The leadership structure of the college includes four faculty members as senior officers, complemented by a number of permanent administrators.
Reporting to the Board as the senior executive officer of the College is the President, who is also a member and the presiding officer of the faculty of the College. Reporting directly to the President are the Dean of the Faculty; the Provost; the Dean of the College; the Vice President for Finance & Operations and Treasurer; the Vice President for College Relations; the Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; the Chief Investment Officer; the Chief Communications Officer; the Special Assistant to the President, Director of Community Relations and Secretary to the Board of Trustees; the General Counsel; and the Special Advisor to the President for Executive Communications and Media Relations. The President is an ex officio member of the Committee on Appointments and Promotions and the Committee on Educational Affairs.
In addition, three faculty members are appointed to specified terms (usually three years, sometimes renewed) as Dean of the College, Dean of the Faculty, and Provost.
The Dean of the College has primary responsibility for several areas of student life, including academic and personal advising as well as the student experience outside the classroom. Reporting to the Dean are the Senior Associate Dean for Campus Life, the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Engagement and Winter Study, the Senior Associate Dean for Administration, Finance, and Strategy, and the Senior Associate Dean of Students. In addition, the Dean of the College oversees the Registrar, the Chaplains, Integrative Wellbeing Services, and Health Services. The Dean serves as an ex officio member of the Committees on Educational Affairs, Academic Standing, the Discipline Committee, and the Honor System Committee. They collaborate closely with the Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
The Dean of the Faculty is responsible for the faculty and curriculum at the College and is available to consult with members of the faculty on all issues of concern to them. The Dean is responsible for the recruitment, appointment, and promotion of faculty and for the policies and procedures affecting all academic units. The Dean oversees the annual budgets of the academic departments and programs; assists with curricular and faculty development; serves as ex officio member and executive secretary of the Committee on Appointments and Promotions; is an ex officio member of the Committee on Educational Affairs; and, in consultation with the Faculty Steering Committee, makes recommendations on the membership of committees to the President. The Dean of the Faculty oversees the Center for Development Economics, the Graduate Program in the History of Art, the Center for Global Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the Oakley Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Department of Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation, the Rice Center for Teaching, and the Grants Office. The Dean also works closely with the Office of the Provost on budgetary and compensation matters. In addition, concerns about professional conduct of faculty members are the responsibility of the Dean of the Faculty. The Dean is assisted by two Associate Deans of the Faculty, an Assistant Dean of the Faculty, a Director of Faculty Information Systems, and an Executive Assistant.
The Provost is responsible for allocating College resources, strategic planning, and overseeing Admission, Information Technology, Institutional Research, the Libraries, the Science Center, Student Financial Services, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Zilkha Center for the Environment. The Provost chairs the Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, and is an ex officio member of the Committee on Appointments and Promotions, the Committee on Priorities and Resources, and the Campus Environmental Advisory Committee. They are assisted by the Associate Provost.
Other Administrative Faculty Positions
In addition to the Dean of the College, Dean of Faculty, and Provost, two other administrative positions are filled by faculty appointments for a specified term:
Associate Dean of Faculty focuses on faculty development, relationships between programs and departments, works with programs and departments to support mentoring of untenured faculty and long-term curricular planning, assists the Dean of Faculty with a range of matters including hiring, and works closely with the Associate Dean of Institutional Diversity and Equity and the permanent Associate Dean of Faculty.
The Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion mentors tenure stream and visiting faculty as well as faculty who have pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships. The Associate Dean engages faculty and academic units around matters pertaining to curricular and scholarly initiatives, hiring, development, and retention efforts, and matters of culture and climate in and outside of learning environments. They routinely utilize data and information to inform promising practices to support a diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus community.