If a person’s success can be measured by their accomplishments, then it’s clear Gregory Howard Williams, dean of the Ohio State School of Law, is successful. Williams, who’s been dean for 11 years, has written a best-selling memoir about his childhood. He was named “Dean of the Year” in October 1999 by the National Association of Public Interest Law, and has been chosen to be president of the American Association of Law Schools this year.When asked what the greatest achievement of his life is, Williams said, “Well, I’m not dead yet, so I hope that the greatest achievement of my life is yet to come. I can say that I’m very proud of my family and children, and I’m very proud of the impact that my book had on people. I received over 3,000 cards and letters in response to it. I’m proud to be the first African-American president of the American Association of Law Schools. I’m also proud that I overcame the adversity of my youth.”William’s memoir, “Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black” provides a colorful and moving explanation the extreme nature of the adversity that Williams faced. For the first 10 years of his life, Williams grew up in Fort Belvoir, Va., in a middle-class household believing that he was white. He and his brother Mike had always believed that their mother was white and that their father, who had darker skin, was Italian.When Gregory Williams was 10 years old, his father’s business failed and his parents were in the process of divorcing. Williams’s father, Buster, decided to move both of his sons to Muncie, In., where he had spent his own childhood.While on a train to Muncie, Buster Williams revealed to his sons the truth about their racial background. He told them he was not Italian, he was actually black. Buster Williams’ mother was black and his father was white.He explained to his sons that in Muncie, they would be treated as though they were black. It was 1954, and Muncie, like much of the country, had a racially divided climate. The life that Williams led after this point allowed him to view race from a unique perspective. When Williams and his brother Mike arrived in Muncie, they had to deal with the difficulty of being viewed as “too white” by many blacks, while being excluded and discriminated against by whites.Racial discrimination was not the only difficulty Williams and his brother faced. Their father was an alcoholic and he provided little support for his sons. Williams’ relatives didn’t have the means to support either Williams or his brother.Dora Weekly, a church-going woman who was familiar with both Williams’ and Mike’s situation, decided to take them in. However, Weekly had very few financial resources and Williams and his brother worked part-time jobs in order to help defray the cost of their support.Throughout his memoir and in answering questions, Williams is careful not to portray the people from his life one-dimensionally. Despite his struggles with alcoholism, Williams’s father always provided educational encouragement and told him that he could succeed and achieve his dreams.”I tried to be even-handed and fair,” Williams said. “My father wanted to do the best that he could, but he was fighting his own demons. He always had my best interest at heart.”Though he faced several instances in school when teachers or school administrators did not acknowledge his achievements or tried to limit his horizons because of his race, Williams graduated from high school and worked his way through Ball State University for his undergraduate degree.In order to support himself while in school, at 19 years old, Williams became the youngest deputy sheriff at the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department in Muncie, Indiana. He worked 40 hours a week while taking 15 hours of classes.After graduating from Ball State University, Williams went on to earn a number of degrees including his juris doctorate from George Washington University and a doctorate of philosophy from George Washington University. “Life on the Color Line” was published in 1995 and took Williams 10 years to write, which won him a book award from the Los Angeles Times that year.”It was difficult to work on while I had job commitments. I was able to take a limited research leave from the University of Iowa. I had to organize writing around teaching and other responsibilities, because I couldn’t quit my day job to work on the book.” Williams said he has considered writing another book, but he does not feel the same sense of urgency. Some of his goals for the future include helping the School of Law to excel.”I’ve enjoyed the opportunities here that have come with being the leader of a great law school. U.S. News and World Report ranked Ohio State as the fifteenth best law school in the country. We have the potential to be even better,” Williams said.Cathy Thompson, who works as an assistant to Williams, said, “I feel fortunate to work for someone whose work and life I admire. Dean Williams has contributed an enormous amount to the college and we are fortunate to have him at the helm.”A movie version of Williams’s memoir is currently in the works.