On Wednesday, November 4th, newly inducted University President, Gregory Williams, paid a visit to the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP Library).
During his visit, President Williams enjoyed viewing the artists’ book Global University, part of DAAP Library’s special collection of nearly 400 artists’ books. The one-of-a-kind book is an examination of both the story of one immigrant to the US and the University of Cincinnati’s globalization plan. Written and created by DAAP student Anne Catherine Yu See, Global University spoke to the interests of the President, who is the author of Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black. President Williams was raised partially in Virginia, where he attended an all-white school. However, he discovered that his father was biracial and had a white father and black mother. President Williams, his brother, and his father later moved to a predominantly black neighborhood in Indiana, and Williams was not accepted by black relatives because of his white heritage and was ostracized by whites for his black ancestry. As a result of his childhood experiences, President Williams now holds a special interest in diversity issues and matters of civil rights.
He was also able to view the DAAP Library’s collection of over 340 snow globes – the many New York snow globes were a favorite after his tenure as President of City College, New York. President Williams left DAAP library with a charge to bring in a new snow globe from Indiana, the state where he attended high school after moving from his home state of Virginia.
