Acting Executive Vice President Treby Williams ’84 granted permanent status

Acting Executive Vice President Treby Williams ’84 has been selected to take on her position permanently, University officials announced Monday. Her appointment comes as a departure from previous statements made by both University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 and Williams that Williams was not a candidate for the position.

In an interview with The Daily Princetonian in May, Williams stated that she was “not planning on applying for that permanent position.” In September, Eisgruber mentioned that while he was grateful for Williams’ service to the University, his understanding was “that she intends to return to her previous role in the administration after serving as acting executive vice president.”

After the departure of former Executive Vice President Mark Burstein in June, Williams became acting executive vice president but continued to oversee the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety as she had done in her previous position as assistant vice president for safety and administrative planning.

Her permanent appointment, approved at a Nov. 16 meeting of the Board of Trustees after a recommendation by Eisgruber, goes into effect immediately.

Williams has worked in the Office of the Executive Vice President since 2007 as director of planning and administration and as assistant vice president for safety and administrative planning. Previously, she directed the University’s Office of Development Priorities.

Her achievements as the assistant vice president for safety and administrative planning include the consolidation of the independent security functions of the University Art Museum and Firestone Library.

As acting executive vice president, Williams continued the expansion of the Lewis Center for the Arts as part of the construction of the new Arts and Transit Neighborhood.

From 1992 to 2004, Williams served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the southern district of New York and the district of New Jersey. She also spent three years working for Coudert Brothers, an international law firm that went bankrupt in 2006.

The University hired Isaacson, Miller, an executive search firm specializing in the not-for-profit community, to identify candidates for the post. The firm has previously been involved in the hiring of various positions within the Office of Executive Vice President, including vice president for finance and treasurer and vice president for campus life, according to the firm’s online list of past clients.

Williams and Eisgruber were not available for comment on Monday. Representatives of Isaacson, Miller did not respond to requests for comment.