Download CV Personal Webpage Google Scholar Page
Krystal L. Williams, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. She is the Director and Principal Investigator of the Education Policy and Equity Research Collective (Ed_PERC) which explores issues regarding race and public policy with an emphasis on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and broadening participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for marginalized groups. Her research has been supported by many entities, most recently a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to study outcomes among Black women in computing.
Prior to joining the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Williams was a faculty member at the University of Georgia McBee Institute of Higher Education, and the University of Alabama. She was also a Senior Research Associate and a Senior Research Fellow at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Her work has received many accolades, including being acknowledged as an American Educational Research Association (AERA) Minority Dissertation Fellow. She was also awarded the AERA Scholars of Color Early Career Award and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Excellence in Public Policy Higher Education Award. Moreover, she was recognized as an Emerging Scholar in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Dr. Williams attended the University of Michigan where she completed her doctoral studies in Higher Education and Public Policy in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education. She also attended Clark Atlanta University where she earned a BS and MS in mathematics and graduated valedictorian.
Education
- Postdoc AERA ETS Fellowship in Psychometrics, Educational Testing Service, 2015
- PhD Higher Education /Public Policy (K-20 Focus), University of Michigan, 2014
- BS Mathematical Sciences, Clark Atlanta University, 2003
- MS Mathematical Sciences, Clark Atlanta University, 2003
Select Publications
- Williams, K. L. (2023). Notes on being a Black woman in STEM: A review of existing research concerning the experiences of Black women pursuing undergraduate STEM degrees. In L. Perna (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research (pp. 1-53). Springer Netherlands Online Publication/Abstract.
- Williams, K. L., Mobley Jr., S. D., Campbell, E., & Jowers, R. (2022). Meeting at the margins: Culturally-informed practices and culturally engaging environments for underserved populations at HBCUs. Higher Education
- Williams, K. L., & Taylor, L. (2022). The Black Cultural Student STEM Success Model: A Framework for Black students’ STEM success informed by HBCU environments and Black Educational Logics. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2022036596.
- Williams, K. L., Russell, A., & Summerville, K. (2021). Centering blackness: Culturallyinformed strategies for student success at HBCUs. Innovative Higher Education, 46, 733-757. Online Publication/Abstract.
- Williams, K. L., & Davis, S. C. (2021). Math challenges, strengths and achievement: Towards a theory of strain-induced performance-perception misalignment for racially marginalized students. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 27(4), 59-90. Online Publication/Abstract.
- Williams, K. L. (2020). Contextualizing math-related strengths and math achievement: Positive math orientations, social supports and the moderating effects of prior math knowledge. Journal of STEM Education Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s41979-020-00033-z.
- Williams, K. L., Dillion, E., Carter, S., Jones, J., & Melchoir, S. (2020). CS=Me: Exploring factors that shape Black women’s CS identity at the intersections of race and gender. ACM Transactions on Computing Education http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3631715.
- Burt, B. A., Williams, K. L., & Smith, W. A. (2018). Into the storm: Ecological and sociological impediments to Black males’ persistence in engineering graduate programs. American Educational Research Journal, 55(5), 965-1006. Online Publication/Abstract.
- Burt, B. A., Williams, K. L., & Palmer, G. (2018). It takes a village: The role of emic and etic adaptive strengths on the persistence of black men in engineering graduate programs. American Educational Research Journal, 56(1), 39-74. Online Publication/Abstract.
- Williams, K. L., Burt, B. A., Clay, K. L., & Bridges, B. K. (2018). Stories untold: Counternarratives to anti-blackness and deficit-oriented discourse concerning HBCUs. American Educational Research Journal, 56(2), 556-599. Online Publication/Abstract.
Select Presentations
- Williams, K. L. (2023, May). Critical Quantitative Methods: Applications and Implications for Practice and Education Policy. Partners United for Research Pathways Oriented to Social-justice and Equity (PURPOSE) Proseminar Series, Florida State University.
- Williams, K. L. (2023, April). The Diversity Imperative: Institutional Environments and Diversity Perceptions amongst Domestic and International Computing Graduate Students. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
- Williams, K. L. (2022, November). How Can Higher Education Researchers Influence Higher Education Policymaking? Association for the Study of Higher Education, Las Vegas, NV.
- Williams, K. L. (2022, April). The Black Cultural Student STEM Success Model: A Framework for Black Students’ STEM Success Informed by HBCU Environments and Black Educational Logics. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
- Williams, K. L. (2020, April). Black Women and Latinas in Engineering Professions: Diversity, Equity, and Human Capital Investments. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
- Williams, K. L. (2020, April). Centering Blackness: Culturally-informed strategies for student success at HBCUs. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
- Williams, K. L. (2020, March). Connecting with Computing: Exploring Black/African-American Women's People-Centered Interests in Computing Sciences. Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT) Conference, Portland, OR.
- Williams, K. L. (2020, March). Creating a Classroom of Inclusivity: Understanding the Experiences of Black/African-American Women in Computing & How they Express their Computational Competencies. Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT) Conference, Portland, OR.
- Williams, K. L. (2019, August). Math Identity & Future STEM Major Choice: A Role Strain & Adaptation Perspective of Black Students’ Trajectories. World Educational Research Association (WERA), Tokyo, Japan.
- Williams, K. L. (2019, April). From Deficits to Assets: Reframing Discussions about Underrepresented Students of Color Across Engineering Subfields and with Institutional Contexts. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON.
Select Awards and Honors
- Fellow in the Summer Institute in Advanced Research Methods (SIARM) for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), National Science Foundation, (2021-2023)
- Excellence in Public Policy Higher Education Award, Association for the Study of Higher Education, 2022
- Scholars of Color Early Career Contribution Award, American Educational Research Association (AERA), 2022
- Issues in Higher Education, Emerging Scholar for Diverse, 2021
- Asa G. Hilliard III and Barbara A. Sizemore Fellow, American Educational Research Association (AERA), 2017
- AERA Postdoctoral Fellow, Educational Testing Service (ETS), (2013-2015)
- Academic Fellow, Institute for Higher Education Policy, (2013-2014)
- AERA Minority Dissertation Fellow, Education Research, (2010-2011)
- Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, University of Michigan Inaugural Cohort, 2009
- Fellow, Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network, 2009