Dr. Williams attended public schools in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 as a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with honors in history. He earned his law degree at the Columbia University School of Law in New York City, with a certificate of achievement with honors from the Parker Program in Foreign and International law. During the course of his legal profession, he practiced corporate law and served as administrative vice president and counsel for Sea World, Inc.

In 1994, he returned to Chapel Hill to earn his Ph.D. in Health Policy and Administration. He served for one year as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, then accepted a position at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, where he last served as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs. He joined the staff of Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina in July of 2003 as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. 

Since August of 2006, Dr. Williams has served as President of the University of Montevallo. In 2007, he was invited to serve as a member of the Governor’s Advisory Group on China, based upon his extensive work as an instructor to Chinese health care executives in Beijing since 1996.

Dr. Williams is pictured above with his wife Sandra, their son Grant, and their Chihuahua Zorro.