Rollin Charles Williams (March 19, 1922 – September 24, 2012) was an American educator who served as Professor of

Social Work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

from 1957 to 1985. A

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran, Williams was the university's first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

professor.

Life and career

Williams was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, to parents Rollin and Ruby Williams on March 19, 1922. He was raised by his maternal grandparents in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, where he was high school

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

, solo violinist in the school orchestra, and Oklahoma state typewriting champion. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

and then served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

from 1943 to 1946, starting out as a clerk typist and concluding his military career as a

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

in personnel. While stationed at Camp Clipper, California, during

, Williams spent weekends in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and once sat next to

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

at a party. He went on to earn a Master of Science in social work from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1949. After earning his degree, Williams worked as a psychiatric social worker at

US Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet of the United States, Cabinet-level United States federal executive departments, executive branch department of the Federal government of the United States, federal government c ...

hospitals in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, and

Northport, New York Northport is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Huntington, New York, Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, New York (state), New ...

. In 1952, he became the first supervisor of psychiatric services at

Norwich State Hospital The Norwich State Hospital, originally established as the Norwich State Hospital for the Insane, later shortened to the Norwich Hospital, was a psychiatric hospital located in Preston and Norwich, Connecticut. It opened its doors in October 1 ...

. After two years of overseeing placements of students from UConn's School of Social Work, located in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, Williams was recruited to join the university's faculty in 1957. He took a one-year leave of absence in 1967–68 to pursue doctoral studies at

Columbia University School of Social Work The Columbia School of Social Work is the graduate school of social work of Columbia University in New York City. It is one of the oldest social work programs in the US, with roots extending back to 1898. It began awarding a Master of Science d ...

. Williams taught at UConn for almost thirty years and was the university's first African American professor. Promoted from assistant to associate professor by 1974, Williams served stints as interim dean and as director of the school's admissions office. In retirement, he held the rank of professor emeritus. The Rollin Williams/Y.C. Wu Scholarship for doctoral students at the School of Social Work was established partly in his honor. Following the passage of

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

laws in the 1960s, Williams received job offers from five other universities eager to recruit African American faculty. He declined these offers, commenting in a 2012 interview that "I wouldn't take those jobs because UConn took me when it didn't have to." Williams left a substantial bequest to the university in his will.

Personal life

During his academic career and retirement, Williams lived in

Salem, Connecticut Salem is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 4,213 at the 2020 census. History Pre-incorporation The area was originally inhabited ...

. He served on the Dime Savings Bank board of directors. An aficionado of opera, classical music, and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

, Williams played the organ and oboe in addition to the violin and co-founded the Connecticut Early Music Society. He dressed stylishly and drove a Mercedes car. He never married and had no children. His friends included poets and musicians such as William Meredith, Meredith's partner Richard Harteis,

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for '' Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

Kent Tritle Kent Tritle (born August 26, 1960) is a choral conductor and organist in New York City, United States. He is the current director of the professional chorus Musica Sacra and of the Oratorio Society of New York, and director of cathedral music a ...

, and Tritle's partner Arthur Fiacco. Williams died of congestive heart failure at a nursing home in

Waterford, Connecticut Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Southeastern Connecticut ...

, on September 24, 2012.

References

External links

UConn School of Social Work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Rollin Charles 1922 births 2012 deaths Educators from Kansas City, Missouri Howard University alumni Boston University School of Social Work alumni University of Connecticut faculty American social workers African Americans in World War II United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers Columbia University School of Social Work alumni 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics African-American United States Army personnel