world studies from Miami University.
As associate vice chancellor, vice provost and chief diversity officer, he founded the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Educational Achievement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and served as a senior leader building the Division of Multicultural and International Affairs at the University of Connecticut, respectively.
As scholar in residence for the American Council of Education Fellows program and the American Association of Colleges and Universities Greater Expectations Institute, he launched his work nationally, helping hundreds of colleges and universities to transform their efforts in liberal education, STEM completion, improving student graduation rates, campus climate and inclusion, leadership development, faculty diversity and curriculum reform.
This article was originally published Sept. 27, 2018.