Miriam F. Williams

mw32@txstate.edu

 

 

Education

 

Ph.D. in Technical Communication and Rhetoric

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, August 2005

Dissertation Title:  Culture and Context: Invention and Style in Historical and Contemporary Regulations

 

M.A. in Technical Communication

Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, August 2001

 

M.A. in Public Administration

Concentration: Information Technology

University of Houston, Houston, Texas, August 1998

Problem Analysis Project: Expert Systems and Efficiency in Regulatory Agencies

 

B.S. in Economics

University of Houston, Houston, Texas, May 1993

 

Fellowships, Honors, and Awards

 

English Department's Junior Faculty Nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in

  Scholarly/Creative Activity, Texas State University, January 2008 

Dean's Excellence Award for Scholarly/Creative Activities, College of Liberal Arts, August 2007

English Department's Junior Faculty Nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in

  Scholarly/Creative Activity, Texas State University, February 2007

English Department's Junior Faculty Nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in

  Scholarly/Creative Activity, Texas State University, February 2006

Southwestern Bell Corporation Chancellor’s Fellowship, Texas Tech University (2002-2005)

Houston Endowment Foundation Inc., Mary Gibbs Jones Scholarship (1988-1992)

University of Houston, Academic Excellence Award (1988-1992)

 

Teaching and University Experience

 

Assistant Professor, September 2005 to Present

Texas State University@ San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas

Undergraduate Course: Technical Writing

Graduate Courses: Foundations of Technical Communication, Ethics in Technical Communication, Proposal Writing, Public Policy Writing, and Research Methods

 

Lecturer, August 2004 to August 2005

Texas State University@ San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas

Undergraduate Course: Technical Writing

Graduate Courses: Foundations of Technical Communication and Ethics in Technical Communication

 

Graduate Part-Time Instructor, August 2002 to May 2004

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas

Courses: Taught College Rhetoric and Advanced College Rhetoric during implementation of ICON (Interactive Composition Online), which is Texas Tech University's innovative and nationally recognized first-year composition program.

 

Proposals and Grants Coordinator, December 2001 to July 2002

Huston-Tillotson College, Austin, Texas

Grants: Co-authored winning proposals totaling $391,000 in grants: William Randolph Hearst Foundations - $100,000 for scholarship fund; 3M Corporation - $50,000 to create a virtual African-American History Museum depicting African-American history in Central Texas; United Negro College Fund Technology Grant -$142,000 to upgrade telecommunications system; and United Negro College Fund Professional Development Grant - $99,000 to provide stipends to faculty learning to use the Blackboard Inc. course management system.

 

Graduate Assistant to Systems Administrator - Master of Arts in Technical Communication Internship, October 2000 to May 2001.

Texas State University, Multi-Institution Teaching Center, Austin, Texas

Duties: Documented the network at Texas State University's Multi-Institution Teaching Center.

Professional Experience in Government Agencies

 Program Administrator, February 2001 to December 2001

Texas Department of Human Services, Web and Handbook Services, Austin, Texas

Duties: Managed all Web and Handbook Services policy editors. Drafted legislative impact statements regarding proposed bills that affected rule development processes during the 77th Texas Legislature. Reviewed all agency requests for proposals before publication in the Texas Register.

 

Policy Specialist, May 2000 to February 2001

Texas Department of Human Services, Web and Handbook Services, Austin, Texas

Duties: Drafted rule preambles and edited administrative rules and request for proposals for publication in the Texas Register.  Managed and edited revision projects for online agency policy and procedures manuals. 

 

Program Specialist, November 1998 to May 2000

Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, Child Care Licensing Division, Austin, Texas

Duties: Served as the project manager for the Child Care Licensing Division’s rules rewrite project. Drafted policy memorandums for the Board of Directors explaining the fiscal, legal, and information technology impact of revisions to child care licensing rules.

 

Child Care Licensing Representative, July 1997 to November 1998

Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, Child Care Licensing Division, Houston, Texas

Duties: Conducted safety inspections of child-care facilities, conducted health and safety training sessions, and testified in administrative hearings.

 

Eligibility Specialist, May 1994 to July 1997

Texas Department of Human Services, Houston, Texas

Duties: Explained federal and state policies to clients in English and Spanish, interpreted state and federal policies, and used a computer-based expert system to document information needed to determine client eligibility for state and federal services.

 

Student Aide, June 1987 to June 1988

NASA/Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

Duties: Used pre-DOS-era writing applications to type memorandums, technical reports, organizational charts, and other technical documents.

 

 Publications

 

Williams, Miriam F. “Tracing W.E.B. Dubois’ ‘Color Line’ In Government Regulations.” The Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. Volume 36, Number 2/2006, p. 141-165.

 

Allison, Libby and Miriam F. Williams. Writing for the Government. Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication. Boston: Allyn and Bacon/Longman Publishers. October 2007.

 

 

Williams, Miriam F. From Black Codes to Recodification: Removing the Veil from Regulatory Writing. Accepted for publication in the Baywood Technical Communication Series. Forthcoming.

 

Williams, Miriam and Daisy James. "Embracing New Policies, Technologies, and Community Partnerships: Using Technical Communication to Improve Air and Water Quality." Accepted for publication in Technical Communication Quarterly's Special Issue on Science and Public Policy. Forthcoming.

