Mark Williams, Ph.D., dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was invested last week in the M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D. Chair in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.
Williams, whose career in public health spans more than 30 years, was one of the first to study the epidemiology and prevention of HIV in drug users and was an original contributor to the development of community-based prevention interventions with this population. He joined UAMS in July.
Williams came to UAMS from the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University. From 2011 to 2013, he served as professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management. He was appointed associate dean of academic affairs in 2012 and was interim dean from 2013-2016.
Before that, Williams served in academic roles at the University of Texas School of Public Health, the University of St. Thomas, and the University of Rhode Island. He worked in the private sector as vice president for behavioral research at NOVA Research Company and vice president of research and development at Affiliated Systems Corporation.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in 1976 and his master’s degree from the University of Nebraska in 1979. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1983 from the University of Iowa.
The chair is named in honor of Elders, a UAMS emeritus professor of pediatrics and distinguished professor of public health who served as the 15th U.S. surgeon general under then-President Bill Clinton from 1993-1994. She was the first African-American, second woman and first Arkansan appointed to the post. Several hundred individual donors contributed to funding the chair to honor her legacy.
Elders is also a member of the UAMS Board of Advisors and the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame. She received her medical degree from UAMS in 1960 and joined the faculty after completing her master’s degree in 1967. She served as director of the Arkansas Department of Health as well, from 1987-1993.
Elders attended the investiture ceremony, held in the UAMS Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.
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