Williams Named Chair of the Faculty

Harvey Mudd College faculty members have elected Talithia Williams, professor of mathematics, to a three-year term as chair of the faculty, beginning July 1.

Williams succeeds Susan Martonosi, also a professor of mathematics.

“I’m looking forward to helping us think through some of the big questions facing Harvey Mudd, like what academic integrity looks like in an AI-driven world, how we can shape the College’s future through the strategic plan and fundraising efforts, and how we continue to center equity in our work, even in a changing national climate,” Williams says. “I’m excited to bring faculty perspectives to the table and foster thoughtful, collaborative conversations about where we go from here.”

An elected chair of the faculty sits ex officio on the Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee and on the Board of Trustees Educational Planning Committee. The faculty chair also presides over faculty meetings and meetings of the Faculty Executive Committee.

Williams joined the Harvey Mudd faculty in 2008. As an innovative and award-winning member of the Harvey Mudd community, Williams has made it her life’s work to get students, parents, educators and community members more excited about the possibilities inherent in a STEM education.

Williams research centers on developing statistical models which emphasize the spatial and temporal structure of data and applying them to problems in the environment. Throughout her career, she has applied her research in myriad ways, including modeling rainfall to better predict flooding in Houston, partnering with the World Health Organization to develop a cataract model used to predict cataract surgical rates in African countries and co-hosting a television show, the NOVA series NOVA Wonders. A renowned speaker, Williams delivered the popular TED Talk, “Own Your Body’s Data,” which extols the value of statistics in quantifying personal health information. She is the author of Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics, which highlights the influence of women in the mathematical sciences in the last two millennia.

Among the awards Williams has received are Rice University’s 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award, The Claremont Colleges 2018 Faculty Diversity award and Mathematical Association of America’s 2015 Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching. She was the the American Council on Education Fellow for 2015–2016 and the Mathematical Association of America Pólya Lecturer for 2020–2022.