In 1985, Grace Alele-Williams became the first female vice-chancellor of a Nigerian university, leading the University of Benin through a turbulent period. Faced with the threat of secret cults on campus, she took decisive action to restore stability and safeguard academic integrity.

Her journey to this role was marked by a series of firsts. She was the first Nigerian woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics education, securing her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. At the University of Lagos, she directed the Institute of Education for a decade, pioneering programmes that helped working women obtain teaching certifications and influencing mathematics education policies in Bendel and Lagos States.

Outside Nigerian shores, she played a key role in the African Mathematics Programme, co-authoring textbooks and organising workshops that strengthened mathematics instruction across the continent.