William Towns

William Towns

Assistant Vice President, Neighborhood Initiatives
The University of Chicago

William W. Towns is Assistant Vice President, Neighborhood Initiatives, in the University of Chicago's Office of Civic Engagement. He is responsible for identifying and developing place-based policies and initiatives that will revitalize communities, influence economic growth, and stimulate workforce development in the neighborhoods surrounding the University's Hyde Park campus.

Prior to joining the University, William was the Regional Vice President of Mercy Portfolio Services, a subsidiary of Mercy Housing Inc. There, he was responsible for the overall implementation of a $169 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act under the City of Chicago's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which aimed to help stabilize communities through the purchase, rehab and re-occupying of foreclosed and vacant real-estate-owned (REO) properties throughout the city.

He holds degrees and certificates from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza School of Business, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, and Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business.