Bio Page

Wendy M. Williams

Professor
G 79 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall
HD, CIRC
 
Phone: (607) 255-2537
Fax: (607) 255-9856
Email: wmw5@cornell.edu
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Curriculum Vitae

Biographical Statement:
Wendy M. Williams is a Professor in the Department of Human Development at Cornell University, where she studies the development, assessment, training, and societal implications of intelligence and related abilities. She holds Ph.D. and Master's degrees in psychology from Yale University, a Master's in physical anthropology from Yale, and a B.A. in English and biology from Columbia University, awarded cum laude with special distinction. In the fall of 2001, Williams co-founded (and now co-directs) the Cornell Institute for Research on Children (CIRC), a National-Science-Foundation-funded research- and outreach-based center that commissions studies on societally-relevant topics and broadly disseminates its research products. She heads "Thinking Like A Scientist," a national education-outreach program designed to encourage traditionally-underrepresented groups (girls, people of color, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds) to pursue science education and careers. Williams also directed the joint Harvard-Yale Practical and Creative Intelligence for School Project, and she was Co-Principal Investigator for a six-year, $1.4 million Army Research Institute grant to study practical intelligence and success at leadership.

In addition to dozens of articles and chapters on her research, Williams has authored eight books and edited five volumes. They include The Reluctant Reader (sole authored), How to Develop Student Creativity (with Robert Sternberg), Escaping the Advice Trap (with Stephen Ceci; reviewed in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today), Practical Intelligence for School (with Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg, Tina Blythe, Noel White, and Jin Li), Why Aren't More Women in Science? (with Stephen Ceci; winner of a 2007 Independent Publisher Book Award), and the upcoming The Mathematics of Sex (also with Stephen Ceci). She also writes regular invited editorials for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Williams's research has been featured in Nature, Newsweek, Business Week, Science, Scientific American, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Child Magazine, among other media outlets. She was series editor for The Lawrence Erlbaum Educational Psychology Series and she served on the Editorial Review Boards of the journals Psychological Bulletin, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Applied Developmental Psychology, and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, as well as the book publisher Magination Press (American Psychological Association Books).

Williams is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) and four divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA)--general psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, and media psychology--and she served two terms as Member-at-Large of the executive committee of the Society for General Psychology (Division 1 of APA). She was also program chair and dissertation award committee chair for Divisions 1 (general psychology), 3 (experimental psychology), and 15 (educational psychology) of APA. In 1995 and 1996 her research won first-place awards from the American Educational Research Association. Williams received the 1996 Early Career Contribution Award from Division 15 (educational psychology) of APA, and the 1997, 1999, and 2002 Mensa Awards for Excellence in Research to a Senior Investigator. In 2001, APA named her the sole recipient of the Robert L. Fantz Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology in recognition of her outstanding contributions to research in the decade following receipt of the Ph.D. Most recently, Williams was named a 2007-8 G. Stanley Hall Lecturer by APA.

Current Professional Activities:
I am a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) and of four divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA)--General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, and Media Psychology. My APA service has included two terms as Member-at-Large of Division 1 (General Psychology), separate terms as annual conference Program Chair for Division 1, Division 3 (Experimental Psychology), and Division 15 (Educational Psychology), plus terms as dissertation award committee chair and as the representative to the APA Committee for Women in Psychology. I am on several editorial boards and have guest-edited volumes of the journals Developmental Review and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. I co-founded and co-direct the Cornell Institute for Research on Children, funded by the National Science Foundation. My awards include the 1997, 1999, and 2002 Senior Investigator Awards for Excellence in Research from the Mensa Foundation, the 1996 Early Career Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association (Division of Educational Psychology), and the 2001 Robert Fantz Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology, given by the American Psychological Association to one individual each year in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the decade following receipt of the Ph.D. In addition, I was recently named a 2008 G. Stanley Hall lecturer by APA.

