Gift to Baylor Establishes Arts & Sciences Chair

Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-709-5959
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Baylor University today announced a gift from alumnus John T. Williams, B.B.A. ’67, of Baltimore, Maryland, establishing The Virginia and Tom Williams Endowed Chair in American Literature within the Department of English in the College of Arts & Sciences. The gift was made in memory of Williams’ parents, Virginia, B.A. ’31, and Tom Williams, B.A. ’31, and will support a faculty member teaching American literature, an important course in Baylor’s core curriculum.

“Baylor University is truly grateful for John Williams’ generous gift, which honors his family’s Baylor history while helping to support generations of future Baylor alumni and the faculty who will mentor, instruct and inspire them,” said Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. “Baylor University has a commitment to teaching a liberal arts education that prepares students for a lifetime of continuing to learn, grow and develop, so that they may be not just exceptional students, but well-rounded human beings. We are grateful for alumni like John who value this commitment, and who give to support these efforts in transformational ways.”

Stewardship and connection were the primary motivations behind Williams’ decision to establish The Williams Chair. As Williams considered how to allocate his estate, he was guided by a desire to make a meaningful impact and ensure his gift would be managed responsibly over the long term. In weighing these priorities, his family’s deep connection to Baylor played a significant role in his decision.

“As a steward of what I have been fortunate enough to accumulate, there is an obligation to use the money in a way that has a positive impact on my fellow man,” Williams said. “College ought to do a good job of giving you both the why's and the how’s of life. My first years at Baylor were mainly a liberal arts education, which helped give me the ‘why.’ Then I was in the Hankamer School of Business where I did my accounting degree, and it did an excellent job of the ‘how.’ An underappreciated aspect of education is the traditional liberal arts education that I got in those first years. My parents graduated from Baylor. My brother graduated from Baylor. My sister-in-law graduated from Baylor. I thought that the education and the culture at Baylor were excellent in preparing a person not only for a career but also for life.”

The Williams Chair will provide a permanent faculty position dedicated to American literature within the Department of English. The funding from the endowment will support a gifted scholar, teacher and mentor who will enhance the department’s course offerings related to American literature.

"The Baylor University English Department is immensely grateful for this transformational gift,” said Michael-John DePalma, Ph.D., department chair and professor of English. “The Virginia and Tom Williams Endowed Chair in American Literature has made it possible to support the outstanding research, pedagogical excellence and visionary leadership of a preeminent scholar-teacher who will benefit countless generations. I am very eager to see the ways that the world-class faculty member who holds The Williams Endowed Chair will enrich the lives of Baylor students, contribute innovative research to the field and impact the world for good through their mentoring, scholarship and public engagement." 

A family legacy, connections to Baylor’s history

John Williams’ earliest memories include Baylor. His maternal grandparents lived one block from Baylor’s campus. His grandmother, Ethel Potter, was the choir director at Seventh & James Baptist Church. Seasons were marked by Homecoming, football, visiting the bears with his grandfather, Henry, and other traditions.

Williams’ parents, Virginia and Tom, experienced one of the most iconic moments in Baylor’s history when President Samuel Palmer Brooks’ final message to the graduating class of 1931 – their graduating class – was read just days after his death on May 14, 1931. Known as the Immortal Message, the letter exhorted seniors to continue their connection to Baylor beyond graduation:

“Because of what Baylor has meant to you in the past, because of what she will mean to you in the future, oh, my students, have a care for her. Build upon the foundations here the great school of which I have dreamed, so that she may touch and mold the lives of future generations and help to fit them for life here and hereafter. To you seniors of the past, of the present, of the future I entrust the care of Baylor University. To you I hand the torch.”  – Baylor University President Samuel Palmer Brooks

Growing up, Williams said his mother kept a framed copy of President Brooks’ letter. While a Baylor student himself, he walked by a plaque with the same words on his way to chapel in Waco Hall. 

This was not the only time Baylor’s history merged with his family’s story. Williams’ father, Tom, who played on the Men’s Basketball team, had to take a break in his studies to earn money for tuition. During the year he was away, the team experienced its greatest tragedy. On Jan. 22, 1927, 10 Baylor Basketball players tragically lost their lives when a train collided with their bus while on their way to Austin to play the Texas Longhorns. Known as the Immortal Ten, many of whom were Tom’s friends, the loss, sacrifice and shock shaped Baylor’s history.

In naming the gift, Williams included his brother David, B.B.A. ’62, as a tribute to their parents’ memory. Williams said his parents would be proud of the chair that will now bear their names as generations of faculty prepare Baylor students who will extend That Good Old Baylor Line. 

“I have always thought you ought to name something after people who were important to you or influential in your life,” Williams said. “My parents were both of those things, and Baylor was really important and influential in their lives. I think they would be thrilled.”

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

 The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and 24 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 12 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website.