William Levi

Hamilton

William Levi Hamilton - an African American leader in New York City higher education, accomplished musician, loving and devoted husband and father, with a lifelong devotion to issues of social justice, transitioned on Sunday, May 10, 2020 at the age of 90 due to COVID-19, following a dignified and valiant battle against Parkinson's Disease.

William was born on March 5,1930, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He was born into a close knit and loving family with five siblings - three sisters and two  brothers. William was the fourth child and second son to parents Kenneth James Hamilton and Etta Bell Perry.

History and education were of primary importance in their home and continued to be a driving force throughout his life. William's maternal grandfather was born enslaved and lived to be a major influence in William's life. William's father, though a business school graduate, could only obtain a janitorial position upon graduation due to his race. These circumstances were no doubt the early engines fueling William's commitment to social and racial justice. Eventually William's father became the food services manager for Antioch College, where he eventually earned faculty status.

Yellow Springs was a small town and along with his brothers and sisters, William grew up with his mother's 10 siblings and their children, the Perry and Adams clan, and enjoyed a happy childhood with his family and cousins.  William was a natural musician, demonstrating a gift and passion for music early in his life, playing professionally with a jazz group beginning in his teenage years and played with Nancy Wilson in Ohio before she became famous.

In high school, William ran track and field and like his siblings, worked at the dining hall at Antioch College with his father until leaving for college. William earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music Theory and Composition from Ohio State University. Thereafter, he served in the military and was stationed at Fort Carlson in Colorado Springs, CO after the Korean War.    William played in the army band, playing Reveille for the troops and in jazz quartets for both the Commissioned and Non­ Commissioned Officers Clubs.

After his military service, William returned to school and obtained his master's degree in social work from Hunter College in New York. He held positions at NYC Community College, where he was in charge of Student Affairs and coordinated the Child Care program. In November 1971, William joined LaGuardia Community College as assistant to the President and Professor of Sociology. He became Acting Dean the following January and was appointed Dean of Students of LaGuardia in July 1972.

At the time, LaGuardia Community College was integral to NYC's move from an elitist to an egalitarian approach to education, providing poor, immigrant and students of color with open enrollment and therefore access to higher education. Given his focus on social justice, in 1974 William was elected Chair of the Council of Deans of Students of the City University of New York.

William also served as the Chair of the Black Council on Higher Education, an organization of 80 black educators and administrators he helped organize as it became clear that educational gains made by blacks during the 1960s were being eroded in the 1970s.  This group was instrumental in providing statistical evidence of this and keeping the focus in the right direction.

William worked at the College for 21 years until his retirement in 1992 and was a popular, values led, and effective Dean at the college.  People admired his calm and helpful demeanor as well as his capacity to directly address adversity and help mobilize people around common solutions. His students gave him a Tribute for fighting on their behalf and for all he helped them achieve. At his retirement, the school renamed their library area the "Dean Hamilton Student Center" in recognition of William's contributions to the school and the students. William's speech at this ceremony was placed outside the library so future students could understand who he was and what he stood for.

William loved gardening, family reunions and large outdoor barbeques with family and friends.  After taking early retirement in 1992, he also enjoyed extensive travel with his wife on business trips in the US and abroad and producing photo documentaries of the lives of each of his children, his wife and members of her family as well.

William was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth James Hamilton, Sr. and Etta Belle Perry Hamilton; his sisters Barbara R. Davis, award-winning children's author Virginia Hamilton, and his brother Kenneth James "Buster" Hamilton, Jr.

William is survived by his devoted wife of 35 years, Joyce Dudley Hamilton of Brooklyn, NY; the eldest of his siblings, his sister Nina Anthony, of Columbus, Ohio; and his brother-in-law and husband of Virginia Hamilton, Arnold Adoff.  He  is  also  survived  by  his children: William Ellsworth Hamilton of New Jersey; Dr. Celine Alyssa Hamilton (Thomas   Edwards) of Florida; Dana Leigh Hamilton (Bob Robinson) of New Jersey; and Cynthia Susan Hamilton Augustine (Paul Augustine) of New Jersey; and his grandchildren: Dean James Hamilton, Jennifer Leigh Augustine, Thomas Calvin  Augustine,  Hudson  Edwards, and Avery Edwards along with a host of valued nieces, nephews, cousins and  friends.