William U. Latham

Dr. William U. Latham serves as the Chief Student Development and Success Officer at the University of the District of Columbia. Dr. Latham oversees the Division of Student Affairs that works to engage all students in meaningful co-curricular programs and experiential learning opportunities to promote retention and persistence toward graduation. The Division of Student Affairs enhances programs and services that optimizes student learning & leadership and builds a supportive and welcoming campus community while fostering emotional growth and personal development of students, thus providing a positive contribution to the overall student experience.

Dr. Latham was a Senior Advisor for the Gallup Organization’s Education practice in Washington, D.C. He assumed this position in January 2013 after having served as an administrator and adjunct faculty member at Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville, Tennessee for twelve years. In this capacity, Dr. Latham created and facilitated learning experiences for senior executive leaders, educators and students using a strengths-based approach to improving wellbeing and achieving success in career and in life. He designed strengths-based strategies as well as effective organizational performance strategies. He led team-building sessions and provided executive performance insights for university presidents and other senior education leaders.

Dr. Latham previously served as Associate Director for Corporate Development, Leadership Studies and Service Learning for the TSU Honors Program where he developed the leadership program, chat lecture series, alumni affinity group, and corporate partnerships of the program. He also served as an adjunct professor in the Honors program at TSU in which he developed four leadership courses modeled from Harvard Business School curricula. Through the development of a new paradigm of honors program initiatives specifically focused on leadership curriculum, an honors internship program and student leadership conferences, students received a global skill set of development, training and practical experience. Dr. Latham also co-founded the D.R.E.A.M. Project (male peer-to-peer) mentoring project at TSU. This Project developed young men through holistic leadership training and development utilizing specific tools such as Gallup Strengths Finders, career assessment and soft skill analysis. To date, this Project enjoys a 90% retention rate at Tennessee State University for its male participants.

A strong advocate for experiential student development, Dr. Latham served as the faculty advisor for Opportunity Funding Corporation Business Plan Competition for TSU for eleven years. In this capacity, he led a team of undergraduate students to compete in a national MBA level competition, winning the Challenge in 2006. He also had the pleasure of serving as the Campus Coordinator for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). This opportunity provided unique training and development for students that attended the TMCF Leadership Institute in New York, NY; garnering full time employment with such companies as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, and the Gallup Organization.

Having an interest in public scholarship, Dr. Latham has been the recipient of the Kettering Foundation’s Public Scholars Fellowship, Babson College HBCU Case Fellowship and the Community Leadership Award from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Prior to joining the TSU Small Business Development Center as Director in 2000, Dr. Latham was a Commercial Loan Officer for the Minority Capital Fund of Ms., Inc. (MINCAP). He was also a Financial Analyst in the Commercial Credit Department at Trustmark National Bank in Jackson, MS.

A graduate of Morehouse College, Dr. Latham received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting. He obtained his Master Degree in Accounting and Ph.D. in Urban Higher Education from Jackson State University. He is married to Dr. Tiffany G. Latham and they are the proud parents of two daughters, Brianna & Jillian.