William Taylor Burwell Williams (July 3, 1869 – March 26, 1941) was Dean of the College Department at

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

and two-time president of the

National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools The American Teachers Association (1937-1966), formerly National Colored Teachers Association (1906–1907) and National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools (1907–1937), was a professional association and teachers' union representing tea ...

(later renamed the

American Teachers Association The American Teachers Association (1937-1966), formerly National Colored Teachers Association (1906–1907) and National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools (1907–1937), was a professional association and teachers' union representing tea ...

, it merged with the NEA in 1966). He was a member of U.S. Commissions on Education in Haiti and the Virgin Islands, and a member of the U.S. War Department Committee on Education and Special Training. Williams worked as a field agent of the

Slater A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesman, tradesperson who covers buildings with slate. Tools of the trade The various hand tool, tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged. The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucib ...

and Jeanes Funds and the

General Education Board The General Education Board was a private organization which was used primarily to support higher education and medical schools in the United States, and to help rural white and black schools in the South, as well as modernize farming practices i ...

. He taught at

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

and was a member of the editorial staff of its journal '' Southern Workman.'' In 1934, he was the recipient of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

Spingarn Medal The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for an outstanding achievement by an African American. The award was created in 1914 by Joel Elias Spingarn Joel Elias Spingarn (May ...

. Williams was born on a farm near

Stone Bridge, Virginia Stone Bridge is an unincorporated community in southern Clarke County, Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast ...

. He graduated from

in 1888,

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

in 1893 and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1897. He received an LL. D. from

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

in 1923.

References

Spingarn Medal winners Harvard University alumni Phillips Academy alumni Tuskegee University faculty Hampton University faculty Educators from Virginia 1869 births 1941 deaths {{US-academic-administrator-1860s-stub