The Frederick Williams Scholarship
WHEREAS, members of the Board of Governors of the Mallet Assembly Honors Program and other friends of Frederick A. Williams have contributed $20,006.18 to The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama to honor the memory of Mr. Williams and to promote the education of students at The University of Alabama; and
WHEREAS, the donors desire that this gift be accepted and maintained by The University of Alabama as a permanent fund to be named The Frederick A. Williams Endowed Scholarship for the purposes and upon the conditions set out below:
- 1. Priority of consideration shall be given to an individual who meets the following criteria:
- an undergraduate student at the University to the extent allowed by law, a resident and
- participant in the Mallet Assembly Honors Program
- a demonstrated interest in world politics, public policy, political science, and/or foreign languages
- financial need, although not necessarily as defined by federal guidelines
- diversity of experience as reflected by one or more of the following: travel, secondary or higher education, volunteer experiences, work, nationality, or ethnic background
- personal integrity
- compassion for others
- leadership
- 2. Recipients shall be selected by a standing scholarship committee in accordance with procedures developed in compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The committee shall include the Dean of Students or his or her designee, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Mallet Assembly Honors Program, and the Mallet Professor-In-Residence. Should the Board of Governors Chairman or the Professor-In-Residence be unable to serve, the Mallet Board of Governors may appoint a member of the University faculty to serve on the committee. Decisions of the committee shall be made in accordance with the University policies and procedures adopted from time to time, subject to the approval of the President of the University, and coordinated with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
- 3. The scholarship shall be renewable for each of the subsequent years of the recipient’s undergraduate education provided the scholarship committee deems the recipient’s performance and academic progress to merit retention and provided the recipient remains enrolled full-time at the University.
- 4. If the Mallet Assembly Honors Program ceases to exist, the fund shall revert to the general scholarship program of the University, and priority of consideration shall be given to full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the University.
- 5. Persons desiring to contribute to The Frederick A. Williams Endowed Scholarship shall be free to do so provided they accept the conditions governing this fund; and
WHEREAS, the youngest of 10 children, Frederick Allen Williams was born in 1961 to a Bessemer, Alabama, steelworker; and
WHEREAS, born with a congenital heart problem, Mr. Williams was unable to lead an active lifestyle and instead devoted much of his childhood to reading and various intellectual pursuits; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams excelled academically and was a National Merit Scholar and a member of the Key Club when he graduated from Jess Lanier High School in 1979; and
WHEREAS, following high school, Mr. Williams attended The University of Alabama, where he studied Russian and international affairs and served as the editor of the Russian Newsletter; and
WHEREAS, an active and dedicated member of the Mallet Assembly, Mr. Williams was the organization's first African-American president and was a recipient of the Malleteer of the Year Award; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams earned a bachelor of arts in international relations with double minors in Russian and Eastern European studies in 1986 and a master of arts in political science in 1989; and
WHEREAS, while pursuing a doctorate in political science at American University in Washington D.C., Mr. Williams began working with the United States Institute of Peace, which he would serve admirably for over 10 years in various capacities; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams passed away on January 22, 2002, and is greatly missed by family, friends, co-workers, and the University community; and
WHEREAS, through this endowment, the donors wish to support academic excellence at The University of Alabama in perpetuity as a way of honoring the life and achievements of Frederick A. Williams;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama that it hereby accepts the generous contribution of the donors and establishes The Frederick A. Williams Endowed Scholarship as a restricted endowed fund.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the initial gift and any future contributions to this fund shall constitute an endowed corpus, which will be held, invested, maintained, and administered by the University in perpetuity according to its policies and procedures adopted from time to time for endowed funds, and the endowment earnings shall be used toward one or more scholarships under the policies and procedures of the University adopted from time to time to regulate and administer such awards.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be spread upon the permanent minutes of this Board and that copies be sent to Dickie Cox, current chairman of the board of governors for Mallet Assembly, and to Lula Williams Mitchem.