Education:
  • Ph.D. 1991 - Yale University
    Psychology
  • M.Phil. 1986 - Yale University
    Physical Anthropology
  • M.S. 1985 - Yale University
    Psychology
  • B.A. 1982 - Columbia University
    English & Biology

Current Research Activities:
I identify, assess, and train various aspects of intelligence that lead to success in real-world environments, particularly practical or real-world intelligence. I also study societal implications of intelligence in its many forms. My work spans two domains: basic research (e.g., identifying, modeling, and assessing the components of practical thinking and reasoning) and applied research (e.g., training practical and creative thinking skills). The goal of all of my research is to expand conceptions of meaningful human thinking and reasoning to include those types of thinking that result in real-world success, and to apply this knowledge to better understand and solve critical societal problems. One project I currently lead is a retrospective, longitudinal analysis of the lifecourse outcomes of 600 individuals, born 1930-1985, to evaluate the impact of early academic mentorship experiences on life success in disadvantaged youth. I am also completing a program of research focusing on professional life in the academy; recent studies investigated the positive and negative consequences of tenure, and intellectual-property and authorship issues among collaborators. Another recent focus has been a program of research on cognitive and social-cognitive sex differences, and their implications for women's versus men's academic career choices. An ongoing research activity is co-directing the Cornell Institute for Research on Children (CIRC), funded by the National Science Foundation. The goals of CIRC include developing consensus positions on key research questions of relevance to children, and disseminating the results to high schools and colleges serving disadvantaged and minority students to encourage them to pursue careers in science.

Related Websites:

Administrative Responsibilities:
As Codirector of the Cornell Institute for Research on Children, I had primary responsibility for managing a 2.5 million dollar budget. I made all hiring decisions and handled other personnel issues for our center. In addition, I planned, organized, and co-ran our annual CIRC Advisory Board meeting in Shelter Island, New York. I also shared in the major administrative reporting responsibilities for the National Science Foundation (our funder), and I handled independently all administrative aspects of our collaborations with multiple schools across the United States.

Current Extension Activities:
I train a broad range of intellectual abilities, disseminate information about the range of human competencies, and create programs targeting populations in need of assistance. A major focus of my current work is co-directing the Cornell Institute for Research on Children (CIRC), which is funded by the National Science Foundation, and for which I am co-founder. The goals of CIRC include developing consensus positions on key research questions of relevance to children, and disseminating the results to high schools and colleges serving disadvantaged students and students of color to encourage them to pursue careers in science. At present I am completing a multi-state implementation of my science education program, "Thinking Like A Scientist," which teaches high school students how to think and reason scientifically about real-world problems. I am also developing a version of this educational outreach program for elementary-school children.

Selected Publications:

Ceci, S.J., Williams, W.M., & Barnett, S.M. (2009, March). Women's underrepresentation in science: Sociocultural and biological considerations. Psychological Bulletin.

Sternberg, R. J., & Williams, W. M. (2009). Educational psychology (second edition college textbook). Boston: Merrill.

Ceci, S. J., & Williams, W. M. (in press--release date August 2009). The Mathematics of Sex: How Biology and Society Conspire to Limit Talented Women and Girls. Oxford University Press.

Williams, W. M., & Ceci, S. J. (2007). Striving for perspective in the debate on women in science. In: Why aren't more women in science? Top researchers debate the evidence. (S. J. Ceci & W. M. Williams, Eds.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association Books. (Winner:2007 Independent Publisher Book Award; Reviewed in Science, 13 July 2007: Vol. 317. no. 5835, pp. 199-200:"Women in Science: Can Evidence Inform the Debate?" by Marcia C. Linn; Reviewed in Science News, March 24, 2007, Vol. 171, page 191; Reviewed in Scientific American Mind: Branan, N. [2007], "A Lab of Her Own, review of Why Aren?t More Women in Science?", p. 81, vol. 18, number 1, Feb.-Mar. 2007; Reviewed in six additional journals/periodicals.)

Ceci, S. J., & Williams, W. M. (February 12, 2009). Defeating the specter of Lysenkoism: In support of 'untouchable' science. Nature.

Williams, W. M. & Ceci, S. J. (2007, March 9). Does tenure really work? The Chronicle of Higher Education. Volume 53, Issue 27, Page B16. (Invited Back-Cover Editorial)

Ceci, S. J., Williams, W. M., & Mueller-Johnson, K. (2006). Is tenured justified? An experimental study of faculty beliefs about tenure, promotion, and academic freedom. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29, 1-16. (Whole issue featured target article)

Williams, W. M. (2005). Ineligible research. Back-Cover "Point of View" Editorial. Chronicle of Higher Education, Friday September 9, 2005.

Williams, W. M., & Ceci, S. J. (2005). Beware the undiscovered genius. Nature, 435, 534 (26 May 2005).

Williams, W. M., Papierno, P. B., Makel, M. C., & Ceci, S .J. (2004). Thinking Like A Scientist About Real-World Problems: The Cornell Institute for Research on Children Science Education Program. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25(1), 107-126.

