Lizzy Donker, Editor-in-Chief
Doug Williams will be stepping down at the end of this fiscal year after serving as University Treasurer for 10 years.
Williams’s leave was announced in an email from Vice Chancellor Pearigen that was sent out to the Faculty on the afternoon of Friday, March 28, 2025.
“With sincere appreciation for his service, I am writing to announce that Doug Williams will be stepping down at the end of the current fiscal year as vice-president for finance and operations and University treasurer after 10 years of dedicated service in that position,” The Vice Chancellor wrote. “Following a well-deserved sabbatical leave, Doug will return to the faculty in the fall of 2026 as the Frank W. Wilson Professor of Economics, a title he has held since 2009.”
In his email, Pearigen praised Williams’s work during his decade as Treasurer, mentioning that he served four vice-chancellors and oversaw several significant University projects, including the construction of the University Bookstore and the Wellness Commons.
Pearigen thanked Williams for his service as Vice President and Treasurer, adding, “We will look forward to welcoming him back after his sabbatical.”
Williams’s time at Sewanee has not been without controversy. A 2020 New York Times article on student efforts to reform university endowment policies, “Why It’s So Hard to Make Endowment More Socially Responsible,” described fraught exchanges between Williams and students.
Recounting the student’s concerns, the article stated: “That was just one of several exchanges with Mr. Williams and other people associated with the university that signaled that they weren’t quite taking the students’ arguments seriously. And given the lack of progress so far, the students have started to wonder whether the school is running out the clock.”
When asked to comment on Pearigen’s announcement, Williams told The Sewanee Purple: “As an alumnus and a member of the faculty, it has been an honor and privilege to serve the University in the role of Treasurer for over 10 years. It has been my plan all along to return to the faculty at some point and the timing is right for that transition, having just turned 65. I look forward to returning to the classroom and working closely with students. I chose to become a professor because of the important faculty mentors I had when I was a student at Sewanee and am excited once again to serve as teacher and mentor.”
In his announcement, Pearigen said a search for a new chief financial officer will begin immediately with the help of an external consulting firm, the Baker Consulting Group.