The Queen’s community is remembering Principal Emeritus Thomas R. Williams, who served as the university's Principal and Vice-Chancellor from May, 2008 to August, 2009 and also as Dean of the Faculty of Education for two terms. He passed away in Kingston on Jan. 3 at the age of 85.

“Tom left behind an inspiring legacy during his more than 30 years of service at Queen’s,” says Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane. “He came out of retirement to serve as principal and provided the institution with steady leadership during his time in office. Tom was especially committed to supporting Queen’s students and ensuring that the university was a place for them to achieve their goals for their education. He will be deeply missed by our community.”

Dr. Williams began his post-secondary education at McGill University where he graduated in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He stayed on at McGill to complete two degrees in education before working at the University of Chicago. He earned his doctorate in education administration from the University of Michigan before working with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Williams arrived at Queen's in 1977, taking up the position of Dean of the Faculty of Education, a role he held until 1986. He also served as a professor in the Faculty of Education and in the School of Policy Studies. He served as Vice-Principal of Operations and as Vice-Principal of Institutional Relations under the leadership of Principal David Chadwick Smith (1984-1994).

During his term as Principal, Dr. Williams played an important role in securing funding for a new medical school building and the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.

In October 2009, he received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Queen's.

Dr. Williams was also a donor to Queen’s and established the Tom Williams Award in Policy Studies, which provides financial assistance to students in the Master of Public Administration Program. The family encourages people to donate to this fund in lieu of sending flowers.

The flags on campus will be lowered in honour of Dr. Williams the weekend of Jan. 25.

Read the family obituary for Dr. Williams online.