David C. Williams, the recently retired Inspector General of the US Postal Service (USPS OIG), will join the Schar School of Policy and Government as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Policy. He will begin teaching classes in the Fall, helping students understand government oversight issues.
Williams was sworn in as the second independent Inspector General (IG) for the U.S. Postal Service on August 20, 2003. He was responsible for a staff of more than 1,125 employees — located in cities nationwide — that conducted independent audits and investigations for the largest civilian federal agency that has over $65 billion in annual revenues, a workforce of 522,000 employees and 31,000 Postal Service managed retail facilities.
Williams served as IG for five federal agencies. He was first appointed by President George Bush to serve as IG for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1989 to 1996. President William Clinton next appointed him IG for the Social Security Administration from 1996 to 1998, and then as IG for of the Department of the Treasury in 1998. In 1999, President Clinton named him as the first IG for Tax Administration of the Department of Treasury, where he directed a staff of 1,050 to detect fraud, waste and abuse. In 2001 President George W. Bush named Williams the Acting IG for HUD, while he was also serving at the Department of the Treasury.
Williams served in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence and began his civilian federal career as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service. Moving up the career ladder, he served as Director of Operations in the Office of Labor Racketeering at the Department of Labor; the President’s Commission on Organized Crime; and as Director of the Office of Special Investigations at the U.S. General Accounting Office. Williams is the recipient of the U.S. Bronze Star and the Vietnamese Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam.
A native of Illinois, Williams graduated from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Ill., and received his Advanced Degree in Education and a Masters in Education from the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill. He also attended the U.S. Military Intelligence Academy, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and the U.S. Secret Service Training Academy.