As a Southern Black descendant of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, I intentionally center Black women and girls in my scholarship as the primary demographic obtaining and sustaining higher education within Black communities. Across peer-reviewed journal articles (n=28), book chapters (n=9), co-edited volumes (n=2), public scholarship (n=32), and a host of invited (n=44) and refereed (n=68) presentations, my scholarly agenda primarily examines (a) Black women and girls’ career and identity development, and workplace experiences (b) social class(ism) in higher education environments, and (c) the nexus of education and public health.
[numeric counts last updated January 2025]
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Open in new tab ‘If you are silent about your pain, they‘ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.” —Zora Neale Hurston
Researcher Commitments
As a Black feminist scholar, being personally accountable, showing researcher responsibility (Dillard, 2000), and engaging with an ethic of care (Collins, 1990) is integral to my scholarly research practices. In all of my studies, those center Black women and otherwise, I work to maintain the highest ethical and moral standards, to be accountable for how I frame and (re)share people’s stories and experiences, and to tread carefully with the privileges bestowed upon me as a meaning maker in academic research.
I cannot commit to always getting this right, I can commit to doing my best to do so. Accordingly, I know that I am responsible not only to the people who agree to be a part of my research, but also the communities and families from which they and I come from. I do not and will not, ever, purport to be neutral in my scholarly agenda and research practices as it is important now, more than ever, to do right by the realities of the people before me. I am grateful to every participant, past and present, mentor, and scholar-friend who will read, correct, and challenge me on my work. I am better for it. The field is better for it. And doing so will help me to maintain my researcher’s responsibility.
Scholarly Funding
My areas of inquiry reflect my investments and impact in creating and facilitating community among Black people, illuminating how under and disinvestment impedes Black people’s growth and wellness, and centering joy and sustainability of oneself and community despite the odds. The following entities have funded this work:
- NIH
- NSF
- Spencer Foundation
- UVM Health Network
- ACPA
- NAEd/Spencer
- UVM
- St. Cloud State University
- NASPA
- UGA
Further Engage My Work
You can follow my intellectual contributions no matter where your time on the web is spent:
- Medium: https://medium.com/@drbritwilliams
- University Faculty Page: https://www.uvm.edu/cess/profile/brittany-brit-m-williams
- Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brittany-Williams-39
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=PaCwzdEAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbritwilliams
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7573-4477
Teaching Philosophy & Course Syllabi
I approach my teaching from a high-challenge, high-support model wherein learning progress, development, and growth are more important than correctness and perfection. As a student once relegated to the margins of the classroom, I use my classrooms as inclusive learning environments where my students come to understand that we are first all experts in our own experiences. From there, students are encouraged to enter my courses prepared to engage and become more informed members of the college, community, and world. My classrooms operate as spaces where development and learning processes are subjective and ever-changing to promote constant, consistent reconceptualization of the world around us because a strong awareness of higher education management and organizational skills are required to succeed in today’s educational, social, and political landscape(s). My current teaching evaluation average is 4.9/5, and I use my teaching approaches to help students better understand their professional roles and identities, thereby rooting my philosophy in my sense of duty to improve the cultural, social, and professional competence of the next generation of leaders.
Curious about how to actualize this? Here’s an example of one of my actual course syllabi:
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