Dear colleagues,

I am writing to share the news of the passing of William F. “Bill” Stevens, who was a member of our Business faculty from 1982 until his retirement in 2006. He was instrumental in building our Center for Continuing Education up to its height in order to provide educational opportunities for adults and significant revenue for the College in six years as Dean.

Bill died Monday, July 1, of cancer that was diagnosed a few weeks earlier. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 pm Tuesday, July 9, at Forbis and Dick Funeral Service, Guilford Chapel, on West Friendly Ave. There will be a graveside service at New Garden Friends Cemetery immediately after the service and a reception at Starmount Country Club at 3 pm.

Bill was an Associate Professor of Business Management and served as department chair. In 2000, he was tapped to revive a CCE program that had fallen on hard times. While he was Dean, adult enrollment reached a record 1,300 students in the fall of 2005. The program thrived as he implemented his creative ideas, including collaboration with Professor Frank Keegan to introduce a popular Forensic Biology major in 2002. Using his program evaluation skills, he tested various ideas to see what was most likely to be effective.  He expanded the college’s mission by working with faculty and staff to provide an excellent and transformative education to a broader range of students.  

Bill was an Indiana native who earned his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Physics at the University of Evansville (Ind.) and a master’s degree in Education and Statistics and a Ph.D. in Public Service Program Evaluation at Michigan State University.

He worked as Director of Evaluation for the Michigan Energy Administration. He had a long history of working for the government in Michigan including working for the Office of Substance Abuse Services. Also before joining Guilford, he worked for Price Waterhouse in Washington, D.C., where he did program evaluation work as a senior manager.

Bill spent years volunteering for Court Watch of N.C. (now Court Support for Families). He was on the Board and served as Treasurer, volunteering in many capacities.

Please hold Nancy Stevens, Bill’s wife of 43 years, and his other family members and friends in the Light at this time of loss.

Sincerely,

Maria Rosales
Provost