Harry Payne, Former Williams President, Dies

Staff reports12:52PM / Wednesday, January 09, 2008Print Story | Email Story

Harry C. Payne

WILLIAMSTOWN - Harry C. Payne, 60, former Williams College president, jumped to his death Monday afternoon from the eighth floor of an Atlanta hotel.

According to reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Woodward Academy president had given an upbeat speech just hours before to staff and faculty at the College Park, Ga., school to kick of the 2008 semester.

A suicide note was found in his eighth-floor room in the midtown hotel but police declined to reveal its contents. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a suicide, according to the Journal-Constitution.

Payne was the 14th president of Williams, serving from 1994 to 1999. The great room in Goodrich Hall was renamed for him; the Harry C. Payne Williams College Professorship in the Liberal Arts is designed to promote and support interdisciplinary teaching and research.

He was instrumental in the construction and renovation of the college's $45 million Science Center and updating of Griffin Hall, the college's oldest classroom building. He also helped launch planning for the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance.

"We benefit here at Williams every day from initiatives carried out or begun during the presidency of this wonderfully decent and caring man who dedicated his professional career to expanding the intellectual lives of students," posted Williams President Morton O. Schapiro on the college's Web site Tuesday. "His influence lingers even in the construction of our North and South Academic Buildings, designed to achieve for the humanities and social sciences what, under his stewardship, the Science Center was able to do for the natural sciences."

Payne earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree from Yale University. He was president of Hamilton College in New York prior to Williams. He resigned from Williams to lead the 108-year-old Woodward. Reportedly the largest independent school in the nation with an enrollment of 2,850, the school was established as the Georgia Military Academy and serves Grades prekindergarten through 12 in five schools in the College Park area.

According to news reports, Payne had been successful in leading Woodward through a multimillion-dollar capital campaign and taught a history class in the Upper School.

Ben Johnson, a close friend and the school's chairman of the board, said told the Journal-Constitution on Tuesday that "I've never seen him more upbeat."

"It is as close to totally inexplicable as anything I've ever dealt with," he said.

Payne leaves a wife, Deborah, and two grown sons, Jonathan and Sam, and brother, Richard, of Andover. The funeral was scheduled for today at 3 at Arlington Cemetery in Atlanta.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Obituary
Schapiro's Post
Payne's Legacy

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Companion Corner: Max at Second Chance

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
03:25PM / Thursday, February 12, 2026

ARLINGTON, Vt. — There is a dog at Second Chance Animal Shelter whose blindness doesn't stop him from wanting to play fetch with his new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Max is a 3-year-old border collie has been patiently waiting at the shelter since January 2023.

Lead canine care technician Alaura Lasher introduced us to him.

"He is a mostly blind dog, so we're looking for someone who is willing to work with him and his blindness, he actually does really well, even though he can't see for the most part," she said.

Max was given to the shelter after his previous owner was not able to care for his special needs. His new owner will have to be able to care for him and make sure his eyes are checked every six months.

"He has degenerative retinal atrophy. He had a surgery for this a year ago. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to gain much eyesight back from that, and we're just monitoring him for glaucoma. He would need someone who is ready to take him to the ophthalmologist every six months," said Lasher. "He gets checkups every six months just to make sure he hasn't developed glaucoma yet and nothing is worsening with his eyes."

It is suggested he goes to a home with older children who can understand his condition as well as no other pets, and a safe place for him to run free without worry of getting lost. Especially to play his favorite game of fetch.

"We do suggest a home with no other animals, just because with his blindness, it's a little hard for him to know how to interact with them. We also suggest a home with a fenced in yard again, because he loves to play fetch. He will play fetch for as long as you will let him, and he does amazing at it, even though he doesn't have the best eyes," Lasher said.

Max is on an eye-drop schedule that will need to be followed.

"He does require multiple eye drops a day, so someone would have to be ready and willing to kind of stick to his eye med schedule and be able to administer those daily," she said.

Max has shown signs of reactivity to strangers and animals and would do great if his next family could work with him in socializing.

"He's a very smart dog. He's very intelligent. I think he would do really well with some basic training. Since he's very toy driven, that would definitely kind of help him in his learning and training process."

If you think Max might be the boy for you, reach out to Second Chance Animal Shelter and learn more about him on the website.

Second Chance Animal Shelter is open Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. It is located at 1779 VT Route 7A. Contact the shelter at 802-375-2898 or info@2ndchanceanimalcenter.org.

View Full Story