HAMPTON, Va. — Saturday, Hampton University held an inaugural ceremony to welcome its 13th president.
General Derrell K. Williams is a Hampton alum and a retired Army veteran.
During the ceremony, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Congressman Bobby Scott, and a host of officials shared kind and encouraging words to congratulate Williams.
The Hampton choir and orchestra even graced people with songs.
Williams told News 3 he plans to create more opportunities for students and aims to give them the number one college experience in the country.
He said coming back to Hampton University is a full-circle moment for him and his wife.
"Me and my wife graduated from Hampton in 1983, and so to come back 40 years later which would've been this May, and to be back as the president, it feels surreal but it feels like it was supposed to happen. We want to pour back into the students at Hampton in 2023 what we got in 1983," Williams said.
Williams mentioned, by April 15, the university will release its strategic plan to grow the university, and academics will always be the number one priority.
