Dr. Rod Williams was appointed Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement in January 2024. In this leadership role, he serves the University by connecting faculty, staff, and students with communities to build reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships. He fosters and champions scholarly work- both research and creative activities – to assist in finding solutions for the problems and concerns of community partners. To further the University's role as a leader in outreach and engagement, he works closely with the Office of the Provost and University faculty and staff to innovate and implement recommendations outlined in the strategic plan.

Williams encourages and supports the University's individual colleges, their departments, and schools in a variety of ways. He articulates a contemporary definition of outreach and engagement work and creates the infrastructure to facilitate partnerships and dialogue leading to engaged-scholarship with external partners. He marshals and mobilizes office resources for the support of work by faculty and staff across the University through promoting the use of new technologies and platforms as tools for engagement.

Williams advocates for policy and procedure revisions and organizational changes that will promote outreach and engagement work. He helps faculty and academic units seek external funding for outreach and engagement that, when possible, is linked to relevant research and creative activity funding. In addition, he publicizes the work of faculty and staff who exemplify Texas Tech Universities' dedication to outreach and engagement, and he provides leadership on developing evaluative tools or instruments helpful in assessing annual accomplishments and promotion for both tenure track and non-tenure track faculty. He also helps units devise appropriate criteria for evaluating these within their team. 

In addition, Williams innovates approaches that involve students in outreach and engagement to increase community partner impact and enhance the student experience. He is committed to developing the next generation of engaged-scholars. Graduate students at Texas Tech now have access to a new course offered by Williams through his office and academic department (Natural Resources Management) focused on Advancing Graduate Research Impact in Society (AGRIS). 

Williams joined Texas Tech from Purdue University where he served as Assistant Provost for Engagement from 2021 to 2023. Previously he had been Project Lead for Advancing Research Impact in Society in the same office after serving as Provost Fellow between 2017 and 2019. Williams also held the position of Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist at Purdue. He originally joined the Purdue faculty in 2008. 

He is an alumnus of Purdue University. He completed his Ph.D. in Evolutionary Genetics in 2007, his M.S. in Conservation Genetics in 1998, and his Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Science in 1996 at the same institution. 

His research focuses on the important intersection of agriculture and conservation management as highlighted by his leadership in the effort to bring back the Eastern Hellbender. This ambitious project brought together stakeholders, researchers, county extension educators, and biologists from natural resource agencies across 10 different states. He has co-authored five books and has published 112 peer-reviewed publications. He has generated $8M in extramural funding using matching funds with community partners to leverage state and federal dollars.

Williams has received numerous institutional and external honors and awards. Most recently, these include the 2023 Indiana Friends of Conservation Award from the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts; the 2023 Outstanding Achievement Award presented by the Indiana Water Resources Association; and the 2023 Budd Denneman Partners in Conservation Excellence Award from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife. In 2019 he was recognized by the Purdue Office of Engagement for Service to University Engagement. In 2018 he was included in Purdue's Book of Great Teachers, and in 2017 he received the Purdue Office of Engagement's Service-learning award.