A CPA in Tennessee (active license) and Arkansas (inactive).
He previously served on the faculties at the University of Georgia and Texas Tech University. He received a BS degree from George Peabody College, an MBA from Baylor University, and a PhD from the University of Arkansas. Williams is Dean and Professor Emeritus of the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where he was a faculty member from 1977 to 2013.
