University of South Alabama Press Release

University of South Alabama, Office of Public Relations

April 23, 2008
Contact: Jennifer Z. Ekman, Office of Public Relations, (251) 460-6360

Dr. Alvin Williams Joins USA Mitchell College of Business
as Distinguished Professor of Marketing
Nationally Known Scholar Will Teach Students

Dr. Alvin Williams

A nationally known scholar of marketing and supply-chain management, Dr. Alvin J. Williams has joined the University of South Alabama Mitchell College of Business as Distinguished Professor of Marketing.

Williams will join USA’s department of marketing for the fall semester, and he will teach a course in supply-chain management and one in sales management and personal selling.

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Williams join our faculty,” said USA Mitchell College of Business Dean Carl Moore. “He will lead a quality academic program in supply-chain management, which is in keeping with all the economic development in Mobile.”

Dr. Mohan Menon, chair of the department of marketing at the Mitchell College of Business, said, “Having someone, such as Dr. Williams, who is nationally known gives us perspective and exposure. It also affords us an opportunity to learn from his 25-plus years in the field.”

Williams said he was excited to join the Mitchell College of Business. “This is a fantastic opportunity,” he said. “The Mitchell College of Business is growing phenomenally and the opportunities in the immediate business area are absolutely unreal. I think the opportunities are limitless in marketing and supply-chain management with both the Thyssen Krupp steel plant and the Northrup Grumman-EADS deal.”

Since 1980, Williams has served the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business as a faculty member, department chair and, since 2007, interim dean. Prior to his work at USM, Williams was an instructor in marketing and management at the University of Arkansas and an instructor in marketing at Alabama A&M University.

“I’ve been in administration so long, I’m looking forward to getting back to the classroom full-time,” Williams said. “Given what has happened in the Mobile economy, it is growing in terms of its breadth and depth. The Mitchell College of Business is well-positioned to prepare students for the future. Mobile has a rich business culture that we can leverage to benefit both the students and the business community.”

In addition to his teaching and administrative duties, Williams has devoted time to professional organizations and prestigious journals, including serving as editor of the Journal of Supply Chain Management from 2003-07. He has also served as associate editor and a peer reviewer for other academic journals. He led the Society for Marketing Advances as president from 2001-02 and has written and presented dozens of academic papers to conferences across the country.

He also has conducted more than 300 presentations and seminars for business organizations on such topics as supply management, sales management and marketing strategy.

Williams received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from USM in 1974, and his masters in marketing from the University of Alabama the following year. He completed his doctorate at the University of Arkansas in 1980.

The University of South Alabama

Since its founding in 1963, the University of South Alabama has been one of Alabama’s fastest growing universities, currently enrolling more than 14,000 students in a wide range of academic programs in Allied Health Professions, Arts and Sciences, Mitchell College of Business, Computer and Information Sciences, Continuing Education and Special Programs, Education, Engineering, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The University has awarded 60,000 degrees.

In addition to teaching and research, USA is one of the largest health care providers in the Mobile region, with its faculty physicians and two hospitals – Children’s & Women’s and USA Medical Center – involved in more than a quarter million patient encounters annually.