John F. 'Skip' Williams, Jr., MD, EdD

John F. "Skip" Williams, Jr., MD, EdD, is President at State University New York Downstate Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Williams formerly served as Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at The George Washington University Medical Center from 2010-12, Senior Vice Provost and Vice President for Health Affairs at The George Washington University from 2003-10, and as Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences from August 1999 to July 2003. From 1996-97, he served as Medical Director of George Washington University Hospital and, from 1993-97, as Associate Vice President for Graduate Medical Education at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Williams also has served as Associate Dean for Admissions and Assistant Dean for Admissions at the medical school.

In May of 2002, the Republic of Panama bestowed the Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa on Dr. Williams for his efforts to create the International Center for Tropical Diseases and Genomic Studies, a joint project between the GW Medical Center and Panama. Also in 2002, Dr. Williams received a commendation from The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Officers Foundation for Lifelong Commitment to Health in the United States. The students of George Washington University bestowed their commendation on him for Continued Dedication to the Students of The George Washington University in 2001-2002. He received a medal in 1999 acknowledging his Contributions to the Health of the People of China from the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing China. In 1998, he received the Flag of the United States of America from Congressman Edward J. Markey for Outstanding Contributions to the Improvement of Health of the Nation. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Community and Profession from Boston University in 1990 and the People's Medal from the People's Republic of China for Medical Contributions to the People of China. In 1988, Dr. Williams was named the Outstanding Clinical Teacher of the Year by the American Medical Student Association.

Dr. Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts in education at Boston University in 1970 and a Master of Science degree at The London School of Economics and Political Science in 1973. He received a Master's of Public Health degree from Yale University in 1975 and Doctorates of Medicine (1979) and Education (1996) from The George Washington University.