Date:4/3/00
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maureen Collins-Williams, director, UNI Small Business Development Center, (319) 236-8123
James O'Connor, UNI Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Note to editors: A black & white photo is available for downloading at: http://www.uni.edu/pubrel/newsroom/photos/collins-williams.jpeg
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Maureen Collins-Williams has been promoted to director of the University of Northern Iowa's Small Business Development Center. Collins-Williams came to the University of Northern Iowa in 1997 as associate director for the SBDC and has been acting director since May of 1999. She is a UNI graduate with a bachelor's degree in Public Administration and holds training certifications from a variety of national entrepreneurship programs.
Collins-Williams has worked in the small business development field in Iowa since 1982. A native of Iowa City, she owned a retail antique business in Marion, Iowa for eight years and has served as a program manager for “Main Street” downtown revitalization programs in three Iowa communities.
Since 1992, Collins-Williams has worked extensively with women-owned businesses and delivers a number of workshops each year for Iowa women in business. She was most recently a senior business consultant with the Institute For Social and Economic Development (ISED) in Mason City, Iowa. Currently, Collins-Williams is the program administrator for UNI's Iowa Women's Enterprise Center, a joint program of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at UNI, the Iowa SBDC and ISED. She also is a co-author of, “YES! Youth Enterprise Strategies,” a secondary education entrepreneurial training program for high school teachers and high school students involved in school-based enterprise.
The UNI Small Business Development Center is located at 200 E. 4th St., Waterloo. Created in 1982, the center serves more than 600 small businesses each year. The SBDC provides technical assistance, and training to small businesses, and can link them with resources to identify and resolve small business challenges.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Charline Barnes, Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, (319) 273-6396
Vicki Grimes, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Note to editors: A black & white photo of Williams is available for downloading at: http://www.uni.edu/pubrel/newsroom/photos/williams.jpeg
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa—President-elect of the International Reading Association (IRA), Carmelita Williams, will visit the University of Northern Iowa on Tuesday, April 4. Williams is scheduled to speak at the Iowa Reading Association conference, April 6-8, in Des Moines.
Charline Barnes, UNI assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, said Williams became interested in UNI in 1998. Williams “attended the IRA conference in Orlando, Fla. and heard our curriculum and instruction reading faculty present an all-day workshop on our “America Reads” program. She felt our program was better developed and reached out better to pre-service teachers providing a comprehensive opportunity for literacy instruction. She has wanted to visit our program ever since.” Williams will visit the “America Reads” site at North Cedar Elementary in Cedar Falls on April 5. Barnes' undergraduate class is presenting their research entitled “Work Study Reading-Tutoring Program - One University's Response to the America Reads Challenge” at the Iowa conference.
Williams is a professor in the School of Education and director of the Center of Excellence for Service Learning and Literacy at Norfolk University, Norfolk, Va. She is committed to the diversity of education among all people. She believes that “when we come together to share experiences, to generate ideas for new activities and reinforce the benefits of education, we also share a responsibility to make tomorrow better for all children. Through continued research in best practices, strong teacher preparation programs, comprehensive resources, we can make a difference. We are persons from all walks of life seeking to improve the quality of education for all, to create an awareness of the importance of education for all to promote the best and highest educational achievement for all.”
The first African-American from a historically black university to head the IRA, Williams received her B.A. from Talladega College, Ala. She got her M.A. degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and Ed.D. in reading education from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She also attended the Kellogg Institute at Appalachian State University, N.C. for postdoctoral work. Williams has co-authored two texts for college developmental reading programs, including “Fundamental Communication Skills.” She has received various federal and state grants. She is the recipient of the State Council of Higher Education's Outstanding Faculty Award and the Training of Teacher Trainers Fellowship for doctoral study. Her term as president of the 93,000-member IRA begins in May 2000.
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NOTE TO EDITOR: Carmelita Williams will be available to the media for questions and pictures at the following times and locations:
DATE TIME/LOCATION
Wednesday, April 4 11 a.m., Schindler Education Center Room 116
Wednesday, April 4 3:30 p.m., North Cedar Elementary School, Cedar Falls
Wednesday, April 4 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., Schindler Education Center
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