[1] William G. Boltz attended the University of California, Berkeley and obtained his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in Oriental Languages in 1965, 1969, and 1974, respectively.
In 1981, He began working as a Professor of Classical Chinese in the Department of Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Washington.
[2] In 2022, The Seattle Times reported that the University of Washington had investigated Boltz for multiple accusations of sexual harassment of students spanning several decades.
Boltz received coaching from the university after several such incidents, as well as suspended merit pay increase for two years.
He has been quoted in the Times describing his actions as "poor decisions and wrong choices.