Aaron S. Williams, the 18th Director of the Peace Corps, will join Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD, on Friday, April 27, for a public discussion of the Corps, its relationship with the University, and its global role in the 21st century. The event will take place at 10 am in Humanities, second floor poetry room.
Nominated by President Barack Obama and sworn in on August 24, 2009, Williams is the fourth director in Peace Corps’ history who is an RPCV (Returning Peace Corps Volunteer), having served in the Dominican Republic from 1967 to 1970. Williams has pursued a career in the development and implementation of worldwide assistance programs. He was vice president for International Business Development with RTI International; a senior manager at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), where he was twice awarded the Presidential Award for Distinguished Service; and executive vice president of the International Youth Foundation.
He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, on the boards of directors of CARE, the Institute for Sustainable Communities, the Pan American Development Foundation, and the National Peace Corps Association. Williams earned his bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University and has an MBA from University of Wisconsin.
The Peace Corps traces its roots to 1961 and since that time more than 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 139 host countries, working on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology, small business development, and environmental preservation. Peace Corps volunteers have helped people build better lives for themselves, their children, and their communities, and their work in villages, towns, and cities around the globe represents a legacy of service that has become a significant part of American’s history and positive image abroad.
President Stanley will introduce Director Williams. Also speaking will be William Arens, Dean of International Academic Programs, and Wolf Schäfer, Associate Dean of International Academic Programs.
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