Carol and Tom Williams support learning beyond the classroom
Imagine learning journalism by trying your hand at reporting. Or studying wildlife management policies during an eight-day camping excursion across northeastern Oregon.
Since 1995, donors Carol and Tom Williams have helped UO faculty members create innovative learning programs and life-transforming opportunities. To date, the Tom and Carol Williams Fund for Undergraduate Education has supported 103 projects and 34 Williams Fellowships.
“We believe it’s vital to engage undergraduate students,” said Tom, who developed a theory during his year as a White House Fellow under President Lyndon Johnson: that private funding can quickly leverage good ideas. Carol was a cofounder of Eugene’s NBC affiliate, KMTR-TV, and a mainstay of many civic groups. Tom served on the airport commission, the YMCA board, and the Eugene City Council.
Last fall, students in an environmental studies course supported by the fund spent a week camping and traveling across northeastern Oregon. They heard firsthand many different perspectives on wolf management.
“This course uses wolves as a timely case study to help students explore how to deal with conflict in constructive, catalyzing ways,” said Peg Boulay, who designed the class.
The Williams Fund also supports the award-winning Catalyst Journalism Project, which combines investigative and solutions journalism. The Sustainable Invention Immersion Week gave students opportunities to learn from experts in design, business, chemistry, and communications.
Other examples include a course that teaches anthropology with wild foods, a class for nonscience majors to learn biomechanics using smartphones, and an initiative to create vibrant learning communities in residence halls.
Beyond the Classroom
The Williams Fund supports innovative teaching initiatives such as the environmental studies course Wolves: Conversations in Conservation and Controversy.
- 15 students
- One week
- Two vans
- 1,338 miles
- 10 meetings with 15 ranchers, environmentalists, hunters, tribal
members, and agency representatives to learn the intricacies of a complicated issue with no easy answers
—Jess Brown