Jerome Williams

EVP for Finance and Administration

Jerome Williams joined Roger Williams University in 2009 following an extensive career in state government and the financial services industry, having most recently served as the director of Rhode Island’s Department of Administration, a role he stepped into after a nomination from Governor Donald Carcieri.Previously, Williams served in executive level positions at the State of Rhode Island.� His state government roles focused on a tremendous range of administrative functions including budgeting, internal auditing, accounting, purchasing, human resources, capital projects, facilities management and more. Prior to his tenure in state government, he served for nine years as a senior vice president of Fleet Boston Financial, where he was responsible for a variety of business units.In his role as Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration at RWU, Williams is responsible for financial and administrative functions including budgeting, accounting, treasury, human resources, information technology, capital projects, purchasing and facilities management. Williams has played a leadership role in positively repositioning finances in recent years in a way that enabled RWU to pursue its ambitious Affordable Excellence initiative, including a tuition freeze and guarantee in place since 2012 in direct response to the escalating costs and rising student debt that have plagued higher education in recent decades.Due to the efforts of Williams and his team, the University’s balance sheet has improved at the same time its endowment showed growth that exceeded benchmarks. His program of refinancing bonds helped the University pay down long-term debt by nearly 20 percent over the last five fiscal years, and his financial management also allowed RWU to create a $20 million plan to rehabilitate existing assets without the issuance of new debt. At the same time Williams was improving the University’s financial controls, he established a capital spending plan and negotiated the school’s expansion in Providence.Last spring, Williams captured top honors in the career achievement category when Providence Business News selected the honorees for its annual Chief Financial Officer awards program. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from Bryant University, where he studied institutional management and accounting; he also earned a master’s in business administration with a specialization in accounting from Bryant in 1986.