Football Pro Tackles Health Literacy GROWING UP IN PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, former Terp football star
Madieu Williams ’03 called his mom “Mother Teresa” because she was so devoted to her work as a nurse in a local hospital and helping families in the community. In their native Freetown, Sierra Leone, she was known for her efforts to get vaccines from a distant hospital to immunize children in their neighborhood. Now 28 and the starting free safety with the Minnesota Vikings, Williams seeks to honor his mother, Abigail Butscher, who died in 2005, and help improve the two communities that nurtured him. He donated $2 million to the university’s School of Public Health to establish the Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiatives. Williams is the youngest alumnus and the fi rst African American to make an endowed gift of this magnitude. “I’m blessed to be in a position to make a real difference,” says Williams, who has played six seasons in the NFL, two with the Vikings. “I grew up in a home where social consciousness was always advocated, and at Maryland Coach [Ralph] Friedgen stressed the
1 BILLION 900 M
importance of making a difference in the world beyond football.” In announcing the gift, President Dan Mote noted, “Madieu has a passion for his profession and an inspired vision of how his success can transform the lives of others.” Williams says he envisions the center working to improve the quality of life of people in two areas separated by great distance who share some of the same challenges. “The area where Prince George’s County borders Washington, D.C., is not so dissimilar to Sierra Leone in terms of the need for health literacy and nutrition education,” says Williams, who earned a degree in family science. “My hope is that the center will have a lasting impact on making families in both places healthier and stronger.” School of Public Health Dean Robert S. Gold says the center, in partnership with Prince George’s County and the Embassy of Sierra Leone, will address social factors of health that promote wellness, quality and longevity of life and healthy lifestyles. Williams says he’s proud not only to partner with Maryland on this project, but also to create an opportunity that brings resources in to Sierra Leone, rather than takes them out. —CR
Madieu WIlliams (above) as a Terp, and (below, second from right) with School of Public Health Dean Robert S. Gold (left), President Dan Mote (second from left) and Sierra Leone Ambassador Bockari Stevens at an event announcing the gift.
800 M
–$693 MILLION
700 M 600 M 500 M 400 M
campaign total
300 M
$693 MILLION as of Dec. 31, 2009
200 M 100 M
PHOTO ABOVE COURTESY OF MARYLAND ATHLETICS; PHOTO AT RIGHT BY JOHN T. CONSOLI
TERP
winter 2010
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