Dr. William R Crawley

Dr. William Crawley has more than 25 years in higher education, including 20+ years in various academic leadership positions at multiple institutions such as dean, associate dean, international campus director, executive director of philanthropy, department chair, and grants coordinator. In 2014, Dr. Crawley was appointed to dean of the newly created UWF College of Education and Professional Studies.

Dr. Crawley is an accomplished educator, scholar, and academic leader. As a first-generation college student, he understands and is deeply committed to the profound impact of education and mentoring. Throughout his career he has worked to extend access and equity in education, andragogical innovation and curricular design, and faculty and staff professional development. To best prepare students for the rapidly evolving careers he has integrated technology into the curriculum of all the disciplines under his supervision.

Dr. Crawley is a prolific author and presenter, sharing his work at more than 60 symposia and conferences, most recently presenting on the topic of Covid Learning Loss to the 2022 Oxford International Roundtable. Dr. Crawley has disseminated his research via peer-reviewed journal articles, books, monographs, technical reports, and book chapters.

Specializing in interdisciplinary and transformational leadership – leadership behavior that draws out and nurtures the highest levels of human potential and enhances organizational performance – Dr. Crawley is an innovative leader, author, and presenter whose research has informed his work in the classroom, as a peer reviewer and editor of scholarship, as an academic administrator, and through collaborations with government and community-based organizations.

With leadership at the core of his work, Dr. Crawley’s research interest has led him to be extensively involved in public-service and community-based initiatives, where he has led more than $8 million in grant funding. Because of his organizational leadership experience Dr. Crawley is frequently invited to serve on non-profit executive boards. For example, he currently serves as co-president of the Gulf Coast Freedom School, an out-of-school literacy program for early and middle school students.