Business Manager Second to None

Robert E. Williams 57C, former vice president of business for Emory University, died February 5, 2016, at Emory University Hospital after a long illness.

Williams began working for Emory University as supervisor of auxiliary enterprises two months before graduating from Emory College and moved up through the treasurer and comptroller’s office and auxiliary services. He joined the University business office in 1966 and became vice president in 1989. In that role, he was instrumental in facilities management, planning and construction, real estate, parking, traffic and security, and many other activities essential to University management.

“Bobby Williams has brought Emory to a level of excellence in university business management second to none in this country,” said former Board of Trustees Chair Bradley Currey Jr. when Williams retired in 1999. “The entire campus shows off his commitment to Emory and its constituencies.”

Former Emory President William Chace called Williams a “tireless diplomat, a loyal friend to many, and an immensely faithful alumnus. . . . He has been part of this community for more than four decades, and during that time he has contributed—cheerfully and adroitly—to the growth of Emory.”

Williams was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Emory and an active member of the Emory Alumni Association.

Emory survivors include his wife, Mary Beth Urbanus Williams P80 P81 P84; three children, Terri Williams Pendergrast 80C, Kay Williams Taylor 79OX 81B, and Ritchie Williams 84C; brother James B. Williams 55C; and grandson William Jackson Taylor, a student at Emory School of Medicine.