Project LIFT leader named to Gardner-Webb’s education hall of fame

Richard “Stick” Williams, who helped bring public schools and Charlotte-area philanthropists together to form Project LIFT, was recently inducted into the Gardner-Webb University education school’s hall of fame.

The Christian university in Boiling Springs recognizes people who have played leadership roles in education.

Williams, who recently retired as president of the Duke Energy Foundation, co-chairs Project LIFT (for Leadership and Investment For Transformation), a $55 million public-private partnership to improve test scores and graduation rates at West Charlotte High and its eight feeder schools.

Other 2016 inductees were Collette Deviney, a Shelby educator, and Walter Dalton of Rutherfordton, a former lieutenant governor who taught political science at Gardner-Webb. Dalton helped create North Carolina’s early college high school initiative.

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Project LIFT leader named to Gardner-Webb’s education hall of fame."