Bill joined JMU as head of the Department of Philosophy and Religion in 2001. He also served as the General Education program coordinator of Cluster Two: Arts and Humanities shortly before being named chair of the Madison Collaborative in 2013. Bill continues to enjoy teaching and was one of the first faculty to integrate the Eight Key Questions into his courses. Before coming to JMU, Hawk served as a vice president and academic dean for three years at Eastern Mennonite University, where he was also a professor of philosophy.

ERiA co-founder and longtime director Dr. William (Bill) Hawk retired at the end of June, 2022.