COLUMBIA, Mo.—In honor of their late colleague, the University of Missouri Board of Curators today established the Remington R. Williams Award, recognizing his outstanding service as student representative to the Board. The new award will be presented annually to six students across the UM System.
“This award will honor Remington’s legacy of leadership and engagement,” said Darryl Chatman, UM Board of Curators chair. “Remington represented the best of us, and he truly embodied the spirit of excellence and service the University of Missouri encourages among not only its students, but our faculty and staff as well.”
Williams served as student representative to the Board from 2020 until his life was tragically taken in June by a drunk driver. Williams set a high bar with his service to the university. As a student, he excelled both in and out of the classroom, and he was committed to ensuring all students receive the full experience while on campus—both a world-class education and countless opportunities to be involved through organizations with their peers. He mentored student leaders at each of the four universities and identified how he could support their growth as individuals, students and leaders.
Extracurricular involvement and scholarship were hallmarks of Williams’s undergraduate and graduate school experiences. He was a recent graduate of the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law and was attending the University of Missouri – St. Louis in pursuit of a master of business administration degree, which was granted posthumously after his death. In recognition of his service to more than 75,000 students in the UM System, he was awarded the Chancellors’ Medals from both Missouri S&T and Mizzou and was bestowed honorary alumni status from the Mizzou Alumni Association.
The Remington R. Williams Award will be presented to six students each year—one each from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and the University of Missouri – St. Louis—and three from the University of Missouri – Columbia. Award winners will each receive $1,000 and a medal to wear during their commencement ceremony.
The award will recognize exceptional student leaders who have made an impact on their respective institution, inspired growth and development of fellow students in both academics and extracurricular activities, and exhibited outstanding character and collaborative spirit at all times.
Any student, faculty or staff member may nominate a qualified individual. At the time of nomination, students must be a full-time undergraduate student with sophomore or junior standing, a graduate student or professional student, and have plans to be enrolled the following academic year. Nominees must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or its equivalent in the student’s current program. Nominees must be involved in at least two student organizations and have held a major leadership position in at least one of those groups.
Nominations will open in November. More information about the nomination process and the nomination form will be available at https://umurl.us/williamsaward.