Dana A. Williams

Dana A. Williams is Professor of African American literature and Dean of the Graduate School at Howard University. Prior to serving as Dean, she served as Chair of English at Howard University for nine years. She has previously served as president of the College Language Association (the oldest and largest professional organization in the US for faculty of color who teach languages and literature), and president of the Association of Departments of English. She currently serves as president of the Modern Languages Association. In 2016, she was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a member of the National Humanities Council. In addition to her work at Howard, she has held faculty positions at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Northwestern University, Evanston, IL as a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow; and Duke University, as a faculty fellow of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute.