With the induction of John Edward Sawyer as Williams president half a century ago, the college ushered in a period of dramatic and fundamental change that still reverberates on campus today. During Sawyer’s time Williams increased in size by 50 percent; began to admit women and diversify the student body; overhauled the curriculum; and moved from a fraternity-based to a house-based system of residential life.
In celebration of the 50th anniversaries of these important moments in the college’s history–and in honor of Sawyer–the Williams Alumni Review asked award-winning author and historian Michael Beschloss ’77 to interview Sawyer’s colleague and successor as president, John Chandler. As Chandler observes about Sawyer, “In so many ways he had such vast peripheral vision.”
You can read the entire interview in the online January 2012 Williams Alumni Review. Or read the text-only version here.
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