William (Bill) Gilligan is an American academic and administrator who served as interim president of Emerson College from 2021 to 2023. [1] Prior to this role, he was the vice president for information technology at Emerson, retiring from that position in 2020. [2]
Gilligan holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Boston College, a Master of Science in teaching from the University of New Hampshire, and a Doctor of Education in mathematics from Boston University. [3]
Gilligan joined Emerson College in 1984 as an assistant professor. [4] He served as treasurer of the ECC-AAUP union chapter from 1985 to 1987, chaired the Faculty Assembly from 1992 to 1994, and was a long-standing member of the Faculty Council. [4] He also acted as the Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA during the periods of 1991–1994 and 2005–2007. [3] In 1999, he was appointed as one of the college's twelve vice presidents and led the IT department until 2021 when Brian Basgen succeeded him. [4]