David L. Williams, associate professor of marketing at Wayne State University, has been named interim dean of the university's School of Business Administration. The announcement was made by Nancy Barrett, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

Williams served previously as interim dean of the school from 1995 to 1998. He has been a WSU faculty member since 1983 and was a research assistant with the university for five years prior to that. He earned a doctorate and a master's degree from Wayne State and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

He is a recipient of the WSU President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the School of Business Administration Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award. His research and teaching specialties include marketing research, consumer behavior, electronic and Internet marketing, and communication strategies.

Among Williams' priorities for the business school are building the newly introduced Ph.D. program, enhancing the executive education outreach program and bolstering fundraising efforts. The Ph.D. program was initiated in response to an increasing national shortage of terminally degreed business professors. Executive education courses are tailored to the needs of corporations and organizations who contract for educational programs in various specialty areas.