WASHINGTON -- Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick is pleased to announce the appointment of Dana A. Williams, Ph.D., as the dean of the Graduate School following a comprehensive national search. Williams has served in positions of increasing responsibility at Howard University, including, most recently, as interim dean of the Graduate School and previously as chair of the Department of English. In this role, she will report to Provost Anthony K. Wutoh. 

 “As interim dean, Dr. Williams has performed admirably and gained the trust and confidence of faculty, students and staff alike. Please join me in congratulating Dean Williams as she assumes this new role of leadership for the Graduate School,” said President Frederick.

Williams’ previous academic appointments include a Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University and a faculty fellowship at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke University. She has written numerous works, including “In the Light of Likeness – Transformed: The Literary Art of Leon Forrest;” edited four books; and authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles. She is also the past president of the College Language Association – the largest and oldest professional organization for professors of color who teach English and world languages – and the Association of Departments of English, which represents hundreds of departments of English, humanities and writing programs at two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Williams to serve as a member of the National Council on the Humanities.

“The tradition of exemplary deans at Howard is at once an enviable and aspirational one in which to follow. At critical moments in our institution’s history, deans have succeeded in helping transform the university. In its commitment to excellence, to research innovation, and to creating positive change in the world, graduate education at Howard must adapt to accommodate new realities,” said Dean Williams. “Historically, the signal characteristic of deans who have enacted the kind of transformation necessary to extend Howard’s success in graduate education has been outsized intellectual achievement as scholars commingled with earned respect of equally distinguished colleagues. It is the prospect of extending this specific legacy of scholar deans with deeply invested and productive collegial relationships that inspires my commitment to leadership at alma mater today and always.”

As a member of the faculty at Howard, Williams has a long record of service to the University and beyond. Most recently, she served as chair of Standard III (Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience) for the Middle States Self Study report; as coordinator for the “From Protest to Policy” conference and the Clinton Global Initiative University annual meeting; and as convener of the R2 HBCU graduate school deans. She currently serves as a member of the Council of Graduate Schools’ Committee on Research and Information Services. Williams is a member of the Advisory Board for the Hurston-Wright Foundation and the Center for Black Literature and president of the Toni Morrison Society.

Williams received her B.A. in English from Grambling State University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Howard University.

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Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 areas of study leading to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars, and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

Media Contact: Imani Pope-Johns, imani.popejohns@howard.edu