Jerome Williams, Ph.D.

Jerome Williams, Ph.D. – Provost, Rutgers University

Jerome D. Williams, Distinguished Professor and Prudential Chair in Business, will assume his role as Rutgers University Provost, effective September 1, 2015. An internationally esteemed scholar, teacher, and leader in business education, Jerome has served in key leadership roles at Rutgers Business School (RBS) since 2010, including Ph.D. program director and research director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. The range of his national prominence is evident in the American Marketing Association having named an award in his honor and in his associate editorship of the Journal of Public Policy and Management. A sought after speaker and commentator by national media (including National Public Radio and the Huffington Post), he also is recognized for his leadership in the Ph.D. Project to diversify the next generation of scholars, faculty, and leaders in business, as well as for his deep involvement in efforts to reduce childhood obesity, including First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative.

Most recently prior to joining RBS, Jerome was the F.J. Heyne Centennial Professor in Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, a joint appointment between the Department of Advertising and Center for African and African American Studies. A scholar of wide-ranging interests and accomplishments, he researches, teaches, and consults in areas including consumer behavior of multicultural market segments, internet privacy, public health communication, marketplace discrimination, retail redlining, and advertising.

He currently is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Marketing Association Foundation.  The Foundation’s Williams-Qualls-Spratlen award is named in his honor to recognize marketing scholars for mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds.  In 2009 he received the Academy of Marketing Science Outstanding Marketing Teaching Award.  He currently serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.