Dr. James Williams strives to make the college classroom experience entertaining as well as educational, motivating students to be as passionate about their chosen career field as he is about retail, tourism and hospitality leadership and management.
“I believe in integrating life lessons,” says Williams, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville (UTK).
“I’m real and transparent about who I am, where I came from, and why education is important and connected to everything.
In the process, Williams intentionally defies stereotypes about what a college professor looks like.
“I want first and foremost for people to see me and say, ‘He’s not a professor,’” he says. “I want to change the narrative. Anybody can do this. It’s not about how you look or a certain background.”
Williams had not considered a career teaching in a post-secondary setting until a department chair at DePaul University told him that he liked the way Williams presented himself and urged Williams to think about it.
