[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/a-farewell-interview-with-president-mike-williams\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/a-farewell-interview-with-president-mike-williams\/","headline":"A Farewell Interview with President Mike Williams","name":"A Farewell Interview with President Mike Williams","description":"President Mike Williams On October 27, 2021, President Mike Williams announced his decision to step down as president of Faulkner University at the end of the spring semester to start his new role as Harding University\u2019s president in June. Before…","datePublished":"2022-04-12","dateModified":"2022-04-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/mfurlong\/#Person","name":"Madelyn Furlong","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/mfurlong\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3b7518a272ab0f390833cb2bf8956e79?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3b7518a272ab0f390833cb2bf8956e79?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mike_CU-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mike_CU-scaled.jpg","height":1707,"width":2560},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/a-farewell-interview-with-president-mike-williams\/","about":["Highlights","News"],"wordCount":1307,"articleBody":"President Mike WilliamsOn October 27, 2021, President Mike Williams announced his decision to step down as president of Faulkner University at the end of the spring semester to start his new role as Harding University\u2019s president in June. Before he left, Williams sat down with Public Relations Intern Madelyn Furlong to look back on his time at Faulkner, talk about his proudest moments and share his hopes for Faulkner’s future. What are your hopes for Faulkner in this new chapter they\u2019re embarking upon?“I hope the university will continue to be overtly ambitious because I believe this institution has so much more to give. I want the institution to continue to strive because there\u2019s so much need for a place like Faulkner to grow and thrive and to make even a greater impact and greater influence. To me, it\u2019s about aspiration.“How has Faulkner helped you in your spiritual journey and how has your \u2018chazown\u2019 changed in this new phase of your life?“One of the things I love about Faulkner is that it\u2019s a rich community and the best work environment I\u2019ve ever been a part of. There\u2019s such a collaborative spirit here. To me, that reinforces the teaching of Jesus that calls us to community and to oneness, and it has strengthened my resolve. Jesus\u2019 teaching on that is spot-on, and it\u2019s encouraged my faith.I do believe \u2018chazown\u2019 is an important word\u2013it\u2019s an important word to me. It was important when I got here and continues to be important, and even reinforced, as I\u2019ve seen this community embrace running towards broken humanity. I\u2019m optimistic that coming out of this pandemic, this institution will continue to restore some of the things we have begun and continue to do in the future.“What were your greatest accomplishments?“There are some easy things to point toward that are more tangible in nature. The creation of the College of Health Sciences is one of the fundamental changes that will influence the university for a long time to come. The College of Health Sciences is an outgrowth of our mission, an outgrowth of \u2018chazown,\u2019 to find ways we can launch into other areas of service.There\u2019s a greater community that embraces the values of this institution. We have run into the community and tried to be part of the solution, and a lot of people in Montgomery recognize this institution really is an important community aspect.I\u2019d love to see that continue. Going forward, I\u2019d like for Faulkner to continue to be aspirational and bold in thinking about what we can accomplish and also recognize there is a broader audience of people out there who align with us on a lot of value statements, which creates opportunity.”What was your best day on the job and what will you miss most about Faulkner?“This story is one I tell a lot because it symbolizes a lot of experiences here. During my first year at Faulkner, my youngest son was a senior in high school. We didn\u2019t want to uproot him during his senior year, so I moved here by myself. After he graduated, we planned for Lisa, my wife, and son, Quen to move here. My other son, Cade would start college, and my dad would move here as well. In October during my first year at Faulkner, my dad contracted an aggressive form of cancer and deteriorated quickly.In March, I was flying out to speak at a conference in Washington D.C., and we were also recruiting. Like everybody else, I turned my phone off on the plane. When I hit the tarmac at Reagan International, I turned my phone on and it started blowing up with messages coming in by the dozens. Even the guy beside me was watching my phone get all these alerts. I was thinking the worst because I saw lots of Alabama numbers and numbers that weren\u2019t in my contact list. I thought something really bad happened on campus while I was in the air. A student leading chapel at the time, led singing and he announced my dad has cancer and encouraged everyone in the audience to \u2018love bomb\u2019 the president.I got hundreds and hundreds of texts from students at Faulkner. It was an overwhelming kind of experience to go through. I responded to every one of them because it meant that much to me. I think about that day as being one of those seminal moments for me here, and it is representative of what this institution is about.”Do you have any advice for Faulkner\u2019s new president?“President-elect Henry and I are good friends. We connected during my first year and developed a great friendship. I have a deep respect for him.One of the things I think is important, and it\u2019s not just for Mitch but for anyone who sits at a seat like this, is to remember it\u2019s not about you. That may be the best advice I could give.. When you look at the role from that kind of lens, you think about others in a higher light, and you also think about the institution, not just in the here and now, but long-term.During the press conference, I gave Mitch a baton. Every day when I came to the office, I saw that baton, and it reminded me that this institution didn\u2019t start with me, it\u2019s not going to end with me, it\u2019s not about me, and it caused me to think about whether my decisions would withstand the test of time. I hope it sits on his desk, so he\u2019ll think about those kinds of things. Knowing Mitch is a spirit-led individual who\u2019s humble and guided by the Word of God, I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll have any problem seeing the world through that lens.”What\u2019s special about the Faulkner family and what words would you like to leave with them?“I can\u2019t say this enough: we love Faulkner, and we hope to always be a part of the Faulkner nation. We\u2019re going to continue to be donors to this institution, and we pledge our commitment to being a part of the future of Faulkner. One of the things I\u2019m most intrigued by and excited about is how two Christian universities think collaboratively. To me, that just makes sense, and our board and vice presidents are excited. We don\u2019t know what that looks like yet, but we\u2019re going to have fun exploring it. Faulkner University and Harding University are different, but they have a lot in common, and there are ways we can collaborate and make each other stronger.I really believe Faulkner is a great experience. I believe in the power of a Faulkner education, and I think it would be even more enriched if there were more students who came here. I think if more students knew what they could get here, they would line up. I would love for the students to be so impassioned about their experience and about their future alma mater that when they went home for spring break, they wore their friends out about it. The friend has to make the decision for themselves, but the Faulkner student could say, \u201cListen, before you make a decision, you\u2019ve got to come visit and take a look around.\u201d If our student body and alumni embraced that, the future of the institution would be greatly impacted. I want Faulkner to be intentional about that. I\u2019d love for Faulkner to be significantly larger because I know what the experience is like, how impactful it would be for students, and what they might do when they graduate.”"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Farewell Interview with President Mike Williams","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/a-farewell-interview-with-president-mike-williams\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]