Trustee remembered for his compassion

Friends say Russell Williams was someone who told it like it was, and someone who was unflinchingly honest.

At the same time, he showed compassion for the people he worked with and the students he mentored.

Williams died Wednesday after struggling with illness, including a brain tumor.

Williams played many different roles on UK’s campus. In 1998, he became the first staff representative to UK’s highest governing body, the Board of Trustees. Since 1990, he had been a senior training specialist in the UK Human Resource Development Office.He also served as an adviser to the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, the group he was in as a UK student.

Members say Williams went above and beyond the duties required of an adviser. He attended events, and he loved talking to potential members during Rush Week. He shared the tickets to athletic events he received as a trustee with fraternity members that had good grades.

Phi Gamma Delta President James Chapman said he and Williams had become good friends, going out to eat and talking about sports and politics. Chapman remembered one year when he could not get home for

Thanksgiving, Williams helped him move out of his dormitory and took him to dinner.

Joshua Pascua, another fraternity member, said he considered Williams a friend and a fraternity brother.

“He was more than just an adviser,” Pascua said. “He was more than just showing up and saying, ‘Hey, don’t mess up.’ He legitimately cared about our development as people.”

Fraternity members said Williams would often go through things the Board of Trustees and the university did. He did the same thing for staff, hosting a discussion with staff members before the Board of Trustees meeting and showing them the board agenda.

Those meetings were Williams’ opportunity to hear the concerns of staff members, said fellow trustee Ernie Yanarella, a faculty representative.

“This two-way communication was so very typical of him,” Yanarella said. “He certainly never hesitated to speak up at board meetings and board committee meetings, but it was informed by the issues, concerns and complaints of staff members who attended his (Friday meetings).”

He played a valuable role on the board that included his institutional memory, Yanarella said. Williams’ experience and the length of time he had been on the Board of Trustees helped him pass on his  knowledge of the university to others.

On the board, when Williams promised he would vote a certain way on an issue, he would do it, Yanarella said. Williams was always transparent in his motives and committed to the staff.

“I always felt although we sometimes were on different sides of issues, this was a man I could always respect,” Yanarella said.

Williams was a member of the board’s Human Resources Committee, a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Board Structure and a former chair and member of the Student Affairs Committee.

Chris Crumrine, a former Phi Gamma Delta president who worked with Williams as the student representative to the Council on Postsecondary Education, said Williams always cared about student concerns on campus. He also cared deeply about the staff.

“That was such an important thing to him,” Crumrine said. “He wanted to make sure he took care of his constituency.”

Information on memorial services and a funeral was not available Wednesday. Chapman said Phi Gamma Delta will also do something to honor Williams, but that has not yet been determined.