Williams, W. M. (2004). Blissfully incompetent. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5 (3), i-ii.

Williams, W. M. (Ed.) (2002). Teaching children real-world knowledge and reasoning. Developmental Review, 22. (Guest Editor of Special Issue)

Williams, W. M., & Sternberg, R. J. (2002). How parents can maximize children?s cognitive competence. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting (2nd edition), Volume 5. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (pp. 169-194). (Excerpted in Parent Magazine, Spring 2002)

Williams, W. M., Blythe, T., White, N., Li, J., Gardner, H., & Sternberg, R. J. (2002). Practical intelligence for school: Developing metacognitive sources of achievement in adolescence. Developmental Review, 22, 162-210. (Reprinted in Mensa Research Journal, 33 (3), 14-59, 2003)

Williams, W. M. (2001). Women in academe and the men who derail them: How ineffective mentorship derails women's academic careers. Chronicle of Higher Education, Invited Back-Cover Editorial, July 20, 2001.

Williams, W. M. (Ed.) (2000). Ranking ourselves: Intelligence testing, affirmative action, and educational policy. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 6(1). (Guest Editor of American Psychological Association journal)

Sternberg, R. J., Forsythe, G. B., Hedlund, J., Horvath, J. A., Wagner, R. K., Williams, W. M., Snook, S. A., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2000). Practical intelligence in everyday life. New York: Cambridge University.

Williams, W. M., & Yang, L. (1999). Organizational creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of human creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 373-391. (Winner of the 1999 Mensa Education and Research Foundation Senior Investigator Award for Excellence in Research)

Williams, W. M. (1998). Do parents matter? Scholars need to explain what research really shows. "Point of View" Invited Editorial, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 11, 1998, pp. B6-B7.

Williams, W. M., & Ceci, S. J. (1998). Escaping the advice trap. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews and McMeel (Universal Press Syndicate). (Reviewed in The Washington Post, Sunday May 3, 1998; USA Today, April 22, 1998; The Sunday New York Times Week in Review section, Sunday June 14,1998; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday June 7, 1998; plus numerous additional outlets)

Williams, W. M. (1998). Democratizing our concept of human intelligence. ?Point of View? Invited Back-Cover Editorial, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 15, 1998, p. A60. (Reprinted in The Education Digest, 64, (4), 39-42, December, 1998; reprinted in Confronting the Forgotten History of the American Eugenics Movement, edited by Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Inc., 2001; reprinted in Mensa Research Journal, 33 (3), 10-13; 2003)

Williams, W. M. (1998). Are we raising smarter children today? School- and home-related influences on IQ. In U. Neisser (Ed.), The Rising Curve: Long-term changes in IQ and related measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Books. (Abstracted in Newsweek Magazine, May 6, 1996, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 24, 1996; Winner of the 1999 Mensa Education and Research Foundation Senior Investigator Award for Excellence in Research)

Williams, W. M., & Ceci, S. J. (1997). "How'm I doing?": Problems with the use of student ratings of instructors and courses. Change, 29 (5), 12-23. (Abstracted in The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 14, 1997, and the American Psychological Association A.P.A. Monitor, May, 1997; also abstracted in Science, October 10, 1997, and featured on Science's website, October, 1997; also abstracted in Scientific American, December, 1997)

Ceci, S. J., & Williams, W. M. (1997). Schooling, intelligence, and income. American Psychologist, 52 (10), 1051-1058. (Abstracted in The Washington Post, October 19, 1997; and abstracted and quoted in Science, March 12, 1999)

Williams, W. M., & Ceci, S. J. (1997). Are Americans becoming more or less alike? Trends in race, class, and ability differences in intelligence. American Psychologist, 52 (11),1226-1235. (Reprinted in Mensa Research Journal, 45 [Fall 2000], 49-68)

Williams, W. M. (1997). Reliance on test scores is a conspiracy of lethargy. "Point of View" Invited Back-Cover Editorial, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 10, 1997, p. A60. (Abstracted in Business Week, October 3, 1997, and in front-page story in The New York Times, November 8, 1997; reprinted in the Newsletter of the National Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences, Vol. 7, No. 4, November, 1997)

Williams, W. M., Blythe, T., White, N., Li, J., Sternberg, R. J., & Gardner, H. I. (1996). Practical intelligence for school. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Williams, W. M. (1996). The reluctant reader: Why children don't choose to read and how to help them. New York: Warner Books. (Translated into German and Chinese in 1997)

The information on this bio page is taken from the CHE Annual Report.