Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Anthony Williams, M.D.

Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education Christa Zehle, M.D., has announced the appointment of Anthony Williams, M.D., as assistant dean for admissions in the Office of Medical Student Admissions, effective July 1, 2023. In this role, Williams will provide leadership support for the recruitment and selection of Larner College of Medicine medical students.

“Dr. Williams has been a valuable contributing member of our Admissions Committee since 2019,” stated Zehle. “I am delighted that he has accepted this important leadership position on the admissions team and know that our medical education program and community will benefit greatly from his experiences, perspectives, and commitment to addressing the lack of minority representation in medical schools and in our profession.”

A graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Williams completed a family medicine residency at the UVM Medical Center and joined the UVM faculty in 2016. Based at the UVM Health Network’s Family Medicine–Primary Care office in Colchester, Williams oversees many facets of palliative/end-of-life care. His clinical expertise also extends to knee, shoulder, and hip injections, as well as surface skin biopsies. In addition, Williams is a proud champion of diversity in practice. He continues to serve as the co-chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, along with being the advisor for diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Department of Family Medicine. He has given several grand rounds lectures and regional presentations on social justice, systemic racism, and the African American experience. He will continue to promote a mission of diversity and inclusion in medicine in his role as assistant dean for admissions at Larner.

“As an African American physician, I am well aware of the data regarding the lack of minority representation in medical schools,” Williams said. “As assistant dean for admissions, I seek to challenge this imbalance while remaining mindful of the Larner College of Medicine’s goal: to create a thoughtful, diverse student body. This role affords me the opportunity to directly support our mission of improving medical student diversity and retention.”

As a vital member of the admissions leadership team, Williams will work alongside the associate dean for admissions and the Admissions Committee, as well as the Office of Medical Education. He will oversee planning and continuous quality improvement that establish short- and long-term programmatic goals to ensure effective monitoring of the admissions program’s compliance with accreditation standards. Williams will also work closely with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to secure both offices’ alignment of recruitment goals and priorities. Additionally, he will serve on the Admissions Scholarship Committee and ensure that scholarship distribution aligns with strategic recruitment and retention goals. The promotion and development of scholarship opportunities for underrepresented in medicine pre-matriculation students and applicants will also fall under Williams’s purview.

“I am thrilled that Dr. Williams has agreed to join the admissions leadership team at the Larner College of Medicine,” said Leila Amiri, Ph.D., associate dean for admissions. “His past and current work at our institution and the UVM Health Network speak to his commitment to supporting equitable access to health care by expanding the physician workforce in the U.S. I know that Dr. Williams’s contributions to our school will be integral in our work toward the Larner College of Medicine’s Vision 2025 plan.”