Initial Publication Date: May 1, 2023

Robert L. "Bob" Williams

Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, Texas A&M University-Commerce

About Me

I grew up on the family farm where we raised beef cattle, chickens, horses and a small vegetable garden. Being the son of parents who grew up in the Great Depression, food security and housing stability were high on the list of family priorities. So was education. I was awarded a "farm boy" scholarship to East Texas State University (now A&M-Commerce) where I worked on the university farm in exchange for room, board, and tuition I completed the BS in Agricultural Education and MS in Agriculture and became a high school agriculture teacher. I also taught at a community college and became a public school principal and superintendent. I completed my PhD in Family and Consumer Sciences Education at Texas Tech University while working full time and have been a professor for the past 23 years. I am not a plant or animal professor, but rather one whose work is people, places, and processes.

Focus of current FEW-Nexus-based education work

I teach courses in general agriculture, sustainable agriculture and food systems, and serve as our graduate coordinator. My graduate students are mostly teachers or prospective teachers. Presently, I am working on a strategic graduate curriculum and the development of youth activities that promote and prioritize the principles of sustainability in farming and food choices. Four of the graduate courses that I teach lead to a graduate certificate in Sustainable Food Systems, which is open to all graduate students in the university.

I also serve as the faculty lead for a service-learning initiative, Lion Gardeners on the Go, which is a groups of student volunteers with a mobile school garden incubator. I am working with my colleagues to seek grant funding to increase the number of school gardens and teachers with training to lead and utilize them for centers of learning.

FEW-Nexus-based education experience, expertise and interests

I am presently working on school gardening projects at the K-16 level. I hope to use these projects to promote agricultural and food literacy, as well as an appreciation for natural resources and ecosystems. I would be interested in collaborating on projects that integrate solar and wind energy, and water conservation strategies into these projects as well as programs that connect students from my university/region with those in other parts of the nation/world. I am also interested in working with other agricultural and extension educators to promote competitive events that promote sustainable agriculture and food systems as a potential adoption strategy.

Publications, presentations, and other references

  • Richardson, C. & Williams, R. (2022). An inaugural career development event in sustainable agriculture. Abstract in Proceedings and poster presentation at the Western Region Research Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education. Las Cruces, NM.
  • Hollenshead, A. & Williams, R. (2022). Knowing & growing: Cultivating curiosity outdoors. National Children and Youth Garden Symposium. American Horticultural Society. Richmond, VA.
  • Williams, R., Cooper, H., Curtin, K., & Richardson, C. (2022). Food security challenges for university freshmen and their families during the shutdown semester of a pandemic. Abstract in Proceedings and poster presentation at the Southern Rural Sociological Association annual research conference. New Orleans, LA.
  • Cooper, H., Williams, R., & LaVergne, D. (2022). Developing urban agricultural educators for the 21st century. Abstract in Proceedings and poster presentation at the Southern Region Research Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education. New Orleans, LA.