Ronald Williams

With a devoted career in higher education since 1985, Dr. Ronald (Ron) C. Williams spent 28 years as a faculty member in Coppin State University’s (CSU) College of Business, including as interim dean (2013–2017). He has championed community-centric academic innovation, notably forging the first formal partnership between an HBCU and a state-of-the-art, community-embedded makerspace.

In 2017, he introduced "ingepreneurship," blending ingenuity and entrepreneurship to boost economic mobility in underserved communities. An advocate for transdisciplinary research, he has led groundbreaking studies, including the first organizational and economic impact assessment of a makerspace, which helped justify the nation's first public investment in expanding these spaces as economic drivers. In July 2024, he completed the Excellence in Entrepreneurial Learning (EXCEL) Project, a two-year study of entrepreneurship instruction in Baltimore, and now prepares to launch EXCEL 2.0. He has advised and co-authored studies with The Century Foundation and Urban Manufacturing Alliance, established CSU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Certificate Program, founded the CSU Center for Strategic Entrepreneurship, and mentored award-winning student innovation teams in local and national competitions.

Dr. Williams earned a Ph.D. in management and organization from George Washington University, specializing in organizational behavior, development, and the management of science, technology, and innovation. He holds a master's in human resource development from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's in psychology, social science, and education from the University of Tampa. Beyond academia, he serves on the AAAS HBCU Making & Innovation Advisory Board, the Open Works (Baltimore) Board of Directors, and as president and chair of the Urban Manufacturing Alliance.