As the University of Iowa elevates awareness about mental health, a name that surfaces to the top is Anastasia Williams, assistant director at the Center for Teaching.

Mental health is a core part of Williams’ work to support teaching practice and course design for faculty, staff, and students. She offers unit-wide workshops, one-on-one consultation, and retreats to improve teaching techniques, syllabus design, and the classroom experience with an eye toward creating a welcoming and inclusive environment. 

“Supporting student and instructor success and wellbeing is one of my core values and a must-have for true and life-lasting learning,” Williams said. “I aim to support classrooms that are humanizing and welcoming to the whole person through fostering sense of belonging and mattering, connection, and co-creation.”

Williams joined the university in 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Her journey to Iowa via Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where Williams earned a PhD, originated abroad. Williams’ hometown is St. Petersburg, Russia, which remains important to her. 

“My journey from St. Petersburg to the United States was prompted by a desire to expand my horizons and pursue graduate studies,” Williams said. “Having lived, studied and worked in Russia, the Czech Republic, and now the United States, I consider myself a globally minded educator deeply committed to cross-cultural dialogue.”

At Iowa, Williams has made numerous contributions, including to the Inclusive Teaching Program: DEI in Teaching Practice, the Center for Teaching's Handbook for Teaching Excellence, the Inclusive Teaching Book Club, the Student as Partners program, the TILE program, and she founded and co-leads the Obermann Working Group Reconceptualizing the Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education: A Mindful Journey. 

“I am most proud of collaborating to build supportive communities where members with diverse roles and needs feel connected, heard, and empowered,” Williams said offering the Obermann Working Group as an example. “My co-founder Dr. Barry Schreier and I provide a space for cross-disciplinary dialogue on trauma-informed pedagogy, positive psychology, and cultivating a culture of care.”

Colleagues speak of Williams as a “change agent for mental health on campus.”

Teresa Mangum, professor and director of the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, said of Williams: “She offers unusually insightful models, strategies, and concrete assignments that help instructors find practical ways to be attentive to each student, reminding us of the qualitative difference between simply disseminating knowledge, on one hand, and thinking of teaching as a way of speaking with and appreciating the challenges students may be bringing to our classrooms, on the other.”

Mirra Anson, director of Student Academic Success and Strategic Initiatives, noted that Williams is helping transform large introductory courses in ways that will ultimately impact thousands of University of Iowa students every year, in alignment with the university’s 2022-2027 strategic plan. 

“We cannot transform courses without centering belonging and inclusion, and integrating key messages for mental health support,” Anson stated in a letter nominating Williams for a Mental Health Champion Award. “Dr. Williams’ experiences and knowledge about how to center these approaches have been critical to this work, and she has contributed to a foundation for the project to improve student learning and success.”

Staff Council applauds Williams for her contributions.