Page 24 - Senior Link Magazine Spring 2026 - Online Magazine

Lubbock community that LCU was
a place of excellence and artistic
ambition. Don’s work extended
the awareness of the college and
provided the "reputational equity"
that LCU so desperately needed
during its formative decades. He
understood early on that a university
is judged not only by its classrooms
but by its cultural contributions to
the world around it.

He furthered this mission by
becoming a leader in area high
school One-Act Play competitions.
By hosting these events on campus
and serving as an adjudicator and
mentor, he positioned the college as
a true partner and participant in the
regional arts world. Through these
efforts, he didn't just teach theater—
he built a brand for LCU, inviting
thousands of high school students to
see the campus as a hub for creativity
and Christian fellowship.
A Career of Versatility and
Leadership

While many academics specialize
in a single niche, Williams’ impact
pursuing graduate studies elsewhere Creating a Presence: Cool, Credible, was felt across the entire university
to sharpen his intellectual and and Community-Focused spectrum. His leadership was
creative tools, he felt the undeniable defined by a rare balance of
pull of the South Plains. In 1969, he Dr. Tim Perrin, LCU president, 2012- administrative precision and creative
returned to his alma mater to join the 2019, states that, in its early years, spark. In 1982, he was appointed
faculty, a move that would define the LCC was a young college striving to Dean of the College, and in 1987—
next fifty-six years of his life. find its identity and its place in the
broader West Texas landscape. It was the year the institution officially
He could not have known then a time when the school needed more achieved university status—he was
that he would remain a fixture than just academic rigor; it needed named Dean of the Hancock College
of the campus for the rest of his a cultural spark. Don Williams of Liberal Arts and Education.
career. Williams became the only offered the institution exactly what For over two decades in this role,
faculty member in the history of it sorely needed: he was "cool," and he shaped the curriculum and
the school to work under every he gave the college a presence in the faculty culture, emphasizing
single president the university has the community that was vital for its that education should be a holistic
ever known, from the founding growth. endeavor. Even after stepping down
administration to the current as Dean in 2009, his work was far
leadership of Dr. Scott McDowell. His stage productions were more from finished; he served as the
This unique longevity allowed him than just school plays; they were Director of Graduate Studies from
to serve as the institutional memory events. They delighted audiences 2010 to 2017. Throughout these
of LCU, ensuring that as the school across the region and presented an decades, he remained a Professor of
modernized, achieved university image of LCU that was often bigger Communication and Theatre, never
status, and expanded its physical than the college itself. By producing losing the direct connection to the
footprint, it never lost sight of its high-quality, professional-level students that fueled his passion.
original, mission-minded soul. theater, Williams signaled to the

24 Lubbock Senior Link