Dr. Letitia Williams
Leadership Team
Meet the Dean
Dr. Letitia Williams serves as the University of the District of Columbia’s Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, building upon her role as Assistant Vice President for Student Development which she assumed when she joined UDC in 2018. Dr. Williams leads a diverse portfolio of departments dedicated to helping students enjoy a successful college experience. As Dean of Students, she also chairs the university Behavioral Intervention Team.
Dr. Williams is committed to creating opportunities and providing services that remove barriers to student engagement, foster a sense of belonging, facilitate leadership development and career readiness, and support student success at UDC and beyond. In order to help students reach their academic, professional, and personal goals, the Dean of Students Office directly supports the staff members who direct the following offices:
Accessibility Resource Center
Counseling and Wellness Center
Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Affairs
International Student Services
Military and Veteran Student Services
Residence Life
Student Conduct
Student Life and Services
Student Outreach and Leadership Development
Student Center
University Health Services
Letitia Williams, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President and Dean of Students
Dr. Letitia Williams is the Associate Vice President and Dean of Students at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and oversees the operations of 11 Student Development departments in the Division of Student Development and Success. Dr. Williams joined UDC in 2018 and served as Assistant Vice President for Student Development for 2 years, prior to assuming her new role.
Prior to UDC, Dr. Williams worked at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) as assistant vice president, Student Support Services. There she spearheaded retention efforts, integrating curricular and co-curricular experiences to ensure the effective coordination of holistic support for students. Dr. Williams began her higher education career at the at the University of Maryland (UMD) in university-community partnerships. At UMD she also worked in pre-college programs, career development, internationalization, faculty development and curriculum transformation.
Dr. Williams has also held leadership roles in several organizations, including the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) where she served as the Assembly Coordinator for International Members and Divisions (2015-2018). She currently sits on the Board of the National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment. Dr. Williams is committed to fostering student success and is engaged in research that focuses on understanding the factors impacting the persistence of students of color. She has published work on internationalization in higher education and Caribbean student development, for which she is the recipient of an International Research Award from the ACPA. Dr. Williams was also the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship. She holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Leadership from the University of Maryland and a B.A. with first class honours in History from the University of the West Indies.