Brenda Williams

Education

Certificate, Harvard University Graduate School of Education Management Development Program 
  
Ph.D., Washington University, Saint Louis, MO                                      
            
M.A. Ed., Washington University, Saint Louis, MO                            
    
B.A., Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Published Books and Articles

Her research emphasis, early publications, and conference presentations explored the connections between cognition and reading comprehension and the connections between Reading and Developmental Studies. Most recently, she has been an invited presenter on the topics of “Effective Teaching and Classroom Management Strategies” (2005, 2006) and “New Models of Teaching and Learning:  Faculty and Students as Partners in the Classroom” (2004, 2005, 2006) at the Annual Noel-Levitz Conference on Student Recruitment, Retention, and Marketing.  She has been a featured presenter on the topic of “Faculty as Facilitators of Student Success” (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) at the National Symposium on the Recruitment and Retention of Students of Color (2005, 2006, 2007).  Dr. Williams is recognized nationally for her consulting work with faculty and higher education institutions.

Courses Taught

E101         Academic Reading
E110         Composition and Literature
E217         African American Literature from 1700’s to 1940
E218         African American Literature from 1940 to Present
E218          Honors African Americans in Literature and Film
ED627     Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum

Experience and Interests

Dr. Williams is currently serving a second term as Vice-Chair of the Connecticut Humanities Council, which is the State Committee of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  She has also served three prior terms on the Council’s Board of Directors during the 1990s. She has also served on the Long Wharf Theater Board in New Haven and the Garde Arts Theater Board in New London.

In July 2003, Dr. Williams was selected as a prestigious Aspen Institute Wye Fellow.  She attended the Wye Faculty Seminar: “Citizenship in the American Polity” in Queenstown, MD.

Her experience includes eight years as the past Associate Provost at the University of New Haven and three years as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Mitchell College. These experiences most recently led to her being an Invited Panelist, Women in Higher Education:  Navigating the Bumps, Curves, and Forks Along the Career Highway at the 20th Annual Noel-Levitz Conference on Student Recruitment, Retention, and Marketing in Denver, CO, July, 2006.

Dr. Williams serves as the Faculty Adviser to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and she serves as the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR).