CINCINNATI - A Ball State University alumnnus and Muncie native was named the new president at the University of Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Gregory Williams was selected as the school's 27th president by Cincinnati trustees after serving as the president of the City College of New York.
Williams, who will be the university's first black president, is a former dean of Ohio State University's law school. He takes office Nov. 1, succeeding Nancy Zimpher, who left in June to become chancellor of the State University of New York.
Williams is also the author of the best-selling book "Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black," which is an autobiography about his childhood in Muncie. The book tells of his finding out when he was 10 that his father was black.
Williams, who is light complected and whose mother was white, had been told as a boy that his father's slightly darker skin tone was from an Italian heritage. His autobiography also told of problems he faced growing up amid poverty and prejudice - a struggle that he described in a 1995 interview with The Associated Press as "a long and painful process."
University officials gave Williams Bearcats caps to try on before he accepted the presidency "with great humility and great pride."
He said the power of higher education brought him from the housing projects in Muncie to where he is today and is why he has made it his career.
"Because we are transforming lives every day and making a difference in the lives of people and their futures and their families," the 65-year-old Williams said.
Williams worked his way through Ball State as a sheriff's deputy and later went on to earn other degrees, including a law degree and a Ph.D. from George Washington University. His memoir was named book of the year by The Los Angeles Times in 1995.
Williams said higher education helps drive economic development and the school must keep its commitment to serve the community, region and state.
"I do believe UC does stand for 'Up and Coming.' I'm certainly proud and delighted to be part of it," he said.
City College of New York now has 16,000 students. At Cincinnati, Williams will lead a campus of 37,000 students and more than 16,000 employees.
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