In memoriam: Professor Maureen Williams

LJMU is saddened to hear of the passing of Professor Maureen Williams who was a supporter and friend of the university.

Maureen was a former Pro-Chancellor between 2000 and 2003 and was the first female Chair of LJMU’s Board of Governors.  She served the university for ten years displaying a style of her own; forceful and passionate, with a strong theme relating to social justice and support for the underdog.  She was awarded an honorary fellowship in 2003 in recognition of her services to the university.

Alongside her roles for the university, Maureen also deputy chaired several committees for the NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group.

We are grateful for her outstanding contribution and dedication to the university.

Honorary fellowship citation

Maureen was awarded an honorary fellowship in July 2003.

You can read the full citation for the ceremony below, as presented by Professor Frank Sanderson, Public Orator:

"Professor Maureen Williams, recently Chair of the Board of Governors at JMU and recently just plain "Dr Maureen Williams", was born in 1947 in Liverpool 8, about half a mile from this building. She was the third of six children of Mary and Roy Williams.

Her parents, as with many talented working-class people of their generation, had no formal education beyond the age of 14, but they knew the value of education in the broadest sense. Thus, Maureen learned to read before she went to school, and thereafter, she read anything and everything around. Libraries became an important part of her life throughout her school years. And perhaps just as importantly, she had developed the personality and self-confidence by the age of three to be able to stand on the bar of the Cuckoo Pub in Lodge Lane and give a complete and tuneful rendition of Galway Bay for a few pennies. We would ask for a repeat performance this morning, if only we had time. At the age of 12, she was a founder member of the Liverpool Youth Theatre when she played Glumdolka, the giantess in Tom Thumb.

Maureen first went to school in Speke and then to Notre Dame Commercial School which was on the site of JMU's Aldham Robarts Learning Resource Centre. She really enjoyed her school years, emerging as one of the star pupils of the school, becoming Head Girl and being one of first three girls from the school to go to university.

But it was evident to Maureen that the school had preconceptions about what a bright working-class girl should aspire to. She was only allowed to take O Level Maths on condition that she also studied for a shorthand certificate and took typing lessons. A legal career was declared by the head teacher to be the preserve of the cream of the cream of the grammar school, and when she expressed an interest in reading psychology at university, she was scolded for her 'sheer ambition'. Despite the widening opportunities for the post-war generation, ambition and aspirations beyond one's station were discouraged by many people in positions of influence.

Nevertheless, Maureen persevered and transferred to the sixth form in Notre Dame High School where she became deputy head girl. The site of the school now houses the Faculty of Business & Law at JMU. She passed her A levels and went to the University of Sheffield to read Sociology, Psychology and Philosophy. Her extra-curricular interests at university provide an insight into her life-long passion for justice and her very strong sense of fairness: involved in the Socialist Society, an active campaigner against the war in Vietnam, a proponent of abortion law reform, a campaigner against racial discrimination, and a strong advocate for women's liberation.

She graduated with an BA Honours degree in 1971.

Maureen then gained valuable experience as a community worker in London, before returning to Liverpool to become a Community Development Officer in Speke. Her expertise in community work and the social sciences, and her well-developed communication skills led to part-time lecturing at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool Community College, Hope University College and the Workers Education Association. During this period, she completed a PhD at the University of Liverpool on self-help in working-class communities.

In 1987, Maureen established Merseyside Development Foundation, a charitable company serving Merseyside and the Northwest, providing capacity building, education and training, advice and support to disadvantaged and excluded groups, organisations and individuals. As Chief Executive, Maureen has steered the foundation through a difficult financial climate, ensuring that it has a strong reputation for professionalism and meeting real needs.

With such expertise and experience as a voluntary sector practitioner, Maureen inevitably has been and continues to be much in demand. For example:

• She is a Board Member of the NWDA, Deputy Chair of the Marketing sub-group, and Member of the Learning and Skills sub-group
• A member of the Greater Merseyside Learning & Skills Council
• A former Director of Hornby Housing Association
• A Trustee of the Lee Kai Hung Foundation
• A Director of Community Northwest
• A former Executive Member of the Councils of Voluntary Service
• Company Secretary of St Helens District Women's Aid
• Chair of the Northwest Regional Awards Committee of the Community Fund, and…
• A Consultant to the Council of Europe on community issues and training for public sector workers in former eastern bloc countries.

Maureen has also kept her hand in as an academic, with publications on women's rights and children's rights, and a recent spell as a visiting professor in international conflict at the University of Syracuse, New York. Even more recently - about 1 hour ago - she was appointed to a well-deserved Visiting Professorship at JMU.

Maureen was introduced as an independent member of the Board of Governors at Liverpool John Moores University in 1993 by John Moores Junior who was then Chair of the Board. Since then, she has tirelessly served the University, serving on the Board's Employment Committee, Finance Committee and Enterprise Committee. She has our particular gratitude for the fundamental role she played in the development of a hi-tech start-up subsidiary company. From 2000, she was appointed as Pro-Chancellor of the University and Chair of the Board of Governors. She was the first woman in this role and one of relatively few in the sector.

Maureen's involvement with JMU led to a period on the Committee of University Chairmen, where she played an active role in developing a national training programme for university governors. She also sat on the board of the University and Colleges Employment Association.

Professor Maureen Williams has served the university with great distinction: with tenacity, with commitment, with dedication, and with nothing ever being too much trouble in forwarding the work of JMU. In her role as chair of the Board of Governors, she displayed a style of her own; forceful and passionate, with a strong theme relating to social justice and support for the underdog. We are deeply grateful for her outstanding contribution over so many years.

Thus, I present to you this most distinguished daughter of our region for admission to our highest award of Fellow of this university."