To the OC Community:
Flags remain lowered at Okanagan College campuses in memory of former Okanagan College President Peter Williams who passed away on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021.
Williams served as President (then Principal) of the College from 1981-1988.
During his time at the College, he played a significant role in the continued growth and diversification of OC’s programs. Notably, along with the Board of Governors and many key people around the institution, Williams was among those whose efforts laid the groundwork for the development and successful approval of the College’s four-year programs which launched in 1989. The degree programs marked the beginning of a new era for the College, helped to bolster enrolment, created new pathways for students and raised OC’s profile across the region, the province and the country.
Recalls his colleague former President Dr. Bill Bowering, Williams’ other significant contributions included the construction of permanent facilities on the new site for the Vernon campus, and the acquisition of a site and the construction of permanent facilities for the Penticton campus.
“I enjoyed working with Peter,” said Bowering. “He brought an emphasis gained from experience to the diploma and certificate programs at OC that had been missing. In this regard, he introduced "cooperative education" to the diploma programs, a development that was very well received by both students and employers.”
Williams was born in Liverpool, England and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Cambridge University. He served as Director of Colleges and Institutes in Leeds, where he played a key role in the formation of Leeds Polytechnic (later Leeds University of Technology) and went on to serve as principal of a college in Southern England before moving to Canada. He served as Vice President Academic at Fanshawe College in London, ON before accepting the role of President of Okanagan University College in 1981.
When Williams retired from the College in 1988, he was offered a two-year contract in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop the Higher Colleges of Technology. Eight years later, he retired again, having steered the new system into a multi-campus operation with 15,000 full-time students and programs at every level from technician to degrees accredited by universities in the U.K. and U.S. – an achievement recognized by a UNESCO award. Two years later, he returned to the UAE to help establish a new university.