 

Williams, Miriam. "Understanding Public Policy Development as a Technological Process." Accepted for publication in the Journal of Business and Technical Communication. Forthcoming.

 

 

Conferences, Invited Papers, and Workshops

 

"Communicating to Help the Public: Technical Communication as a Catalyst for Change in National Weather Advisories, Environmental Regulation, and Health Care Information," with Libby Allison and Pinfan Zhu. 2008 Conference on College Composition and Communication April 2-5, 2008, New Orleans, Louisiana.

"CLASS IN A BOX: (Re-) Reading and Writing (Technological) Spaces," with Rebecca Jackson and Deb Morton. Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, March 22-24, 2006, Chicago, Illinois.

“Technology or Research in Programs: Where’s the Line?” with Libby Allison and Melonie McMichael. The Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, October 2005, Lubbock, Texas.

"Technical Communication Artifacts in Rulemaking.” Presentation for English 5314/7314. Writing/Aquatic Resources at Texas State University at San Marcos, March 29, 2005.

Chair of panel. "From Classrooms to Boardrooms: Ties that Bind Students and Faculty to Bottom Lines, To Corporate Ledgers, and to Counting Beans." Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2004, San Antonio, Texas.

“Regulatory Writing and Intercultural Negotiation.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, March 2004, San Antonio, Texas.

“Regulatory Writing and Intercultural Conflict.” Invited Paper, National Association of African American Studies, February 2004, Houston, Texas. Presentation accepted.

“Teaching and Testing Public Policy Writing.” Invited Paper, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, March 2003, New York, NY. Presentation accepted and scheduled.

“Writing Winning Proposals.” Workshop, Huston-Tillotson College, Austin, Texas,

February - March 2002.

 

Thesis Committees

 

Thesis committee member for MATC student, Michael Trice, spring 2008 to Present.

Thesis committee member for MA Literature student, Jennine Krueger, fall 2007 to Present.

Chair of thesis committee for MATC student, Jennifer Small, fall 2007 to Present.

Chair of thesis committee for MATC student, Sarah McNeely, “Science in Victorian Women’s Periodicals.” Successfully defended Fall 2007.

Thesis committee member for MATC student, Teri Speece: “Softening the Blow:  A Comparison of Annual Shareholder Report Narratives for Fidelity Investments’ Select Technology Portfolio Fund before and after the 2000 Market Crash," Successfully defended Fall 2006.

Thesis committee member for MATC student, John Roesler: "A Babel in Reverse: Major Aspects of the Current Language Debate in the United States." Successfully defended Spring 2007.

Thesis committee member for MATC student, Linda Coker: “ Filling in the Blanks: Knowledge Management and Pharmaceutical Protocol." Successfully defended Fall 2005.

 

 

University, Community, and Professional Service

 

Proposal Reviewer for the 20th Annual Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference, April 2008.

Member of the Review Board for the Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, March 2008-Present

Chair of Master of Arts in Technical Communication Comprehensive Exams, Spring 2006.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest Judge, Texas State University, January, 2006.

Master of Arts in Technical Communication Committee, Texas State University, August 2004 to Present

Professional Writing Committee for the English Department at Texas State University, Fall 2005 to Present

Hiring Committee for the English Department's IA/TA's, Texas State University, Fall 2005 to Present

Hurricane Katrina Volunteer with Exxon-Mobil Corp., Houston Astrodome and Reliant Center, September 2005.              

Participated in Texas State University's TRACS ( Teaching, Research, And Collaboration System) Pilot Group, Fall 2005.                     

Member of Texas State University's Coalition for Black Faculty and Staff, August 2005 to Present

Comprehensive Exam Committee for Timothy Howell, graduate student in Mass Communications, Fall 2005

Master of Arts in Technical Communication Program Advisory Board Member, Texas State University, Fall 2002 to August 2004

Mentor in Texas Tech University’s Lauro Cavazos & Ophelia Powell-Malone Mentoring Program

Technology Committee, National Black Graduate Student Association, Fall 2003-2004.

Registration Co-Chair for the Graduate English Society’s Annual Conference at Texas Tech University 2003

 

Professional Development

 

Program for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Texas State University, September 2005 - May 2006

Office of Sponsored Programs Proposal Writing Workshop, Fall 2004.

 

Professional Affiliations

 

Association of Teachers of Technical Writing

The National Council of Teachers of English

American Society for Public Administration

 

References

 

Dr. Susan M. Lang, Associate Professor of Composition and Rhetoric, Texas Tech University, Susan.Lang@ttu.edu

Dr. Ken Baake, Associate Professor of Technical Communication and Rhetoric, Texas Tech University, Ken.Baake@ttu.edu

Dr. Thomas Barker, Professor of Technical Communication and Rhetoric, Texas Tech University, Thomas.Barker@ttu.edu

Dr. Libby Allison, Director of the M.A. with a major in Technical Communication, Texas State University-San Marcos, lallison@txstate.edu

Dr. June Chase Hankins, Associate Professor of English, Texas State University-San Marcos, JH20@state.edu

 

 

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