Dr. Rebecca Williams wins Kentucky Art Educators Association Higher Education Art Educator of the Year

MURRAY, Ky. – Dr. Rebecca Williams, associate professor of art and design and acting chair in the Department of Art and Design at Murray State University, has been awarded the 2023 Kentucky Art Educators Association (KyAEA) Higher Education Art Educator of the Year Award.

Williams, who was nominated by two colleagues, was presented the award from the KyAEA during this year’s KyAEA Annual Conference on Nov. 3-5. The award highlights the excellence and distinction of art professionals in their area of expertise in Kentucky. KyAEA members, associates, and community members can nominate candidates each year that they feel are most deserving of the awards KyAEA sponsors. Nominations are then reviewed and awardees are selected by the KyAEA Conference Awards Committee.

During the award presentation, Co-Chair of KyAEA Higher Education and Preservice Divisions Azucena Trejo Williams said that Williams is “wonderful and generous with her students,” and that “her students are always shining and always saying great things about her and how she’s supportive and encouraging in the studio and also in presentation and research.”

Trejo Williams also noted that Williams had previously served on the KyAEA board for seven years as the higher education division chair, student chapter division chair and scholarship coordinator, making her ineligible to receive the award during that time, and that being named the KyAEA Higher Education Art Educator of the Year Award “is long overdue.”