Obituary

Samuel Ruthven Williamson

November 10, 1935 ~ October 27, 2026 

Dr. Samuel Ruthven Williamson, Jr., fourteenth Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South (Sewanee), passed away on October 27, 2026, aged 90.

Sam was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana on November 10, 1935, the son of Samuel Ruthven Williamson, Sr., and Frances Page Williamson. He grew up in Springhill, Louisiana and played on a state championship basketball team at Springhill High School before graduating in 1954.

He then attended Tulane University, where he served as a manager on the football team before graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in history in 1958. He was a Fulbright Scholar in 1958-59 at the University of Edinburgh.

In 1961, he married Joan Andress of Minden, Louisiana, a graduate of Newcomb College and daughter of his mother Frances’ close college friend, Treeby Miller Andress. This was the beginning of a partnership that had begun at Tulane and would continue for sixty-four years.

Sam earned his master’s in history from Harvard University in 1960 and his doctorate in 1966. While earning his doctorate, he taught as an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy (West Point) from 1963-66. At West Point, he and Joan welcomed son George in 1964 and daughter Treeby in 1966.

In 1966, Williamson joined the History Department at Harvard as Instructor and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1968. While at Harvard, he served as the Allston Burr Senior Tutor at Kirkland House (1968-72) and Assistant to the Dean of Harvard College (1969-70).

In 1969, Williamson published his first book, The Politics of Grand Strategy: Britain and France Prepare for War, 1904-1914 (Harvard University Press), which won the George Louis Beer Prize of the American Historical Association for best book in international history. Son Thad was born in Cambridge in 1970.

In 1972, the family moved to Chapel Hill where Sam joined the History Department at the University of North Carolina as Associate Professor and later as Professor. From 1972-77 he was Director of the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense. In 1976-1977 the family spent the year in Cambridge, England while Sam spent his sabbatical at Churchill College in Cambridge.

In 1977, Williamson was named Dean of Arts & Science at UNC, a role he served in until 1985. He then served as Provost and Chief Academic Officer of the University from 1984 to 1988. He served Chancellors Ferebee Taylor and Christopher Fordham and Presidents Bill Friday and C.D. Spangler, and played a key role in starting The Arts and Sciences Foundation.

Sam became Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South (Sewanee) in 1988 and served in that position until 2000, a role that combined his deep Episcopalian faith and the leadership skills he had developed in his prior positions. During that time period Sewanee strengthened its academic reputation as a nationally recognized liberal arts college, and Joan and Sam were recognized for their hospitality to old friends and new guests alike.

Williamson served as a Professor in the History Department at Sewanee for five further years before his academic retirement in 2005. During this period, he began an extensive research project on the history of the University of South, in collaboration with Gerald L. Smith and later John M. McCardell, Jr., that resulted in publications of three books, including Sewanee Sesquicentennial History: The Making of the University of the South (2008).

Altogether, Williamson authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited nine books: five related to the origins of World War I, three on Sewanee, and one on U.S. nuclear strategy after World War II. He also authored dozens of articles, encyclopedia entries, and reviews for scholarly publications, with a primary focus on the origins of World War I.

Williamson also was active in numerous professional organizations, including the Associated Colleges of the South, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the NCAA Presidents’ Commission, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and others. He served as senior foreign and defense advisor to Governor James B. Hunt during his 1984 campaign for the United States Senate.

Dr. Williamson was preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Frances Williamson, his brother, S. Page Williamson, and his brother-in-law, R. Thad Andress. 

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joan Williamson; children George Williamson (Vanessa Dennen), Treeby W. Brown (Robbie), and Thad Williamson (Adria Scharf); brother-in-law H. Miller Andress; and his four grandchildren Frances Brown, Wallace Brown, Sahara Williamson, and Sylvie Williamson. His children, grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews valued his humor and wisdom, as well as his attachment to his model railroad.

From 2011 until his death, Sam Williamson was a resident of the Galloway Ridge retirement community near Pittsboro, NC, where he was active in resident leadership roles and made many new friends. The Williamson family is profoundly grateful for the care he received from Galloway Ridge, The Arbor, UNC Hospice, Sharon Lambert and the numerous doctors, nurses, and aides who supported Sam in his final years and months.

A memorial reception will be held for Dr. Williamson at Galloway Ridge (3000 Galloway Ridge Road, Pittsboro, NC) on Saturday, November 7 at 4 p.m. An additional memorial service will be held at Sewanee at a future point in time.

During their years at Sewanee, Sam and Joan Williamson took special interest in nurturing and supporting international students from every corner of the globe, developing close relationships with many of those students. Memorial gifts in honor of Dr. Williamson may be made to the Williamson International Fund at the University of the South or to St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Pittsboro.

Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Williamson Family.