William T. Scherer

William T. Scherer, devoted husband, beloved father, and member of the University of Virginia engineering faculty, passed away Oct. 30th. Bill, as he was known to everyone, was 66, He arrived at UVA for his third year and never left, receiving his bachelor's in 1980, master's in 1981, and PhD in 1986, all in systems engineering. He joined the faculty immediately afterward.

Bill's professional accomplishments are legend. He was a pre-eminent systems thinker, and author or co-author of numerous papers and two books, and, at the time of his death, chairman of the Department of Systems and Information Engineering. And, more importantly, he was a revered teacher, advocate and mentor to many hundreds of students, receiving the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in Systems Engineering — selected by systems engineering students — more than a dozen times.

He was the heart and soul of the Accelerated Master's Degree Program (AMP) in Systems Engineering, which he founded with other faculty members in 1999. AMP provided non-traditional students with the resources and instruction they needed to excel academically and professionally, in many cases transforming lives and careers.

Bill was a believer in the power of data to inform policy and decision-making. When asked to be the chief data scientist on the U.S. House Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol, he willingly accepted, serving from November 2021 until January 2023.

Bill matched the passionate intensity of his career with an equal devotion to his family. The same man who won the 2007 All-University Teaching Award from UVA in “recognition of excellent teaching and skill in motivating and inspiring students” was then the engaged father of three small daughters. The same man who won the Jefferson Scholars Hartfield Teaching Award in 2013 was also putting hundreds of miles on his minivan driving his daughters with his wife, Amy, to gymnastics meets.

Those who knew him best knew he always showed up -- at games, meets, school conferences or life events. The ultimate busy girl Dad, he also found time to play with his cats, tickle babies, and offer advice to family members -- solicited or unsolicited -- and always, always accompanied by statistics. He demonstrated impressive loyalty to franchise action movies despite their uneven quality, lectured any and all on risk, and did an impressive Chewbacca imitation.

Bill is survived by his wife, Amy, and daughters Kendall, Merritt and Linden. He grew up in Toms River, NJ, with two sisters Carole Todd (Jesse) of Charlottesville and Linda Scherer of Boulder, CO. His parents Joan and Christian Scherer of Crozet predeceased him as did his niece Courtney Marcellin and brother-in-law Art Burmeister.

Other survivors include nephew Andrew Todd (Garah) of Charlottesville; sister-in-law Lindsey Marcellin (Roger) of Charlottesville; brother-in-law David Newcome (Sharon) of St. Helena Island, SC; brother-in-law Doug Newcome of Stephens City; and nieces Grace, Megan, and Joanna and nephews Thomas and Colin.

Donations in Bill’s name may be made to the Systems and Information Engineering Department in the Engineering and Applied Science School. These funds will expand his vision of supporting students and empowering them to become systems thinkers and active agents of change in their communities.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at Old Cabell Hall on UVA grounds.