On Jan. 16, a senior faculty employee at Harding accepted an offer to serve as President of Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala. Dr. Mike Williams, vice president for advancement, will succeed Dr. Billy Hilyer as the eighth president of Faulkner on June 1, 2015.
Williams has worked at Harding for 28 years as assistant director of admissions, director of admissions and finally as vice president for advancement, a program that leads efforts to raise funds for scholarships, endowments and charitable giving.
Williams said that he was not on the job market, but was nominated for the presidency by several individuals at Faulkner.
“(Harding) is home,” Williams said. “To say that (this change) somehow represents any kind of dissatisfaction couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Williams said that when he thinks about the influence a Christian university has had on his own life, he is humbled to be entrusted with the opportunity to have a similar influence on others. Williams said that one of the things he remembers George W. Bush saying when he visited Harding in April 2010 was “Nothing really prepared me for the presidency, but I just have to remember who I am.”
“I can say that my experiences here at Harding have prepared me well for this transition,” Williams said.
Vice President Jim Carr said he met Williams 27 years ago and was impressed from the moment they met. After Williams was selected for the presidency, Carr wrote the chairman of the board at Faulkner and said he has always appreciated Williams’ integrity and that he would be remembered as one of the kindest men he had ever met.
“I will miss Mike and the many lengthy conversations we’ve had about higher education over the last two decades, and about Harding — her past, present and future,” Carr said.
Williams said that some of his most cherished memories from his tenure at Harding have come from interactions with students.
“I remember Anya, a young woman from St. Petersburg, Russia,” Williams said. “She was sitting at our kitchen table one day, and she wanted me to teach her how to pray for the first time. I remember Sabrina from Central America, who came to my home Bible study and asked me to baptize her. How can you ever put a price tag on these kinds of experiences?”
Williams said that, if he could leave a message behind for Harding posterity, he would encourage everyone to drink deeply from the wealth of opportunity surrounding each one of us.
“If you’re not careful, you might just walk away from this place and never know what’s really here,” Williams said. “Change is a part of life. It’s exciting and there are more opportunities out there, but it also makes you appreciate what you have.”
