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9 things you didn't know about Mount St. Joseph University President H. James Williams

Posted at 12:00 PM, Sep 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-30 12:00:17-04

This is one in a periodic series of profiles on local college and university presidents.

DELHI TOWNSHIP -- Mount St. Joseph University President H. James Williams has been on the job in Delhi Township since March, and he's hard at work elevating the Catholic university's profile in the Tri-State and beyond. Here are nine questions to find out more about him and the job.

1. Your hometown and your favorite thing about growing up there?

I grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My favorite part of growing up there was the community itself: primarily hardworking, working-class families who believed in god and country and was very protective of us children.

2. What's the hardest job you ever had?

That is easy: washing dishes at the Towne Steakhouse in Winston-Salem, between the ages of 14 and 16. The most boring was loading cigarette filters on the manufacturing lines at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, during the summers of my freshman and sophomore years as an undergraduate student, at North Carolina Central University.

3. What's your favorite junk food?

Pecan clusters.

4. What food can you not stand?

Sandwich wraps of any kind.

5. What's your secret talent?

Obviously, I cannot reveal the secret!

6. Name an item on your bucket list

The Lord has blessed me with a wealth of wonderful experiences during my lifetime and I am extremely grateful.  The one thing that comes to mind is my desire to experience a cruise to Alaska.

7. What's your favorite joke, suitable for a family publication?

Although I laugh easily and often, based on life’s every day, light-hearted moments, I do not tell jokes; consequently, I have none to share. 

8. What about Mount St. Joe makes you most proud?

The commitment of my faculty and staff colleagues to the university’s mission, vision, and values, as evinced by the community and caring students experience every day.

9. What's the biggest piece of unfinished business you'd like to accomplish during your tenure?

Raise the university’s profile throughout the Tri-State region by responding even more aggressively to this community’s workforce and community-service needs.

Bonus: Something else readers would be interested to know about you?

I am a U.S. history enthusiast, especially regarding the civil war and Abraham Lincoln -- and enjoy visiting Civil War battle sites.

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