Texas Advertising Faculty Continues to Grow

Texas Advertising is honored to welcome Dr. Jerome D. Williams to both the department and to the University of Texas at Austin. He was named F.J. Heyne Centennial Professor in Communication, and received an appointment in the Center for African and African American Studies. Ph.D., University of Colorado (Business Administration/Marketing); M.S., Union College (Industrial Administration); B.A., University of Pennsylvania (English). His research interests cover a number of areas in the consumer marketing and advertising domains, with particular emphasis on issues related to multicultural advertising and marketing. Dr. Williams is happy to be here, he states, "My whole academic career has involved conducting research in the areas of multicultural marketing and marketplace diversity, and I am looking forward to extending my experience in this area at UT Austin."

Dr. Williams has testified in a number of court cases as an expert witness on consumer response to advertising strategies and currently is involved in cases involving consumer racial profiling. His research has appeared in numerous journals and books. He is co-editor of a soon-to-be published book on diversity in advertising, along with Dr. Wei-Na Lee in the department. Dr. Williams has been interviewed on numerous occasions by the national media, including CNN, Good Morning America, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Black Entertainment Television, etc., for his views on multicultural marketing, especially on topics dealing with target marketing. In September he was asked to present his consumer racial profiling research at the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, DC, and was interviewed by the national media. William remarks, "The landscape of the consumer marketplace has undergone a significant change in terms of diversity, and as this continues to occur, it is important for companies to develop effective marketing and advertising strategies to reach out to these diverse segments."

Dr. Williams has been a visiting professor at leading universities in countries around the globe, including Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Jamaica. He sits on the Executive Board of the Society for Consumer Psychology and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Marketing Association Foundation. Dr. Williams is married, has five children, and is an avid runner. Over the years he has completed over 20 marathons, trying to re-capture the youthful vitality he once had as captain of the track and cross country teams at the University of Pennsylvania where he set numerous records and trained in a research program sponsored by the U.S. Olympic Committee for the 1968 Olympic Games. Welcome Dr. Williams!

10/10/2003