Sean Williams named chairman of Clemson University English department

Published: June 29, 2011

Sean D. Williams image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON — Sean D. Williams has been appointed chairman of Clemson University’s English department. Williams is professor of English and has taught at Clemson since 1999. He was chosen from a field of three finalists following a collegewide search. Williams will assume his new duties Aug. 1.

“Sean’s extensive background in both teaching and research has prepared him extraordinarily well for his new role as chair,” said Richard Goodstein, dean of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. “Whenever I speak with him, I am struck by Sean's remarkable passion for education and for seeing our students and faculty succeed. He has a creative mind and a head for business — the perfect combination for leading this vital, thriving department.”

Williams’ major areas of interest include electronic communication and collaboration, with National Science Foundation support for two of his research projects. He has published extensively, investigating interpersonal communication and how the Internet amplifies and expands ways of building and sustaining personal relationships. In July, he will complete a year abroad as senior research fellow at The Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) in Barcelona, Spain. There he collaborated with multiple startup companies to investigate the intersection of social networks, entrepreneurship and online communication.

“Working with the English department at Clemson is an incredible opportunity,” said Williams. “Our faculty is one of the most research-active on campus, publishing books with the best presses like Oxford and Stanford, serving on national and international editorial boards, winning international competitions and fellowships and securing grants.

"The English department also is poised to be a leader in humanities education for the next generation because our interdisciplinary faculty combine teaching innovations and their research with project-based learning to demonstrate how the humanities encourage students not only to think deeply, but also to create solutions based on an understanding of people, their motivations and the role of communication in our world,” he said.

At Clemson, Williams has helped to create academic partnerships, most notably The Virtual Worlds Consortium, a collaboration among several research universities, private businesses and individuals who have combined resources to investigate the social, economic, educational and political possibilities of 3-D virtual worlds like Second Life.

Williams also has consulted extensively in industry and the public sector on communication topics. His partnerships represent work with a wide variety of organizations, ranging from giants like Bank of America to small non-profits. Most recently, he co-founded the STREAMTools Division of the Illionix Corp. to commercialize the intellectual property from his book “Technical Writing for Teams: The STREAM Tools Handbook.”

Williams holds degrees from the University of Utah, Arizona State University and the University of Washington.  

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Clemson University English department
Clemson’s English department offers two bachelor’s degrees in English, two master's degrees, and is one of several departments collaborating in a Ph.D. program in rhetorics, communication and information design. The department is home to Clemson’s nationally acclaimed program in writing across the curriculum.