Dr. Williams recognized by the BOR with the campus-based Teaching Award for WCSU.

Dr. Howell Williams

Dr. Howell Williams, assistant professor of Social Sciences, was recognized by the BOR with the campus-based Teaching Award for WCSU.

Williams is a political scientist who teaches on a range of topics, including American government, political institutions, political theory, and gender and sexuality politics.
His classes often use role-playing games to introduce students to historical events such as the Constitutional Convention and Supreme Court rulings.

Williams also brings in experts to discuss current events. He collaborated with the office of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton for a course about local public administration, which allowed students to visit local government offices and get hands-on experience with the workings of city governance. He has also invited State Representatives, members of local media organizations, and sitting members of the U.S. Congress to meet students and discuss their role in America’s governing institutions.

“You can use role-playing and hearing from today’s decision-makers to help students learn concepts like separation of powers and checks and balances in U.S. government,” Williams said. “I love research, but I was really inspired by the great teachers I had growing up. Teaching was what made me get a Ph.D.”

The awards — both campus-based and system-wide — recognize faculty for excellence in teaching or research. The awards are given to adjunct faculty members and assistant and associate professors in tenure-track or tenured positions who have distinguished themselves as outstanding teachers, promote instructional improvements for their departments, and are doing exceptional research, scholarly, and/or creative work.