UMass Amherst Alumni Association

Awards & Grants

Distinguished Alumni Awards Recipients

William Ramsey '97

William Ramsey ’97 graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science from UMass Amherst.  After graduation, he gained acceptance into the U.S. Army’s Educational Delay Program to attend law school. He later earned his Juris Doctorate from Northeastern University School of Law in 2000.
 
Following September 11, 2001, he was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In January of 2003 he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Ramsey later served as an Army prosecutor where he tried numerous Courts-Martial. In July of 2003, he was appointed to the faculty of the United States Military Academy at West Point. During his time at West Point, he taught Constitutional and Military Law and co-authored Public Policy and Criminal Justice: The Election of 2004 and the Future.

In the wake of the Abu-Ghraib prison abuse crisis, Ramsey was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq to investigate and report on interrogation techniques employed during Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

In 2005, he left active duty military service and began work as an Assistant District Attorney with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. He is currently employed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as an Assistant Chief Counsel.  A Major in the Army Reserve, Ramsey is assigned to the faculty of the United States Military Academy. 

Ramsey is involved in numerous community organizations including Hingham Youth Football and Baseball, the Hingham Zoning Board of Appeals, the Hingham and Hull Rotary Club, and the Hingham Education Foundation.  His involvement with Veterans’ Groups is extensive and includes serving as a trustee of the Massachusetts Soldier’s Legacy Fund, the co-director of the Veteran’s-8 Summit, the American Legion and the Hingham Veterans Council.