Dr. Eric Williams, executive director of the Educational Opportunity Program, is leaving Marquette. He will join the University of Wisconsin – Madison to serve as the assistant vice provost for student diversity and scholarship programs.
“I am grateful for the work Dr. Eric Williams has done leading EOP the past few years. He brought some valuable insights and served as a capable administrator. We wish him well as he returns to the University of Wisconsin – Madison,” said Dr. John Baworowsky, vice president for enrollment management.
Latrice Harris-Collins, currently the director of high school recruitment in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, has been named the interim executive director.
Harris-Collins has been at Marquette for 16 years. She began as an admissions counselor for multicultural outreach and was promoted to assistant dean of admissions in 2010; she was named to her current role in 2017.
Harris-Collins has worked with countless students over the years at Marquette and in the Milwaukee community through her recruitment efforts with Milwaukee Public Schools and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee. She also has an on-campus alliance with the Educational Opportunity Program and Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Harris-Collins also enjoys collaborating with colleagues across campus. She has partnered with various departments on recruitment, community outreach efforts and professional development opportunities. She is a member of University Staff Senate and is a leader of Marquette’s Black Faculty and Staff Network.
“For the interim executive director, I was looking for someone with strong leadership skills, knowledge of EOP, a dynamic administrator and a heart for serving Marquette students,” Baworowsky said. “Latrice Harris-Collins was a name that was repeatedly suggested in a number of conversations I had with leaders on campus.”
In 2017, Harris-Collins received the Way Klinger Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award, which recognizes one staff member each year who demonstrates exemplary leadership and manifests the ideas of diversity, equity and inclusion into practical action.
Harris-Collins says she is honored to serve EOP in this new role, and that she is looking forward to continuing to help students realize their academic potential and support them during their pursuit of post-secondary education. “I have always prided myself on being a model of diversity and inclusion through my personal life and the spirit I bring to campus each day,” Harris-Collins said. “I am the product of an urban K-12 Catholic school education, and it influenced who I am spiritually and professionally.”
The interim appointment will last approximately one year. During this time, the university will consider next steps regarding a permanent director.