Dr. Felton C. Williams

BOARD PRESIDENT (RET.), LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
1970, A.A., SECRETARIAL SCIENCE, LOS ANGELES HARBOR COLLEGE
1972, B.A., BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, CSULB
1975, MBA, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, CSULB
1985, PH.D., HIGHER EDUCATION, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

With a name that “is known and revered in Southern California education circles,” as Rich Archbold wrote in the Press-Telegram, Felton Williams has been a force for positive change in greater Long Beach for nearly half a century. In 2024, Williams’ deep and abiding interest in what he has called “development and execution of the human potential” was recognized with a United States President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor of its kind, signed by President Joseph R. Biden. Williams’ journey began when he defied prevailing expectations to earn an associate’s degree from Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC) in 1970. He went on to earn both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from CSULB and later, a Ph.D. in higher education from Claremont Graduate University (CGU), all of which positioned him for a career focused on achieving educational excellence and equity and culminating in deanships at Sacramento City College and Long Beach City College. As a former president and longtime member of the Long Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education, he was successful in opening doors for African American and other students of color to access district programs and he has contributed his time and resources to a variety of other organizations, including Leadership Long Beach and the Long Beach Branch of the NAACP. Williams’ contributions have not only been recognized by President Biden but also with a Green-Garner Award, the nation’s highest urban education honor, and with Outstanding Alumnus awards from both LAHC and CGU. Although officially retired, Williams told Archbold last year, “I’m never going to stop to make things better.”

From 2025 Alumni Awards program