Edward A. Williams III of the Gevirtz School at UC Santa Barbara was presented a 2012 Anita Mackey Award for Scholarship and service from UC Santa Barbara's Center for Black Studies Research. Named for a longtime supporter and benefactor of the Center, the Anita Mackey Scholarship and Service Awards are bestowed each year by the Center on an undergraduate and graduate student who exhibit a high level of academic excellence and who have made meaningful contributions to the campus and community. Williams received the award for his work on the UCSB–FAMU Partnership: Connecting Networks, Expanding Opportunities.
The UC Educational Evaluation Center (UCEC), in partnership with the Department of Black Studies and Center for Black Studies Research at UC Santa Barbara and the College of Education at Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, Florida, coordinate the UCSB–FAMU Partnership as part of the UC– Historically Black Colleges and Universities Initiative. This program builds an academic network between UCSB and FAMU and includes a Summer Research and Graduate Admission Pathways Program: the UCSB–FAMU Educational Evaluation Research Scholars Program.
Edward A. Williams III is a doctoral student in the Teaching and Learning emphasis in the Department of Education. He earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama. His research interest includes the impact of technology on the teaching and learning relationship. Additionally, he is interested in studying relationship between learning, culture and technology. Williams is currently a Graduate Student Researcher at both the UC Educational Evaluation Center (UCEC) and the UCSB Center for Educational Research on Literacy & Inquiry in Networking Communities (LINC).