Patricia J. Williams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Patricia J. Williams
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| Born | August 28, 1951 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Education | Wellesley College (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Awards | Windham-Campbell Literature Prize (2025) |
Patricia J. Williams was born on August 28, 1951. She is an American expert in law. She is known for her ideas about how race affects the legal system. This way of thinking is called critical race theory. It helps us understand how laws in the United States have been shaped by ideas about race.
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Early Life and Education
Patricia J. Williams grew up and went to college. She earned her first degree from Wellesley College in 1972. Later, she studied law at Harvard Law School. She received her law degree in 1975.
Career as a Law Professor
Williams has had a long and important career. She worked as a consumer advocate in Los Angeles. This means she helped people with their rights when they bought things.
She also taught at several universities. She was a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She also taught at Columbia University starting in 1991. At Columbia, she was a special professor of law.
Since July 1, 2019, she has been a director at Northeastern University. There, she leads a program about law, technology, and ethics.
Helping Other Organizations
Patricia J. Williams has also helped guide many important groups. She was on the advisory council for Medgar Evers College. She also served on the board of trustees for Wellesley College. These roles mean she helped make important decisions for these organizations.
Writing and Creative Work
Williams is also a writer. She writes a regular column for The Nation magazine. Her column is called "Diary of a Mad Law Professor." She even created a superhero with the same name!
Awards and Special Honors
Patricia J. Williams has received many awards for her work.
MacArthur Fellowship
From 2000 to 2005, she received a MacArthur Fellowship. This is a very special award given to talented people. It is sometimes called a "genius grant."
Recognitions and Degrees
On March 1, 2013, Columbia Law School held a special event to honor her. Important people like Anita Hill attended this event.
In 2019, she became a member of the American Philosophical Society. This is a group of very smart people who discuss important ideas.
On March 30, 2022, she received an honorary degree from the University of Antwerp. This is a special award from a university that recognizes her expertise. It honored her work in law, gender, and how they relate to society and technology.
In 2025, Williams was given the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize. This is a major award for writers, and she received it for her non-fiction work.
