Posted on Feb 22, 2006


The College has received an unrestricted gift of more than $5 million – one of the largest individual gifts to the school – from the estate of William Denison Williams '32, a former General Electric manager. The gift will be used to endow two chairs in his honor and for renovation of Butterfield Hall. The academic designation for the chairs is to be determined.


William D. Williams, Class of 1932 donates $5 million to Union


Williams, a longtime resident of Scotia, N.Y., died in Doylestown, Pa., on Oct. 15 at the age of 95. He earned his B.S. from Union in electrical engineering and was a member of Eta Kappa Nu. He also studied at Duke and Cornell universities.


At GE, he was manager of the Magnetics Section and worked in the engineering laboratory, retiring in 1954. He and his wife, the late Virginia (Smith) Williams, had no children.



Williams contributed modest amounts to Union each year. When he died, he left behind an estate that exceeded $20 million, much of it acquired through investments. He divided the bulk of it between Union, his wife's alma mater, Piedmont College in Georgia, and the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown.


An accomplished violinist, Williams also left gifts to individual musicians.


“We are extremely grateful to receive this generous gift,'' said Jim Underwood, interim president “Union obviously played a big role in William's life.”