When I think of Carolyn Williams, three words come to mind: commitment, caring, and grace. Her commitment was ever evident — to her family, to her wide community and to Bronx Community College.

Carolyn hired me from the faculty as the first Legal Counsel to BCC. I was not aware what the duties of the position entailed, but she trusted that with my commitment I would figure it out. She instilled in me that sense of commitment and also of caring — for the institution, for my colleagues across campus and for the team she built to move forward the work of educating students. That spirit of teamwork and caring for each other while carrying out our commitment to the institution is something that has enriched both my work and personal life.

In Carolyn’s world there was no “us versus them.” There was only “we” and together we could and did accomplish many things. There was no opinion or idea rejected out of hand and Carolyn met them with insightful questions and an offer to help with any task.  But the most important lesson I learned from Carolyn was to “give people their grace.”

As Counsel, I was privy to misdeeds and misadventures at the College. Carolyn never focused on someone’s last wrong act, but always on the person. In that, she led with and lived her grace.

Thank you, Carolyn, for more than I can adequately express.