REMEMBERING DR. CAROLYN G. WILLIAMS: Dr. Neal Phillip, Chairperson, Department of Chemistry, Earth Sciences and Environmental Sciences
I wish to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the late BCC President, Dr. Carolyn Williams.
Dr. Williams was an excellent President and more important a very warm and caring soul. When you met her, she made you feel like you had known her for a long time and not in a superficial way. She hired 37% of the current faculty/staff in our department, myself included, and we all share the same sentiments about her. She was also a forward thinker and championed global education before it became fashionable in academia.
She was a big proponent of sustainability with the BCC Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE) being formed under her leadership. This Center was the first of its kind in CUNY and paved the way for the prominence of sustainability in CUNY. The current head of the CUNY Sustainability Office, Tria Case, started off as director of the CSE.
President Williams also provided the funding for the BCC weather station. I recall hearing the story of how she excitedly called up former VP Mary Coleman to buy her several copies of the New York Daily News in January 2004 when I and our students were featured in a story about the BCC weather station.
President Williams was a champion and she will surely be missed on this Earth for all the good deeds that she has so capably performed and all the positive footprints she has left at BCC, CUNY and on Earth.