Larry Williams proudly refers to himself as a trailing spouse. 

While he and his wife of more than 40 years, Margaret L. Williams, worked in faculty positions at the same universities for the first 25 years of their careers, that began to change when she developed an interest in becoming a dean. 

“We were just becoming empty nesters around that time,” Williams said. “I was very established in my career, so I could move and be happy wherever I was going.”

To their delight, Margaret was named the dean and professor of management at the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business in the fall of 2017. Williams worked at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for a few more years until he saw a Texas Tech University faculty position open that fit his teaching interests. 

Williams applied and was hired as the James C. and Marguerite J. Niver Chair in Business and a professor of management in 2019. He brought not only his expertise and supportive nature to the Rawls College, but also a center he developed 25 years prior: the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis (CARMA).

“It was just natural that if we had an opportunity to go somewhere, they were always interested in having me and CARMA because their faculty and students would get access to all of the resources, events and programs we deliver,” Williams said. “We have a worldwide brand that is really a positive one, so it can help bring recognition to the university.”

Williams established CARMA when he was at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1997 as an interdisciplinary consortium devoted to helping faculty, graduate students and professionals learn current developments in various areas of research methods and statistics. Its focus is on management and organizational sciences, which he said is his passion. 

Read the full story