William Lee Tidwell was a Microbiology professor at San José State University from 1955 to 1988. Born on January 14, 1926 in Greenville, South Carolina, Tidwell graduated from Rock Hill High in 1942 at age 16. He then went on to attend University of South Carolina, graduating in 1945 with a B.S. in Biology. He then moved to Hawaii with his wife Louise to attend University of Hawaii, where he worked as a teaching assistant and graduated with an M.S.... in Bacteriology in 1948. He finished his studies at UCLA in 1951, and worked as a teaching assistant while he studied for his Ph.D. in Microbiology. After teaching at Texas A & M from 1951-1955, he went on to San José State University where he taught until he retired in 1988. During his time at SJSU he was active in campus politics. He was a part of the Faculty Council, Chairman of the Academic Senate, California State Employees’ Association (CSEA) Chapter President and Regional Director, Interim Biology Department Chair, and chaired on many other smaller committees, including the Committee on Committees. He also served on the Liaison Delegate Committee that established the California Faculty Association (CFA), and later served as State Vice President and Legislative Committee Chairman of CFA.

Tidwell enrolled in the Naval ROTC after high school, and served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946, on both the U.S.S. Colorado and U.S.S. Iowa. He continued in the Naval Reserve for over 30 years, retiring in 1986 as a Naval Captain. After retiring he moved to Visalia, California where he died November 5, 2017.