Madelyn Mooney Williams, Ph.D., joined the faculty in 2002 as an associate professor. Before turning to college teaching, Williams worked for a decade in newspaper, mass communication and government.  She directed public information for a three-county regional government agency responsible for administering federal and state economic, environmental, and human services programs.  The position led to an appointment to direct public information for the New York State Executive Department’s Adirondack Park Agency under Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo. She worked for several years as a freelance writer and graphic designer.   

Williams began her career in higher education at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania, where she established the journalism program in the university’s Communication Department. During her 14-year career at Mansfield, Williams also taught upper-level media ethics courses at Pennsylvania State University while pursuing the doctoral degree in residency.  She moved to Vermont in the 1990s, where she taught and initiated a communications studies program at Green Mountain College. 

Her research has been concerned with U.S.-Canadian political communication involving Quebec-New York hydropower, environmental journalism, and potential media influence on public policymakers. Recently, Williams also has been developing her long-standing interest and experience in cuisine into research and a special topics course in food media and food writing.