Senior apartments dedicated

Named in honor of Edward Bennett Williams ’41, celebrated attorney

The College’s senior apartments were officially named the Edward Bennett Williams Hall, in honor of the legacy and generosity of the late Ed Williams ’41. Agnes Williams and members of her family came to campus on April 26 to mark the occasion.

A celebrated trial attorney and influential Washington insider, Williams was deeply committed to the Holy Cross mission and to the principles of Jesuit education. He represented a litany of famous clients and advised several United States presidents, while also serving on, and, eventually, chairing, the Holy Cross Board of Trustees until his death in 1988. At the time of his death, Williams presided over the Washington law firm he founded, Williams & Connolly—and was the owner of the Baltimore Orioles professional baseball team. In addition, he had been president of the Washington Redskins professional football team for 20 years.

Gifts from Williams’ widow, Agnes—also a former Trustee—and other contributors, endowed the Holy Cross Edward Bennett Williams Fellows Program in 1997. This program enables the College to hire faculty for their commitment to undergraduate teaching and to provide opportunities for the study of Catholic life—as well as for their interdisciplinary orientation toward issues of faith and reason.

Completed in 2003, Williams Hall is a five-story, 85,000-square foot building on lower campus, behind the St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. The two-bedroom apartments (living room, dining area and full kitchen) accommodate 244 seniors. Amenities include study rooms on each floor, and a ground-floor function room with a walk-out balcony overlooking the Worcester skyline.