WTAMU College of Business Announces Williams Professorship

May 5, 2010

WTAMU College of Business Announces Williams Professorship

CANYON, Texas—The College of Business at West Texas A&M University is pleased to announce the establishment of the Don Williams Professorship of Management. The Williams Professorship of Management honors Don Williams, a distinguished entrepreneur, community leader and supporter of excellence in education from Plainview.

Williams and the Joachim Foundation established the professorship in February 2010. Williams offers the following reasons for establishing the Professorship:

"I believe that a prime driver of success in our society has been a well educated and informed populace, and I believe much of the future success and leadership of our country will be a result of our higher educational system. This is particularly true as it relates to our nation’s leadership in business and management. I consider education as an affirmation of the importance we place in our future. Therefore, it is my desire through investing in the Management Professorship to help continue and expand our nation’s leadership in the field of management. My hope is that this Professorship will embrace a sense of constructive impatience in the pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment, producing leaders who value both ethical success and gainful significance."

Dr. Andrew Li, assistant professor of management, has been named the Williams Professor of Management. Li earned his doctorate degree from the University of Arizona in 2008 and joined the WTAMU faculty in 2008. Li’s publication record includes articles in Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Human Relations Journal, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Journal, International Journal of Selection & Assessment, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, North American Journal of Psychology and Journal of Business & Psychology. He also has authored chapters in the books Research in Multi-Level Issues and Handbook of Organizational Politics.

The announcement of the Williams Professorship brings the total to seven professorships in the College of Business. The previous six professorships are the Gene Edwards Professorship of Finance, Gene Edwards Professorship of Banking, T. Boone Pickens Professorship of Business, James and Mogie McCray Professorship of Business, Dr. Phil Gensler Professorship of Computer Information Systems and J. Pat Hickman Professorship of Marketing.

Dr. Neil Terry, dean of the College of Business, said, "I want to thank Mr. Williams and our other donors that are helping us reach our goal of establishing 10 endowed professorships in the College of Business. The creation of endowed professorships has dramatically helped the College recruit and retain faculty members that are both excellent classroom instructors and recognized international scholars in their respective fields."

—WTAMU—