Dr. Alexis Y. Williams is a lecturer in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology and an affiliate of the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center at the University of ÀË»¨Ö±²¥, College Park. Previously, she served as Assistant Director for PROF-it (Professors-in-Training), a University System of ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ teaching professional development program designed for STEM graduate students and postdocs, and open to any who are interested in academia. She served proudly as a distinguished mentor and speaker for the NSF-funded PROMISE program: ÀË»¨Ö±²¥â€™s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) and as Instructional Development Specialist and Coordinator of Graduate Programs for the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center (TLTC; formerly the Center for Teaching Excellence). Altogether she has taught at the university level for twelve years in the content areas of developmental science and educational psychology.
Dr. Williams enjoys teaching about teaching and learning about learning. She is passionate about creative and connected teaching and engaged mentorship. Through her research, mentorship, and teaching, she has learned that multi-institutional support for teachers’ social and emotional development is at least as essential as their own content knowledge and teaching skills for resulting well-being and success - both their own and their students'.
Distinguished Guest Speaker, Symposium Judge, & Mentor, NSF’s PROMISE AGEP, 2013-20
Training Presenter and Award Selection Committee, ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ Global Classrooms Initiative, 2017-19
Staff Mentor, ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ Incentive Awards Program, 2017-19
Defender of Diversity Award, ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Staff and Faculty Association, 2018
Invited Facilitator and Steering Committee Member, ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ Diversity Immersion Institute, College of Information Studies, 2016-18
Invited Speaker, Society of McNair Fellows Peer Mentoring Program, 2018
Task Force Member & Presenter, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Equity Center’s #TransTerps Program
Invited Panelist, Conversation Series on Digital Pedagogy, African American History, Culture, & Digital Humanities (AADHum), 2017
PTK Research Faculty Representative, University Senate, 2016-17
Faculty Technology Fellow, UM College of Education, 2013-14
Wentzel, K. R., Tomback, R. A., Williams, A. Y., McNeish, D. (2018). Perceptions of competence, control, and belongingness over the transition to high school: A mixed-method study. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 56, 55-66.
Schmitt, K. R. B., Larsen, E., Badawy, A. H. A., Hrapczynski, K. M., Miller, M. W., Dougherty, M., Taylor Sharma, A., Robertson, B. M., Andrew, A. A., Williams, A. Y., Kramer, S. R., & Benson., S. A. (2013). A survey tool for assessing student expectations early in a semester. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 14(2), 255-257. Retreivable from
Williams, A. Y. (2013). Dissertation house as a best practice: A reflection. In Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity: Intersections and Inequality, 23-25. Retrievable from